Yep, looks like it's doubled. After a jump in rates like this, they'd better be enforcing the current bylaws in 2017. They owe it to those that have worked to bring their rentals into compliance and/or paid a HUGE amount for a business license.
Operators who played by the rules have been punished for it for more than a decade, by the "District" failing to enforce the law and allowing illegal operators to tilt the playing field toward reward for illegal activity. (That's the responsibility of the "District", remember that at election time (Especially when you see names like Anderson and Baert on the ballot). Now, those same legal operators are to be punished again, by having their license fees boosted so the "District" can pay to clean up their own mess. Tofino "justice" sucks.
I agree with 8:03 Come election time, drain the swamp. The swamp waters have been a stagnant cesspool of obfuscation for decades. Some councillors have been there for decades of no enforcement and no accomplishment. Time for new blood.
Will the permit fees fall after bylaw enforcement gets a handle on illegal activity. Of course not. All those years councillors were shirkers. Now it will cost forever. Council fails its citizens again and again, in new and creative ways.
Several times it has been attempted to reduce council from the current six councillors down to only four. Every time the idea has been rejected. Ucluelet seems to funcion just fine with only four, but Tofino still clings to the notion that six are required. Why is this? Obviously, six is too many, they can't even manage to stay out of their own way. The total mis-management of Tofino's concerns is ample proof that those additional two "intellects" adds nothing to the collective wisdom of the group. Fifty thousand bucks a year (approx) for two seat warmers.....Tofino don't need them. Get rid of them. It would be a great start toward draining the swamp. Can this suggestion be included as an item on the next municipal election ballot? Again!!
Tofino used to have a council of four plus mayor. That changed when the area outside Tofino, from the Gas station to the Park boundary was included in the new "District of Tofino". Two seats were added to ensure representation from the new area. The subsequent election was six councillors at large. There is nothing stopping Tofino from going to four if it decides to do so.
My concern is over the recent lack of quality candidates. Acclamations, seven or eight candidates for six seats etc. That is not healthy. Add in the fact that some councillors want to occupy a seat till someone turns out the lights. Now there is a metaphor.
There is something to be said for experience, but like four five or six terms?? Do these people have no other life? Al Andersen first got elected by advocating there needed to be young people on the council. He was advocating for himself then. That was a long time ago. I wonder what he continues to contribute. Dorothy also seems to have been there a long time.
I hope some quality younger folks offer themselves up to serve come next election. Bigly.
I've heard council members and district staff say outnumber VR by three to one or more, yet their plan is to double the cost of operating a legal VR? How about fining the illegal ones. Oh wait, that would require them to do more than look in the book and see who is legal. So illegal will continue to thrive and legal that also must supply local housing will be taxed. Brilliant!
Has any time frame been put on this illegal VR crackdown? Would like to see the progress/ results. Most if not all VR rentals are posted on Airbnb and vrbo. Seems not that difficult to cross reference with the legal VR list to weed out the illegals. Would also be curious to see if VR fees are reduced once this big crackdown happens.
@ 12:21- January 3rd would be my hope for the "proactive" enforcement to begin. They already have the number of illegal rentals happening in town, and know which doors they need to be knocking on. That work has been done already by www.hostcompliance.com (at considerable cost to the district, I'm sure). License fees going down next year? Doubtful. We'll most likely be told that it is for continued enforcement...
As someone who does not have a vacation rental, or a stake in it at all, I don't want 1 penny of my taxes to pay anything toward enforcement or process. I think that those in the business need to pay up for enforcement, since its in their best interest for a level playing field. Now lets move on and let the even hand of the market works its magic.
