BARRHEAD - The County of Barrhead municipal planning committee (MPC) approved an application for a short-term rental on Duncan Road in Lac La Nonne during their May 6 meeting.
County manager Debbie Oyarzun said the application has been on council's and MPC's radar for some time, as they received a lot of information and feedback from applicants when the municipality was drafting its updated Lane-use Bylaw (LUB), which was approved in September after nearly three years of work.
The Vrbo-listed property has been in operation for two years, prior to the creation of the new tourist accommodation in the amended Land-use Bylaw.
She said the property is in a rural recreation district, fully developed with a residence and a garage, and fully complies with the LUB.
"This is important because for MPC even to entertain thinking about approving a tourist accommodation, the property must comply with the Land-use Bylaw," she said.
Oyarzun said the application conforms to all the requirements, noting the applicant included the appropriate fee and schematics showing the number of bedrooms, parking, safety, and evacuation plans.
Under the LUB, a tourist accommodation can have two guests for every bedroom to a maximum of eight.
Oyarzun said the residence in question has five bedrooms, but the applicant's policy is to only rent to a maximum of eight adults over 12 years old.
Under the LUB, occupants under 12 and under do not count towards the maximum occupancy.
"So it does meet the standards of the Land-use Bylaw," she said, adding that the tourist accommodation also meets the parking requirement.
Under the bylaw, a tourist accommodation operator must have one parking spot per bedroom, plus one additional parking stall.
"Again, the property does meet that requirement," Oyarzun said.
Coun. Bill Lane said he supported approving the application and crediting the applicant for the work they had put into the application and business.
Coun. Jared Stoik and Walter Preugschas asked how often the approval would be up for renewal.
Oyarzun said, in this case, as long as the application conditions don't change, the property owners do not have to renew their application.
"That doesn't mean we can't revoke [approval] if we suddenly start getting complaints," she said.
Lane asked if the municipality received any letters or comments regarding the application.
Oyarzun said not to this point, but added that it could change, as now that the MPC has approved the application, the municipality will notify adjacent landowners.
"I wouldn't be surprised. Now that they've been approved, the neighbours are starting to take issue as the traffic and noise increase as they get more and more clients.
Oyarzun said that while that may be the case, she noted the applicant had been operating for two years before the municipality required tourist accomodation operators to have a permit.
"Now that gives us the tools to address it, should something go wrong, and there are neighbour complaints, whether that is through enforcement action or revoking their permit. That is the difference," she said.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
