Wednesday, October 23, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Orcas School Cafeteria
— from Island Stewards —
For the last few months the all-volunteer Vacation Rental Work Group has been engaging the Orcas Island community to address the issue of short-term vacation rentals and their associated impacts.
In past meetings we have focused on presenting information on the growing number of vacation rentals and their impacts in San Juan County and other communities; we have also offered examples of actions that have been taken elsewhere to limit vacation rentals. Presentations and summaries of those meetings are on the web site: VacationRentalsOrcas.org
We realize this is not a simple issue and we want all segments of our community involved as we develop ideas about how to move forward.
In this third community conversation meeting, attendees will be invited to express thoughts and feelings in an open conversation about the issue of short-term vacation rentals. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions, and we will attempt to provide answers.
Click here for the agenda. Please attend and share your concerns, fears, and hopes about the future of Orcas Island, and your concerns as a vacation rental owner.
While we acknowledge the importance of individual choices, we also want to explore what we as a community can do to address these issues. Our intention is to collectively define reasonable specific actions to limit the negative impacts of short-term vacation rentals.
This process will require broad community involvement to make positive change.
Not everyone has the time to devote to these meetings, given other obligations and community roles and–in my case–frustration with lack of real data or any practical legal analysis of what can and cannot be done.
My only hope is that whatever proposals are developed by this group are put on the ballot for the rest of us to consider.