@9:23AM..... You may feel that you don't have a stake in it...... However, you do. You, like everyone else in Tofino, are responsible for providing staff housing for all the restaurants, surf shops, adventure tour operators, and other seasonal businesses that operate here. That's what this is all about: staff housing. The story that it's about proving housing for "young families" is bullshit. There's lots of housing for families, but it's all filled up with seasonal staff because the businesses that employ these people don't bother to provide or arrange accomodations for their employees. They just operate for six or eight months, grab the cash in the fall, and zip out of town, leaving their mess for Tofino's taxpayers to clean up. The biggest scam of them all, "surf schools", operate on our public beaches free, use our public parking lots free, provide no staff housing......pocket the cash, leave town, and vacation each winter in the balmy south, until next spring when they return once more, to complain that "those evil vacation rentals are taking all the beach houses away". Poor victims, eh? So you, the taxpayer, along with the rental sector, get to pay the bill for this,compliments of your District council, who remain willfully blind to the real problems facing the town and instead remain totally fixated on the great Satan: Short term rentals.
@2:26 You are a bitter and hate filled person . Step back from the keyboard and make some real friends instead of internet enemies. There are many nice people in Tofino.
Going after the VR....It is all just a smoke screen for all the dummies to not notice all the wasted money council approves, all the ridiculous inefficiencies and how pathetic council is.... they are creating noise!
How about the lost 1 million subsidy for the sewage system?
How about the incredibly dumb new rv camp ground at the CrabApple?
VR, AirBnB, B&B's bring in roughly $375 a hit.... 400 units $150K.... double the business lic, it is now $300K. The economic hit of nightly stays is accommodation plus $125/day/person. We are talking a lot of money. It would be smarter to provide more housing of all types ($2000 yearly taxes) Allow 250 houses to be built.... $500K.... keep families here, diversify the businesses....
The real problem is they don't have a real planner, with a weak council & mayor not skilled enough to figure out what we need and rely on a weak staff...... Tofino deserves better...
Ten years ago a Tofino planner laid out grand ideas to me of providing affordable housing and also staff housing. Nothing significant came of it. Now the district is trying to force home owners to rent their homes to seasonal workers. I've been in Tofino for over 20 years and the community made its decision to be a tourist economy a long time ago. It truly is a smoke screen that this is about providing housing for "families." I know of at least one family development the district shut down. This is about helping local businesses find places for mainly seasonal workers to flop. And they should have a place to stay, but it shouldn't be found by forcing homeowners to change how they use their houses. The larger local businesses could address this and should have years ago, but why not have a whipping boy instead? The vicious comments I have seen about LEGAL VR rentals are unbelievable, more envy and angst than common sense. If you want someone to attack go after the illegal ones. Oh wait, that would require the district to know who they are. Way easier to go after the law abiding and double their fees.
I haven't lived here long but I did attend the Town Hall Meeting and heard a completely flawed logic of our CAO on our housing problems. I even heard a grad student pseudo expert from Simon Fraser University go over the AirBnB issues in Greater Vancouver.
Yesterday the CBC posted an article on this exact topic.... Hotels are saying they are being attacked financially from AirBnB places... but the logic does not pan out. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/airbnb-victoria-vancouver-rental-vacancy-hotels-1.3886623 Tofino District is doing the same flawed logic. The thing that scares me most is if they apply this logic to this problem, how does it fair for all the District of Tofino's problems. We saw the water meter BS... some pay virtually nothing due to broken meters and but the final bill is covered by all so it was okay......
December 8, 2016 at 5:00 PM is completely right.... why can't a local owner do whatever they want with their house?
Plus who are all these illegal VR, B&B's everyone is talking about and how many are there?
8:43 Brilliant! "why can't a local owner do whatever they want with their house?" Says the great logician. Let 's agree, everyone should be able to do exactly what they want........ Don,t see any problem in that! That should work perfectly for about.......five minutes.....idiot.
@9:23Am...... You're obviously one of those goofs that think someone else should buy a beach house for a million bucks, so you and your surfer friends can rent it for $800 a month, have parties, wreck the place, and then move out next fall when your seasonal job comes to an end, leaving the owner to repair the damages and clean up your mess"exactly the way they want" Go get a site in the illecal campground, under a tarp. Idiot.
