— from Joe Symons for Vacation Rental Work Group —
This month is the one-year anniversary of the Vacation Rental Work Group’s (VRWG) Community Conversation about vacation rental regulations in the San Juan Islands. An overwhelming conclusion of the three community conversations that took place in 2019 was the public’s request for a moratorium on the issuance of Vacation Rental Permits. Despite letters to and testimony at Council meetings, the San Juan County Council has still refused to act.
In early July 2020, Orcas County Councilman Rick Hughes who is seeking reelection said, “I plan to expand vacation rental regulations, pausing new permits until the county is in Phase 4, setting an annual cap on new applications and a ceiling for total permits, reducing total allowed guests and safeguarding natural resources by requiring meters on all water use.”
Hughes was responding to Orcas Issues reporter Matthew Gilbert’s question to each District 2 candidate for San Juan County Council.
Hughes repeated these ideas at the recent League of Women Candidate Forum. In the same League of Women Candidate Forum, Rick was asked “If any County Council member is invested in vacation rental ownership, should they divest and/or recuse from the issue when it comes before the council?” His response was that he would leave that to the county Prosecuting Attorney. This was clearly a “yes or no” question. Mr. Hughes would not commit, fearing what might happen in the primary.
As San Juan County Council Chair, Hughes sets the agenda for the Council meetings. He could easily bring up his ideas for vacation rental regulations at any time and call for a vote of the SJC Council. If Chairman Hughes is not willing to take action before the primary election, why should voters think he will take action in the future?
Councilman Hughes was present at the July 2019 VRG Community Conversation where some 200 Orcas residents participated and expressed their concerns about San Juan County’s vacation rental regulations. In December, the VRWG presented the County Council with a list of proposed
regulations that were collected from the Community Conversations on Orcas. When the VRWG proposed a moratorium on vacation rentals while the county fixed its regulations, more than 2600 people signed in support.
On July 2, 2020,the VRWG reached out to all of the County Council candidates for a response to our 8-point program. The link to the eight-point program document is HERE. This document was originally submitted to the County Council on December 18, 2019, and is part of the public record. Readers interested in all activity vis-à-vis the public’s engagement regarding
vacation rentals are directed to the VRWG’s website. As of the time this comment was submitted for publication, further attempts to reach Mr. Hughes have gone unanswered.
It is time for Chairman Hughes to put his proposed regulations before the County Council and call for a vote, before the August 4 primary election. It is time for Rick Hughes to walk the talk.
Thanks Joe. Yes, time for Hughes to put his money where his mouth is on vacation rentals and explain his endorsement of the Portland Fair scandal.
Yes, it’s high time for Rick to get off the fence!
Divesting or recusing? That would mean that we’d have one Council member, as I understand the facts, assuming that Councilmember Watkins doesn’t have a vacation rental. Has the proponent of the moratorium divested his vacation rental(s)?
Mr. Hughes should propose the VR regulations he articulated for action in the County Council BEFORE the election.
It is worth noting that the EPRC also submitted a set of recommendations on Eastsound vacation rentals to the Council in January of this year. They are somewhat different in detail, but essentially in accord with the recommendations of the VR group. The ERPC’s recommendations would allow locally-owned vacation rentals where the owner resided on the property. Therefore, no need for the councilmembers to divest. At the EPRC hearing, Councilmember Hughes stated that he supported many of the recommendations and that it would be quicker for the Council to put them in place than to enact a moratorium.
Thanks to all the Islanders who spent their time and energy to research and document how other cities and counties have acted on transient vacation rentals so that their local residents and resources are not adversely affected. This election process it a good time to put Rick Hughes and the other Council members on the spot to act rather than talk. But not to worry, if I am elected Council for District 2 I will act immediately to put a moratorium on transient vacation rentals and will work with the VRWG to get a handle on this once and for all. If elected I will welcome groups such as the VRWG to present their ideas and opinions and proposed actions to accomplish the difficult choices we must make in moving forward as a community. Listening is one thing. We need a government that will act