Hubbard County Board modifies draft short-term rental ordinance - Park Rapids Enterprise

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County commissioners discussed the draft ordinance at their July 13 and July 20 meetings, making a few tweaks to the wording.

After reviewing public comments, Hubbard County Environmental Services Office staff advised the county board to develop a list of its objectives for the proposed STR regulations, then “filter” the proposed ordinance through those goals.

Board chair David De La Hunt agreed, saying the board should “define the scope of what we’re trying to accomplish here.”

He suggested four areas of concern: occupancy/density, septic compliance, parking and noise.

“Those are the biggest complaints you hear from the residents in the neighborhood when an STR locates there,” De La Hunt said. “There’s no perfect solution to this. … I think we need to focus on the broad problems that are experienced by a lot of people.”

County commissioner Char Christenson pointed out that trespassing is a law enforcement issue, not an ordinance issue.

Hubbard County Environmental Services (ESO) Director Eric Buitenwerf said his department borrowed language from Douglas, Aitkin and Stearns counties to set maximum STR occupancy limits.

As for administrative costs and logistics, Buitenwerf reported that ESO’s existing permitting software is more than 20 years old. Staff is researching new STR-specific software. One vendor has a complaint hotline option, he said, with a total cost of $21,330 for the first year of the contract and $15,655 the second year. However, the vendor recommends a minimum of 50 complaints per month to justify the hotline.

County commissioner Ted Van Kempen expressed concern that the ordinance relies on neighbors to police an STR’s guest capacity.

County Administrator Jeff Cadwell recommended hiring the third-party hotline, despite the additional cost.

Buitenwerf said the county will also need to hire a full-time environmental specialist to administer STR regulations, a cost of $76,870 per year.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Buitenwerf reported that legal counsel does not warrant another public hearing, as changes to the draft ordinance were not sizable.

De La Hunt commented that this ordinance is a good starting point and may be revised in the future, as needed.

The board agreed to consider adoption at its Aug. 17 meeting.

STRs receive their own special category within the proposed shoreland management ordinance. If approved by the Hubbard County Board, STRs would be required to follow these provisions:

• No STR may operate without a valid annual license, which must be obtained from the Hubbard County Environmental Services Office (ESO) prior to May 1, 2022. A separate license is required for each rental unit on a lot.

• The property owner shall keep on file with ESO the name, current telephone number and email address of a contact person who is responsible for responding to questions or concerns regarding the operation of the STR.

• The overnight guest occupancy of an STR is limited to two people per bedroom, plus two additional people per structure, not to exceed the maximum of 12 people, or no more than one person for every 75 gallons of water per day that the structure’s sewer system is designed to handle, whichever is less. The use of detached or temporary sleeping accommodations, such as RVs, tents or campers, that are not licensed as an STR is prohibited.

• The septic servicing an STR must be designed with a flow of 75 gallons of water per person.

• A current SSTS certificate of compliance for any and all SSTS servicing a short-term rental must be submitted as part of a short-term rental license application.

• Within 120 hours upon request by the county, these documents must be provided: a passing water test for nitrate and coliform dated within one year of current date; proof that Hubbard County property tax payments are not delinquent; demonstration that the STR operation has a license issued by the Minnesota Department of Health or written certification from the property owner that states that a state license is not required.

• Sufficient vehicle parking shall be accommodated completely onsite or by legal, public parking options.

• Quiet hours of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. must be kept by STR users. Enforcement is the responsibility of the property owner.

• A map clearly showing the property lines of the STR must be provided to rental customers, along with owner contact information, emergency contact information, maximum guest occupancy figures and a copy of the Hubbard County Good Neighbor brochure.

• No more than one STR structure is allowed on a lot that does not meet the duplex lot size criteria in the ordinance. No more than two STR structures are allowed to be operated on a lot meeting or exceeding the criteria.

• Storage, collection, and disposal of solid waste must comply with the Hubbard County Solid Waste Ordinance No. 18.

• A STR license cannot be transferred to a different party.

• Any violation of any of these criteria may result in the suspension/revocation of the license.

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