12;41, Actually I own a lovely waterfront home in Tuff. Just think the zoning bylaws for, all their flaws, serve a legitimate and larger public purpose and serve the community well. In general, I am a rule of law sort of person, rather than an anarchist. You are probably the sort that will cry foul at the slightest provocation and scream loudest for council to do something when it is in your interest. As I said....Idiot
That is funny, 3:43 Do you think you could even fathom the thought about not having bylaws? People living together... Do you think everyone is going to go out and buy a gun..... Reminds me of the Dorothy on council saying if people are allowed sandwich board signs.... we will see them everywhere. 2 years later we only see a few sandwich board signs but dorothy has now another sign in from of her place. I think that is 5 signs now!
Any how, I believe we need to relax the rules, act a adults, create community and celebrate what is right with this place versus what is so very wrong.
Nice dream there @5:27. But it's not going to happen. Better to have leadership and guidance radiating from the District office and council chambers...... with ingenious ideas like attacking the tourism industry via "pro-active" bylaw enforcement. I heard this was a record year. Betcha next year won't be, not when visitors to town can't find accomodations. But they can always go stay in Ucluelet instead, and eat in Ucluelet, and rent surf gear in Ucluelet, and shop in Ucluelet, and go whale watching in Ucluelet......
6:46 That is my dream too. Let them go to Ucluelet. We agree on something at last. Just one request, can you go with them? You could still write in to Ralph's Blog. The multiple repetitive rants have such entertainment value.
Awesome !
ReplyDeleteYep, looks like it's doubled.
ReplyDeleteAfter a jump in rates like this, they'd better be enforcing the current bylaws in 2017. They owe it to those that have worked to bring their rentals into compliance and/or paid a HUGE amount for a business license.
Operators who played by the rules have been punished for it for more than a decade, by the "District" failing to enforce the law and allowing illegal operators to tilt the playing field toward reward for illegal activity. (That's the responsibility of the "District", remember that at election time (Especially when you see names like Anderson and Baert on the ballot). Now, those same legal operators are to be punished again, by having their license fees boosted so the "District" can pay to clean up their own mess. Tofino "justice" sucks.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 8:03 Come election time, drain the swamp. The swamp waters have been a stagnant cesspool of obfuscation for decades. Some councillors have been there for decades of no enforcement and no accomplishment. Time for new blood.
ReplyDeleteWill the permit fees fall after bylaw enforcement gets a handle on illegal activity. Of course not. All those years councillors were shirkers. Now it will cost forever. Council fails its citizens again and again, in new and creative ways.
ReplyDeleteSeveral times it has been attempted to reduce council from the current six councillors down to only four. Every time the idea has been rejected. Ucluelet seems to funcion just fine with only four, but Tofino still clings to the notion that six are required.
ReplyDeleteWhy is this? Obviously, six is too many, they can't even manage to stay out of their own way. The total mis-management of Tofino's concerns is ample proof that those additional two "intellects" adds nothing to the collective wisdom of the group.
Fifty thousand bucks a year (approx) for two seat warmers.....Tofino don't need them. Get rid of them. It would be a great start toward draining the swamp.
Can this suggestion be included as an item on the next municipal election ballot? Again!!
Ukee seems to get things done much faster and easier. Might have something to do with less on council or maybe it's just more doers than talkers.
ReplyDeleteTofino used to have a council of four plus mayor. That changed when the area outside Tofino, from the Gas station to the Park boundary was included in the new "District of Tofino". Two seats were added to ensure representation from the new area. The subsequent election was six councillors at large. There is nothing stopping Tofino from going to four if it decides to do so.
ReplyDeleteMy concern is over the recent lack of quality candidates. Acclamations, seven or eight candidates for six seats etc. That is not healthy. Add in the fact that some councillors want to occupy a seat till someone turns out the lights. Now there is a metaphor.
There is something to be said for experience, but like four five or six terms?? Do these people have no other life? Al Andersen first got elected by advocating there needed to be young people on the council. He was advocating for himself then. That was a long time ago. I wonder what he continues to contribute. Dorothy also seems to have been there a long time.
