PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners today are expected to call for an April public hearing on a new proposal to regulate vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfast inns.
The proposal would limit vacation rentals and B&Bs in unincorporated areas to 10,000 square feet and five guest rooms.
A conditional use permit would be required for facilities greater than 4,000 square feet.
A date for the April hearing had not been set as of Monday afternoon. The first available date where all three commissioners are scheduled to be present is April 11.
The proposal to regulate future vacation rentals and B&Bs was recommended by a 6-3 majority of the Clallam County Planning Commission on Feb. 1.
The Planning Commission received copious testimony from proponents of the vacation rental and B&B industries and citizens concerned about adverse impacts to the rural character of their neighborhoods.
Dissenting members of the Planning Commission favored an allowance for up to eight guest rooms for vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfasts, with a conditional use permit required for six or more guest rooms.
“I think the industry was — I don’t know if they were jumping up for joy for a conditional use permit — but they thought that was a fair version of a compromise at that point,” Planning Manager Steve Gray told commissioners.
While the county has existing standards for vacation rentals, bed-and-breakfasts are regulated only through definitions.
County code defines a bed-and-breakfast as a single-family dwelling occupied by the owner or manager with five or fewer rooms for overnight accommodations.
“To kind of hopefully level the playing field, the standards that are being proposed [for B&Bs] also included the same conditional use permit and the same number of rooms for vacation rentals,” Gray said.
The majority of the Planning Commission favored a maximum of five guest rooms to maintain the rural character of the unincorporated county.
“Some of the impacts that folks might be concerned about would be traffic, noise, those types of things,” Gray said.
Most of the homes in the county that could be converted into a vacation rental or B&B have less than five guest rooms and are under 4,000 square feet, Gray said.
The Planning Commission analyzed existing development in the 12 zones that would be affected by the proposed ordinance, Principal Planner Kevin LoPiccolo said.
“That’s kind of where that 10,000 square feet came from,” LoPiccolo said.
“So if you’re looking to establish what the rural character was, that’s what it was on the high end.”
The conditional use permit requirement for structures between 4,000 and 10,000 square feet would allow for neighborhood feedback in a site-specific review, LoPiccolo said.
Clallam County has enacted temporary zoning to restrict the size of new structures in rural zones to 10,000 square feet.
Commissioner Bill Peach said he would be an advocate for bed-and-breakfast inns in rural areas.
“I know of two or three around Forks that are way outside the city limits [that] literally sit on 40-acres plus,” Peach said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
