Council approves criteria for short-term rentals

Robert Galbreath, rgalbreath@pinedaleroundup.com
Posted 10/14/21

The months-long process to legalize short-term rentals (STRs) in Pinedale came to an end when the Pinedale Town Council approved application and inspection criteria for properties at its Oct. 11 meeting.

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Council approves criteria for short-term rentals

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PINEDALE – The months-long process to legalize short-term rentals (STRs) in Pinedale came to an end when the Pinedale Town Council approved application and inspection criteria for properties at its Oct. 11 meeting.  

Ordinance 682, establishing parameters for STRs to exist in town limits, passed by a 3-2 vote on third and final reading on April 12. The application and inspection standards were the “last piece of the puzzle,” said Ronnie Tambourine, the town’s planning and zoning administrator, on Oct. 11.

Landlords operating STRs inside town limits are required to fill out a two-page form with the town. The town intended to keep the process simple, said Mayor Matt Murdock, with language gathered from existing building codes.

The maintenance of safe properties remained a primary objective, Murdock added. The inspection requires STRs to demonstrate on-site smoke detectors, carbon monoxide alarms and visible emergency contact information.

The ordinance as passed requires the STR owner to live on site if the property is in a residentially zoned area.

STR owners are responsible for hiring a reputable company to carry out the inspection, Abram Pearce, director of public works, told the Roundup. The town is working to compile a list of inspectors that meet requirements, and have found one company to refer STR owners to at this time, Pearce confirmed.

Town staff provided STR owners a “lenient window” with “no hard deadlines” to fill the paperwork out, Tambourine told the council. The existing permit does not expire until March 2023, allowing people running STRs an additional 16 to 17 months if they begin the application process in October.

STR applicants must pay a $250 annual fee to operate. Councilmembers agreed on the fee in a rate resolution passed on Sept. 27.

Pearce encouraged STR owners to reach out to the town with questions about the application or inspection process.

Mayor Murdock thanked Tambourine, town attorney Ed Wood and town staff for the work put into drafting the application and inspection forms over the past weeks.

Recreational resort development district passes final reading

Ordinance 692, establishing a recreational resort development district in Pinedale, passed unanimously on third and final reading on Oct. 11 without debate.

Wood outlined several minor changes made to the document between the first and third reading to clean up the code’s language. He and Mayor Murdock emphasized the ordinance will create an entirely new type of zoning in Pinedale, and would likely require amendments once recreational development begins.

Chauncey Goodrich first proposed the concept to the council in June to foster growth in the tourism and recreation industry.

The ordinance defines “primary uses” as hotels and motels, convention centers and facilities, motorcoach resort developments, recreational vehicle parks and campgrounds and resorts, according to the document.

Developers are permitted to construct “secondary” facilities on the property – including retail stores, educational or cultural facilities, health clubs and laundromats – as long as the secondary uses do not exceed 20 percent of the zone lot, the document states.

The ordinance lays out development standards for each type of resort along with individual site standards in compliance with existing town code.

Additional town news

  • Councilmembers approved a revised hangar lot lease agreement for Ralph Wenz Field. Wood explained the new lease was a simpler and streamlined version of the old lease and recommended its passage.

Councilmember Dean Loftus, a member of the airport board, said the airport board did its due diligence to vet the new lease and endorsed the document.

  • The council passed a motion to approve a change order in the airport apron project. The change order allowed the town to pay its matching 40-percent contribution in a grant with the Wyoming Department of Transportation not to exceed $20,000.

Wes Werbelow, project engineer with T-O Engineers, explained the additional funds were needed to complete the new fuel farm at the airport. Due to a short timeframe to complete the redesign for the fuel farm, an older land survey was used, Werbelow said. The information on the survey “did not quite match” what was on the ground, Werbelow added, requiring additional excavation work by the contractors.

  • Ordinance 691, removing public inspection of hotel, motel and other lodging registries, passed unanimously on third and final reading.