858.08,2016 amendment bylaw November 24,2016 sets the higher business license fees.
Amendment Bylaw 982,2005 March 7,2005 17. a0 No person shall operate a Bed and Breakfast,or Short Term Rental,commercial guesthouse or any other form of room rental from a dwelling unit that rents rooms,suites or any combination of rooms for temporary accommodation unless they are resident on the property. Anybody care to post their interpretation of this bylaw ?
4.10 2E In the interests of clarity, a Short Term Rental operation is NOT permitted: On any lot that is not occupied by a permanent resident whether it be the owner or a long term renter. This seems to conflict with the above comment. Anybody care to post their interpretation of this bylaw ?
Short Term Rental Operations 1. A commercial Short Term Rental is permitted under the following circumstances/conditions: a) Not more than six (6) guests shall be accommodated per commercial Short Term Rental.
b) Not more than three (3) sleeping units shall be used within the building for such Short Term Rental operations.
c) No separate or additional cooking facilities or other such facilities for the keeping or preparation of food shall be provided within any sleeping unit intended for Short Term Rental use.
d) Not more than one (1) Secondary Suite shall be used within a Single Family Dwelling for Short Term Rental operation. e) A Business Licence is required for the operation of a Short Term Rental business. f) One parking space shall be provided for each sleeping unit utilized for Short Term Rental plus one parking space for the permanent resident.
g) Only one short term rental is permitted per lot. h) A short term rental may be conducted in a secondary suite, caretaker cottage or principal dwelling.
Section C prohibits separate kitchens within any sleeping unit but many Vacation Rentals have several self contained units. Anybody care to post their interpretation of this bylaw ?
Given that you can look on airb&b and see listings where locations list kitchens and owners describe a list of reviews from other properties they have connections with, well where is the crackdown on these illegal vacation rentals???
Time to turf the mayor and whole council like they did with the Vancouver school board and get some cleanup happening. No wonder I can't find a place to rent.
There is no enforcement of bylaws in this town. These illegal places were supposed to be shut down by now. I've been hoping to find a place to live instead of my vehicle. They've got kitchens. Just what I need.
Why does council ignore all the illegal long term rentals ? They plug up neighbourhoods with cars and are dangerous to the tenants. Many are jury rigged suites with extension cords for heaters. Let's enforce bylaws equally for all. Landlords that exploit helpless tenants are more immoral than the short term operators. Some even do both.
It would probably be more convenient to simply get out of the rental business completely, no short term nor long term, and go the West Virginia route. Turn all these extra suites into meth labs, especially the ones with kitchens.
The real issue is dogs. There is dog shit everywhere. When was the last time you saw a tourist staying in a VR shit on the sidewalk or your lawn ? Raise the price of dog licences to hire a special bylaw dog agent . Some people let there dogs run on the beach in violation of the bylaws ! It's illegal ! Lock them up ! I've even seen people bag their dog shit and then leave it on a log. The problem isn't VRs it is dogs ! Every dog house is a tiny home .
No one wants to touch it the possibility that there is fox guarding the henhouse, or in this case a Cheshire cat. I sense the presence of a coach, hiding in the shadows nearby.
You wanna hide something...hide it in plain sight.
Facebook Johnny boy seems quite all right with the DOT's heavy handed tactics used to shut down vacation rentals, throwing people out of work in exchange for more more monthly rentals becoming available. I accept his point of view.
However, to quote from one of my favorite books,
1 John 1:10 ESV /
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Tofino is the private playground of the Clintons. Zoning and bylaws only apply to others.Visitors displaced from the "War on Tourism" at South Chestermans are welcome at the EcoLodge.
Ralph here are the answers to your questions #1 Very clearly if you are not resident on the property you are not allowed to be in the accommodation business. Seems the Mayor did not understand that law that they just passed that staff wrote for them. The staff understood what was needed.
#2 You can't get a legal license without living on the property so that is the big change back in December. #1 eliminates the absentee owner situation. Thus #2 is dead if you can't get a legal license in the first place.
#3 Simple, every place with a kitchen or capable of sleeping over a maximum of 6 people is operating illegally. I understood you could not short term rental your place if it had more than 3 bedrooms/sleeping areas. Things like hide a beds I figure should be counted in there too. 3 bedrooms and a hide a bed equals 8 guests.
Also if you have multiple self contained units too bad, you are only allowed to have one.
Seems pretty clear to me so why did you have to ask the question?
Now a question for you or other guests to answer. How is the Botanical Garden operating this year? Are they only taking education groups or are they still in the alleged illegal hotel business just like all these illegally run Vacation Rentals in town. We've had a Mayor, the proverbial Fox, guarding the hen house of VR's. Town hasn't got a hope.
Oh dear! I looked! I guess the Fox really is in charge as they have 10 rooms. https://www.tourismtofino.com/ecolodge-tofino-botanical-gardens Something smells bad here especially with her glib answer on Facebook.
Don't look folks nothing to see behind the curtain. Everything is fine.
What's with the 'me me' agenda ? This is truly typical politics ... everyone else is to blame but not moi !! Bloody two-faced council ... but why should we have thought any different with these boneheads !! Same s*** different packaging ! Hope none of them get back in !!
