What should I do about City zoning laws?

[Jen-And-Dave0]

I received a certified letter from the city of Bellingham, WA indicating that I am operating an illegal “bed and breakfast”. The letter states that the city’s intent is to not allow short term (less than 1 month) rentals in a residential neighborhood. They indicate that I must shut down by August 1st or face enforcement action.

I called the city planning department and talked with the person that sent the letter. He said that, while this “short term” rental rule is not in writing, it is the intent of the code.  When I pressed him about the hundreds of other Airbnb’s in town, he said they are not staffed to inforce the code but deal with this issue on a case-by-case basis when they receive a complaint. 

According to this planner, our only option is to file for a conditional use permit to operate as a bed and breakfast. This sounds like a fairly lengthy and costly process and there is a good chance that the city will not issue a permit as it is at the discretion of the planning commissioner.

I find it hard to believe that a city could operate on rules that our not documented.  I also think that it is unfortunate the other people renting through these services are likely unaware that they are only one complaint away from being shut down.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Tiffany332]

Contact law office of : 

http://www.jpatricksuttonlaw.com/index.html

He won the Texas Supreme Court Against HOA.

Also Austin court of Appeal have declare city banned on short term rental as unconstitutional.

[Jaime-and-Judy0]

Why dont close uber app jeopardize taxis drivers they lower  rate and take 20% commission from the self employed drivers then taxes them a lot end the of the year... working more 12 o more hours to reach a decent income... city don't have access to host address... so they dont know who fine... yet 

The big question here who is pushing to shut down this app... angry and jealous neighbors or some greedy business man ... and hotel room doest not offer the same like house rent... so they are different kind of business...

When they talk about regulations hahahaha what is the different full time rent vs short time rent ... there is not logical at all... some stupid man in power who pretend to do something in " pro of the community  " as they said

[Lisa2052]

I would tell the city of Bellingham that until the ordinance specifically says no short term rentals he could kiss my butt and I will file a complaint of harassment!

[Dimitar27]

It will be very interesting for me...what your local attorneys think about the situation when you sign a 1 month contract with the guest and on the next day you (two) just terminate this contract, because of some reason...for example, street noise or some other ridiculous formal reason. All contracts has two parties or more. And can be terminated at any time, with the agreement of the parties.

It's something like- well, I had a 1 month contract, but my tenant was here for one night and he told me, that my property doesn't fit his needs...

[Marie7017]

I had a similar issue in August 2021.  Got a C&D letter from town of Salem NH because a neighbor called to ask about short term rentals. Town said they believe STR is a different use from residential use. I hired attorney, filed a variance with the town even though there is nothing written in their zoning laws. I was heard in Oct and the one bully board member delayed it until November because he didn’t have a floor plan. In the interim he walked the neighborhood and rallied the neighbors. The nov hearing there were 15 neighbors there against my request and the bully said unless I can prove that STR doesn’t devalue home prices he voted against it. And 3 of the other 4 board members followed suit. I didn’t appeal the decision. I’m trying to get some research about how it doesn’t devalue homes and May reapply in the spring. In the interim I’ve changed Airbnb listing to 30 days or more and so far no inquiries. Please let me know if you have any advice or links to research out there. Thanks, Marie

[Curt0]

Hi Marie,

(not a lawyer)

A few questions.

What did the Cand desist letter say you violated?  What reference to zoning did they say you violated?  What was your response to them?

Is it correct that you then went to the zoning board of appeals or the zoning board for a variance?  What variance were you requesting?

Another strategy might be to restart airbnb normally and then wait for the C&desist letter, not respond and then wait for the ticket to arrive with a potential fine and hearing date.  Then you would go before a  judge, who will follow law, and make a decision.    This way you will bypass the amateurs at city hall.    Just a suggestion.  I am guessing your maximum fine would be abour $500 if you lose, but you can look that up in the zoning ordinance.    Regards,  Curt Peterson

[Arnaud401]

My town is Mystic CT, USA

The zoning people are talking about stopping any STR due to few complaints from the same people. Their main view is that you cannot do business (making $$) in a residential Zone area.

Any good advice to go against this?