Leavenworth planning commission considers placing cap on number of bed and breakfasts
LEAVENWORTH, WASH. – Bed and breakfasts, short-term rentals and hotels are relatively plentiful in tourist destinations like Leavenworth to accommodate flocks of outside visitors. But some city officials now think the 15 or so such businesses in town are too many.
Leavenworth’s planning commission mulled over regulating bed and breakfast density in the city after several City Council members raised the potential for a temporary moratorium on new bed and breakfasts, at the Wednesday commission meeting.
Unidentified council members requested the moratorium for new bed and breakfasts until bed and breakfast density and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) were reviewed, according to city documents dated March 28.
“The primary question … are we creating too many bed and breakfasts on some streets? On Ash Street, we do have a few that are right next to each other or close by each other and I think that’s where some of the concern is more notable,” said Lilith Vespier, Leavenworth community development director. “Maybe if you have an existing one, we take the center of your parcel or the boundary of your parcel and we create a map that puts a circle out so many feet and whether bed and breakfast can be in that circle. It does give an advantage to people who have already received their bed and breakfast permits.”
Within city limits, there were 15 operating bed and breakfastsbed and breakfasts, three with preliminary approval and one bed and breakfast application recorded in March.
Two operating bed and breakfasts sit on Ash Street. One bed and breakfast has preliminary approval and one application, from City Council member Jason Lundgren, is also in the worksalso for Ash Street.
“On one hand, being able to afford a house in Leavenworth is really hard … a bed and breakfast might potentially be a pathway towards that and I can respect that,” said Colin Forsyth, Position 6 planning commissioner. “But at the same time, I’m uncomfortable with my neighbors running a business next door to me, especially one that will impact me potentially.”
Forsyth added he’s in favor of placing a cap on bed and breakfasts per block and an overall cap on the number of bed and breakfasts in the city . He added a three-bedroom bed and breakfast is “commercial,” and “within city limits; a three-bedroom B&B is a very different ball game.” Forsyth said would like to incorporate a room number limit, as well.
Drew Foulke, Position 4 planning commissioner, suggested a percentage cap for the entire city’s inventoryof B&Bs, similar to Chelan County’s regulation for short-term rentals(co.chelan.wa.us).
“I think that if we start looking at neighborhoods and trying to control that, it’s a slippery slope,” Foulke said. “It becomes convoluted and difficult to manage.”
Bed and breakfasts were originally intended to be operated out of the site where the homeowner resided – however, the ability to operate a bed and breakfast out of an ADU veers close to a short-term rental rather than a B&B, said Angela Harrison, Position 5 planning commissioner. “Somebody was in the house with them (B&B occupants),” which led to accountability for factors, such as noise.
“The question of ADUs and are they being used (as bed and breakfasts) was like the secondary question (from the City Council),” Vespier said. “When the (city) code was modified to encourage more of them, it was done not for anything related to workforce or affordable (housing). It was more about housing stock.”
Accessory Dwelling Units, or residential living spaces that sit on the same lot as another housing unit, can facilitate B&Bs.
According to Vespier, eight ADUs are used as bed and breakfasts; a total of 11 ADUs are recorded as bed and breakfasts, but two only have preliminary approval and aren’t established, and one of the ADUs is no longer usedas a bed and breakfast. The use of ADUs is also intertwined with the topic of affordable and workforce housingfor the city.
“It’s not just a matter of how it affects the neighborhood; it’s how it affects that overall balance of affordable housing,” said Brian Praye, Position 3 planning commissioner. “Part of the discussion on B&Bs is it helps a homeowner afford to live in Leavenworth; is it really that much different whether it’s an ADU on a yearly or monthly whatever (rent)? A B&B is going to make more (money), but an ADU will also help someone supplement their income.”
The planning commission is limited to discussing city code and methods to regulate bed and breakfasts, but not solidifying solutions, such as a moratorium approval. Bed and breakfast density is in the hands of the Leavenworth City Council.