Granny flats as short-term rentals in Lakewood? Here’s why council punted decision to ‘24
The Lakewood City Council decided to postpone a vote on regulations of short-term rentals in accessory dwelling units Monday night, citing a desire for more discussion and research into the issue. No members present voted against the decision.
The council voted to remove an amendment that would have specifically allowed or prohibited short-term rentals in accessory dwelling units (ADUs). They passed an ordinance that will add more development regulations, including expanding land-use zones to allow more child care facilities to be built.
ADUs are small residential units or apartments — like a granny flat or mother-in-law apartment — located on a property that has a separate main single-family home, duplex or other residential unit. Short-term rentals are defined as units advertised as fewer than 30 days of occupancy, like Airbnbs.
With a need for more affordable housing in Lakewood, city staff and Planning Commission members were split about what steps the city should take.
Lakewood planning and development staff said they were concerned allowing more short-term rentals could worsen the housing crisis, perpetuate parking issues and negatively impact neighbors. In a 4-1 vote Oct. 4, the Planning Commission recommended to the council that ADUs be allowed to be converted to short-term rentals because they offer a return on property-owner investment and bring more housing to the market.
Short-term rental property owners Dave and Glennis Durr told the News Tribune last week they were supportive of allowing short term rentals in Lakewood ADUs.
Enforcement of short term rental regulations has been “a challenging assignment” for the city, and “The biggest issue is finding them,” according to a staff report. The proposed mid-biennial 2023-2024 budget includes the setup and administration of short-term rental tracking software, to be funded by increasing the rental housing safety program fees, according to the council agenda.
Between April 2021 and Nov. 6, 2023, the number of short-term rentals in Lakewood increased from 71 to 136, with a 45% increase in the number of units within the last calendar year, according to data collected from the Lakewood Community and Economic Development Department.
Council member Mike Brandstetter said a year from now, the council would be better informed.
“I think the path forward is to establish the regulatory framework for short term rentals,” Brandstetter said, who brought forth the motion to delete the amendment. “There are a whole group of proposals in our packet today from staff about what they might do to create that and the timeline, given that we’ve been provided some 2024 funding for the software necessary to do that.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2023 at 12:43 PM.
