While Chelan County Commissioners wrestle with trying to write an enforceable noise ordinance to help control vacation rental issues, I have been pretty silent on the whole issue.
The reason is the solution the commission is working towards is political in nature, meaning it won’t make anybody completely happy or completely irritate anybody. But it also means it isn’t going to work, and the issue won’t go away.
I understand both sides of the issue. Vacation renting a property can generate big income, and help pay, or completely pay for a vacation home. The Chamber of Commerce, vacation rental management companies and associated support businesses will tell you it is big business, generating millions in income in Chelan County. Many people will pay more for a vacation home.
It is also extremely maddening to be a full time resident raising a family, in what is supposed to be a single family zone, and instead constantly be surrounded by partying revelers who are on vacation and really don’t care about your neighborhood. It isn’t the usual American dream of home ownership. Many people will also pay more to not be near a vacation rental.
There are two sides, I get it! The problem in Chelan County is you don’t have any choice, the uses are not separated by code enforcement. “Single Family” has no meaning to the county. This noise compromise simply won’t work. Vacation renting is a commercial business, has nothing to do with “single family” occupancy and the two uses are really not compatible.
The solution, which the commission has been trying to avoid, is not an easy transition. That solution is to have separate, specific zones, like Tourist Accommodation in Chelan, that allow vacation rentals. Other, Single Family Residential zones should not. The difficulty is getting from where we are now, where the issue hasn’t been addressed for a decade, to the solution. Even though the longer they wait, the harder it will be to solve, I still expect it will take another decade for the county to really solve it.
