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Wednesday January 20, 2016 Vol. 119, No. 03
$1.25
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Bylaw enforcement - 3 Splash park – 5 MLA Report - 6 Community Calendar - 7 Refugee film night – 9 Grizzlies report – 12
REVELSTOKE
REVIEW
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Minor Hockey Week – 10
There’s an estimated 60 vacation rentals in Revelstoke, with less than 10 operating legally. They range from small basement suites to luxury homes. ~ Screenshots from AirBnB.ca
Development Matters: The vacation rental story ALEX COOPER
alex.cooper@revelstokereview.com When Scott Duke decided to build a second home on his CPR Hill property, the only way he could see it as feasible was to run it as a vacation rental. “The only way we could do it is rent it long-term in the summer and then rent it short-term to skiers in the winter,” he told the Review. “That way we could get some money to build a house.” Duke, a city councillor, just legalized one of his homes as a vacation rental and an application to zone his other home for the purpose is set for a public hearing and vote on Tuesday. For him, it’s the way to recoup the invest-
ment he made building the one home and renovating the other. Vacation rentals are an economic contributor to the community, he says, both in terms of the rental income from tourists, as well as the money spent on construction, renovations, and household products. They also increase the number of beds available in a town who’s hotels are fully booked at peak season. “It brings investment dollars in,” he said. “People are doing renovations and building houses. It’s a positive thing for the community.” On the other side of the argument are those who express concern about unfair competition, the impact vacation rentals have on neighbourhoods, and the availability of long-term rental housing. Every vaca-
tion rental on the market means one less house available to renters, which drives up the cost of rent in town, the argument goes. The Revelstoke Accommodation Association has twice argued in front of council that vacation rentals operate on an uneven playing field because they don’t have to pay the same taxes that hotels do. The City of Revelstoke passed a bylaw in 2014 governing vacation rentals, but Mayor Mark McKee has said several times that it’s an issue council will have to re-visit. The issues raised, like taxation, enforcement, and the impact on housing and neighbourhoods have come up repeatedly, and will surely continue to be raised. In this multi-part series, the Review looks at all the issues surrounding vacation rent-
als, including the tourism impacts, housing issues, regulation, enforcement, and taxation. This feature is part of an in-depth series of articles by the Review, Current and Mountaineer on housing and development in Revelstoke. Look for more stories under the banner Development Matters over the coming weeks. *** Vacation rentals have existed for ages in tourism destinations, whether they were slopeside, lakeside or beachside. They’ve taken off with the advent of sites like VRBO, HomeAway and, most significantly, AirBnB. Depending on how you count the numbers, the latter is considered the largsee Vacation rentals, page 8
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Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board