PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners have called for an April 11 public hearing on a proposal to regulate new vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfast inns.
The hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. in commissioners’ chambers (Room 160) at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
The proposed ordinance before commissioners would limit single-family dwellings that house vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfasts to 10,000 square feet and five guest rooms. A vacation rental or B&B in the county’s rural residential zones would need a conditional use permit if larger than 4,000 square feet.
The Clallam County Planning Commission recommended the ordinance by 6-3 after holding five work sessions on the issue.
The planning commission heard split testimony in a Feb. 1 hearing from proponents of the vacation rental and bed-and-breakfast industries and neighbors concerned about impacts to their rural neighborhoods.
Dissenting members of the planning commission favored an allowance for up to eight guest rooms, with a conditional use permit required for six or more guest rooms.
County commissioners called for the public hearing Tuesday.
April 11 was selected because Department of Community Development Director Mary Ellen Winborn will be absent March 28 and Commissioner Bill Peach will be absent April 4.
Commissioner Mark Ozias thanked planning staff and the volunteer planning commission for the “many hours of work that have gone into developing” the draft ordinance.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
