Council ordinance committee tables Airbnb issue

The Havre City Council Ordinance Committee Monday tabled the discussion about Airbnbs in Northern Heights, a Residential A-1 Zoning, until opinions in the neighborhood change.

"We have heard overwhelmingly from the majority of homeowners on this street that they are vehemently opposed to this specific business in their neighborhood," committee member Lindsey Ratliff said. "While I personally disagree with their reasoning, I do respect the will of the people and believe that this particular issue, in this particular neighborhood, should be closed until settlements change. This is what democracy looks like and I appreciate the civil discourse that the issue has allowed our committee to have."

For the last two months, Airbnbs has been discussed and debated at almost every council meeting. City Council has been discussing the issue for more than a year after the council found out Kerma Boyum and her husband, Joe Sarmiento, were running an Airbnb in Northern Heights, in a zone where that kind of business is not allowed. 

Boyum and Sarmiento started working with the city in September of last year to find out what they needed to do.

It came up again in recent months when they submitted a petition to the council to rezone their neighborhood to a general residential zone.

The council voted down the petition last month after several residents from the neighborhood spoke against it, including several saying they did not realize they were signing a rezoning petition but thought they were just supporting having an Airbnb.

The city later sent Boyum and Sarmiento an order to cease and desist operating their Airbnb.

After the council voted down the petition Boyum and Sarmiento approached the council to see if a variance could be put into the zoning laws for Residential A-1 Zoning to allow Airbnbs. 

Boyum said that the opposition is unfounded and people should have no concerns about Airbnbs.

"I have the majority of the city on my side and they're saying I did nothing wrong," she said.

She added that her neighbors are not social and don't want things to change, but times change.

"It is a win-win," she said. "... If I had a chance, I could talk any of these people into the ground, but I'll stop now because I think you've already heard enough."

Northern Heights resident Greg Dolven said Airbnbs are a threat to his and his neighbors' privacy. He added that Boyum was able to operate her Airbnb for six months, having more than 60 visitors, without anyone knowing it was business.

"We all thought it was family and relatives, and when you bring in family and relatives into your house you know about them, they're not strangers," he said.

Creating a variance for Airbnbs is unlike the other variances for Residential A-1 Zones, he said, such as schools, hospitals and daycares. He added that Airbnbs are not what is best for the neighborhood and provide little benefits to those who are not operating a Airbnb, negatively impacting the neighborhood.

Another Northern Heights resident, Don Stein, said that the introduction of Airbnbs may negatively impact the other hotels in the area and a number of other factors which may play a role in how the city operates.

"I think we have a lot of things to consider," he said.

Sarmiento said that as of January of this year, Montana has 3,126 Airbnbs, mostly in high tourism area. He said that if Airbnbs had any negative effects they would not be so highly used in the state.

The opposition to Airbnbs is from misperception his neighbors have about the business, he added.

"It's a positive thing for the community," he said. "... Something has to be on the books regarding Airbnbs. It is going to come up again, or in the near future or a few years from now, but it will not go away until something is resolved."

He added that his neighbors are old and resistant to change, but they will not always be around to oppose Airbnbs and the city needs to have laws in place to encourage new ideas and look past neighborhood disputes.

Ratliff said that over the past couple of months the council and committee has heard a number of opinions and discussions about Airbnbs. But in the end, if the majority of the people in the area it would affect are opposed to the committee making a variance, the committee needs to act accordingly. 

"I believe operating a licensed and legal Airbnb is a progressive and resourceful way of building up the economy and tourism of Havre," she said. "I don't believe that a well-run Airbnb, in this specific situation, would cause any measurable negative impact to a specific impact to a specific neighborhood. I don't believe the fear of unknown neighbors take precedence over homeowners right to run a legal business from their household. However, laws are laws." 

She added that Residential A-1 Zoning is established for a reason and the homeowners in the area have made an investment in their homes.

Committee member Karen Swenson said she agreed with Ratliff and that the discussion is over. She added that the city has other Residential A-1 Zones which would be affected by a variance in the zoning laws and the committee and council have not heard from the other areas it may affect.

"I don't think that's right," she said. "All of those people made an investment in a type of home they wanted to live in and that type of neighborhood."

Committee Chair Caleb Hutchins said it is a complicated situation and, in his opinion, neighborhoods change over time and maybe one day Northern Heights will allow Airbnbs, but not at this time.

"I think it's fairly clear that the people in this neighborhood are not ready to have any kind of change like that," he said. "Could that be different somewhat in the future? Absolutely."

He added that in other parts of the city, such as residential general zones, Airbnbs are allowed.

At least one resident has established an Airbnb in a residential general zone inside city limits.

He said the committee may look into possibly establishing a business license, regardless of zoning, so the city knows where businesses are located, what they do and can make health and safety inspections if necessary.

The committee also approved an ordinance to resetting the qualifications of a firefighter. The issue came up after Havre Fire Chief Mel Paulson approached the council, saying that the city could not enforce the age restriction within the qualification and asked the city to refer the the state statute for the qualification. The Havre ordinance said an applicant could not be older than 35.

Hutchins said the state requires firefighters to be an U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, have a GED or high school diploma, pass the physical examination, have a valid driver's license, and be fingerprinted and go through a background check. He added that applicants cannot be convicted of any crimes which would result in the applicant being imprisoned in a federal or state facility.

He said the main difference between the state and the city requirements is Havre's age restriction.

"The fire chief would prefer not to have that restriction there, the fire fighters union would prefer not to have that restriction there," he added.

The ordinance will go to the city attorney before going to the full council for a final vote.

Havre Police Chief Gabe Matosich requested a similar ordinance to written for the Havre Police Department because the police department has the same age restriction as the fire department.

Hutchins said an ordinance about police hiring will be ready by next ordinance committee meeting.