I hope some quality younger folks offer themselves up to serve come next election. Bigly.
I've heard council members and district staff say outnumber VR by three to one or more, yet their plan is to double the cost of operating a legal VR? How about fining the illegal ones. Oh wait, that would require them to do more than look in the book and see who is legal. So illegal will continue to thrive and legal that also must supply local housing will be taxed. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteHas any time frame been put on this illegal VR crackdown? Would like to see the progress/ results.
ReplyDeleteMost if not all VR rentals are posted on Airbnb and vrbo. Seems not that difficult to cross reference with the legal VR list to weed out the illegals. Would also be curious to see if VR fees are reduced once this big crackdown happens.
@ 12:21- January 3rd would be my hope for the "proactive" enforcement to begin. They already have the number of illegal rentals happening in town, and know which doors they need to be knocking on. That work has been done already by www.hostcompliance.com (at considerable cost to the district, I'm sure).
ReplyDeleteLicense fees going down next year? Doubtful. We'll most likely be told that it is for continued enforcement...
As someone who does not have a vacation rental, or a stake in it at all, I don't want 1 penny of my taxes to pay anything toward enforcement or process. I think that those in the business need to pay up for enforcement, since its in their best interest for a level playing field. Now lets move on and let the even hand of the market works its magic.
ReplyDelete@9:23AM..... You may feel that you don't have a stake in it...... However, you do. You, like everyone else in Tofino, are responsible for providing staff housing for all the restaurants, surf shops, adventure tour operators, and other seasonal businesses that operate here. That's what this is all about: staff housing. The story that it's about proving housing for "young families" is bullshit. There's lots of housing for families, but it's all filled up with seasonal staff because the businesses that employ these people don't bother to provide or arrange accomodations for their employees. They just operate for six or eight months, grab the cash in the fall, and zip out of town, leaving their mess for Tofino's taxpayers to clean up.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest scam of them all, "surf schools", operate on our public beaches free, use our public parking lots free, provide no staff housing......pocket the cash, leave town, and vacation each winter in the balmy south, until next spring when they return once more, to complain that "those evil vacation rentals are taking all the beach houses away". Poor victims, eh?
So you, the taxpayer, along with the rental sector, get to pay the bill for this,compliments of your District council, who remain willfully blind to the real problems facing the town and instead remain totally fixated on the great Satan: Short term rentals.
Many surf schools have staff accomodation. I know.
ReplyDelete@2:26 You are a bitter and hate filled person . Step back from the keyboard and make some real friends instead of internet enemies. There are many nice people in Tofino.
ReplyDeleteGoing after the VR....It is all just a smoke screen for all the dummies to not notice all the wasted money council approves, all the ridiculous inefficiencies and how pathetic council is.... they are creating noise!
ReplyDeleteHow about the lost 1 million subsidy for the sewage system?
How about the incredibly dumb new rv camp ground at the CrabApple?
VR, AirBnB, B&B's bring in roughly $375 a hit.... 400 units $150K.... double the business lic, it is now $300K. The economic hit of nightly stays is accommodation plus $125/day/person. We are talking a lot of money. It would be smarter to provide more housing of all types ($2000 yearly taxes) Allow 250 houses to be built.... $500K.... keep families here, diversify the businesses....
The real problem is they don't have a real planner, with a weak council & mayor not skilled enough to figure out what we need and rely on a weak staff...... Tofino deserves better...
A new planner has been hired
ReplyDeleteTen years ago a Tofino planner laid out grand ideas to me of providing affordable housing and also staff housing. Nothing significant came of it. Now the district is trying to force home owners to rent their homes to seasonal workers. I've been in Tofino for over 20 years and the community made its decision to be a tourist economy a long time ago. It truly is a smoke screen that this is about providing housing for "families." I know of at least one family development the district shut down. This is about helping local businesses find places for mainly seasonal workers to flop. And they should have a place to stay, but it shouldn't be found by forcing homeowners to change how they use their houses. The larger local businesses could address this and should have years ago, but why not have a whipping boy instead? The vicious comments I have seen about LEGAL VR rentals are unbelievable, more envy and angst than common sense. If you want someone to attack go after the illegal ones. Oh wait, that would require the district to know who they are. Way easier to go after the law abiding and double their fees.
ReplyDelete@5:56.... "Bitter and hate filled", eh? That, my friend, is called "shoot the messenger". Sorry you didn't like the message. Get over it.
ReplyDeleteI haven't lived here long but I did attend the Town Hall Meeting and heard a completely flawed logic of our CAO on our housing problems. I even heard a grad student pseudo expert from Simon Fraser University go over the AirBnB issues in Greater Vancouver.
ReplyDeleteYesterday the CBC posted an article on this exact topic.... Hotels are saying they are being attacked financially from AirBnB places... but the logic does not pan out. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/airbnb-victoria-vancouver-rental-vacancy-hotels-1.3886623 Tofino District is doing the same flawed logic. The thing that scares me most is if they apply this logic to this problem, how does it fair for all the District of Tofino's problems. We saw the water meter BS... some pay virtually nothing due to broken meters and but the final bill is covered by all so it was okay......
December 8, 2016 at 5:00 PM is completely right.... why can't a local owner do whatever they want with their house?
Plus who are all these illegal VR, B&B's everyone is talking about and how many are there?
"try and be a little kinder..." Aldous Huxely
8:43 Brilliant! "why can't a local owner do whatever they want with their house?" Says the great logician. Let 's agree, everyone should be able to do exactly what they want........ Don,t see any problem in that! That should work perfectly for about.......five minutes.....idiot.
ReplyDelete@9:23Am...... You're obviously one of those goofs that think someone else should buy a beach house for a million bucks, so you and your surfer friends can rent it for $800 a month, have parties, wreck the place, and then move out next fall when your seasonal job comes to an end, leaving the owner to repair the damages and clean up your mess"exactly the way they want" Go get a site in the illecal campground, under a tarp. Idiot.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete12;41, Actually I own a lovely waterfront home in Tuff. Just think the zoning bylaws for, all their flaws, serve a legitimate and larger public purpose and serve the community well. In general, I am a rule of law sort of person, rather than an anarchist. You are probably the sort that will cry foul at the slightest provocation and scream loudest for council to do something when it is in your interest. As I said....Idiot
8:43 I hope your neighbour decides to start a commercial compost business, with fish offal as the main ingredient.
ReplyDeleteThat is funny, 3:43 Do you think you could even fathom the thought about not having bylaws? People living together... Do you think everyone is going to go out and buy a gun..... Reminds me of the Dorothy on council saying if people are allowed sandwich board signs.... we will see them everywhere. 2 years later we only see a few sandwich board signs but dorothy has now another sign in from of her place. I think that is 5 signs now!
ReplyDeleteAny how, I believe we need to relax the rules, act a adults, create community and celebrate what is right with this place versus what is so very wrong.
Nice dream there @5:27. But it's not going to happen. Better to have leadership and guidance radiating from the District office and council chambers...... with ingenious ideas like attacking the tourism industry via "pro-active" bylaw enforcement. I heard this was a record year. Betcha next year won't be, not when visitors to town can't find accomodations. But they can always go stay in Ucluelet instead, and eat in Ucluelet, and rent surf gear in Ucluelet, and shop in Ucluelet, and go whale watching in Ucluelet......
ReplyDelete6:46 That is my dream too. Let them go to Ucluelet. We agree on something at last. Just one request, can you go with them? You could still write in to Ralph's Blog. The multiple repetitive rants have such entertainment value.
ReplyDelete10:27 gets ready, takes aim..... and shoots the messenger, with a valuable contribution to the discussion. Psssst, Bite Me.
ReplyDelete