10:09PM is right on the money...... Dog by-laws don't need to be enforced apparently. When the issue came before council it was brushed aside and paid some cheap lip service. This, after the mayor joked that "I guess I'm guilty" when responding about dogs running at large on the beaches. When asked about enforcement, there was "no money". When increased fines for infractions was suggested, that was ignored. When increased license fees were suggested, that was ignored. There's still piles of dogshit from one end of town to the other. It still pisses people off and creates a health hazard and there's still nothing done about it..... except to place the burden on the backs of the taxpayers by supplying "free doggie bags". I can hear the replies now...... "I guess you don't like dogs". Wrong, I like dogs just fine. I just don't like the way certain people fail to be responible for them, and I don't like the way that mayor, council, and staff fail to enforce the existing dog by-laws.
I don't think you have the right reading here. I don't blame you for being hazy on the bylaws though. With all the proposed amendments and controversy things are confusing and getting more so!
#1 and #2--Actually the owner does NOT have to be resident on the property in order to run it as a vr. The owner just has to have a someone living in a secondary suite or cabin on the property to caretake the place. Someone has to be resident on the property, not necessarily the owner. This rule has been in place for over a decade and has not been changed. There is talk of changing it to prevent out of town ownership, but the present bylaw would have to be amended and the latest attempt at that early this month had the proposed amendments sent back to staff for a rework because the presentation was pretty confused. I think it will be presented again at the next council meeting.
#3--Just because a place has beds for more than 6 people does not make it illegal. Not everyone is a "couple". For instance, many people travel together but do not want to sleep together and want seperate beds, or if there are 2 rooms with 1 person in each the third could have 4 people and still be under the 6 person limit. Hence a place with three rooms and two beds in each is totally legal, so long as there is no more than 6 people on the property at any one time. Further many places do not operate fully during the winter slow season so if a vr dropped from 3 rooms to 2 or 1 for a few months it would change how many they could legally accommodate in the remaining open rooms.
I don't know about the Ecolodge. Aren't they zoned differently than residential to allow that operation? A quick check of a village zoning map should solve that. Even back then I know for a fact that any new accommodations, vr or otherwise, were inspected by bylaw before they could get a license to operate. It was built, inspected, approved and put into operation long before Josie became mayor, so it isn't really fair to blame her for favoritism in this case.
I was always taught never to get involved in either politics nor religion....... but when someone comes along with a "holier than thou" attitude and attempts to lecture or "teach" me how I ought to think and behave, then my "go fuck yourself" side emerges. Who do you think you are, Facebook Johnny, to judge the property owners at SC and Shore?
So some jerk with a facebook group came along and decided that an attack on the vacation rentals at South Chestermans would be a good solution to Tofino's housing shortage. Well, you got your fight, good for you. You got lots of attention, you get to be a hero, I guess, at least in your own mind. But have you seen any units at South Chesterman's available for long term rental? None! And you're not going to see any. So what have you accomplished? Nothing! Except to cause a lot of strife in our community, damage people financially, cost people employment, and give council a veil to hide behind as they continue to fail to address the housing shortage in a realistic manner.
12:02 You are right on. Johnny E. has done nothing in the service of creating affordable housing and everything to create a rift among the residents of Tofino. SC has been operating for 18 years providing good quality VR bringing tourists to town, and what do they get in return? A big fat kick in the teeth. Thanks to this initiative, Tofino will lose tourists, revenue, good jobs and its reputation. Well done.
Irony !!! many of our local residents & council members are just as guilty of pimping as those more obvious ... open your eyes ... what is your point 2:22 ? what role do you play in this issue ? envy & anger are such powerful & self-destructive emotions !
"Tofino Botanical Gardens Foundation is home to the Tofino Botanical Gardens. We are a non-profit organization and a registered Canadian charity, located on a 12-acre waterfront site in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our mission is to inspire conservation of the world's temperate, coastal rainforests."
Is the restaurant non-profit? Is the E-coli lodge non-profit? Is "The Botanical House" VR non-profit?
The immature personal attacks on John E are completely uncalled for. Just goes to show how classless some people who post here are. John is doing a great service by helping others find a home in this town unlike the posters who are doing a disservice by pimping out illegal STRs. With no doubt he has found homes for a number of people who would otherwise not be able to live here, contribute to the local economy and staff the legitimate businesses locally. Seems like only a few unintelligent posters that have obviously lost their illegal income. Grow up and face the facts!!!!!!!!! You're busted. Man up and apologise.
I debate with John about taxpayer funded housing but it is always civil and he really does mean well. Did anyone go to the Open House for the proposed rental apartments ?
We own a VR. If it were shut down it would still not be available for long term because we use it part of the time. If we were shut down, it would accomplish nothing more than having fewer people coming to Tofino to spend money on food and tourist activities. I would think that is the case with quite a few. I deeply resent having my license fee doubled in order to catch those who are not complying. That reasoning does not make sense. Punish the people who follow the rules?
11:27, There are many that would not be able to afford to keep their non resident homes empty as they are completely reliant on tourist dollars to pay for them. They would either have to sell them or rent long term. I'm sure however there are also some who already have them paid for by tourist revenue. Having a home in Tofino that you can use for your own pleasure that has been paid for with illegal business activity is one reward that some STR owners have I'm sure.
Hey Ralph I went pre open house to checkout proposed plans. Not a terrible plan to roll out over 10 years. Infrastructure needs to catch up ie sewage. Motel is needed as is permanent rental elements. Not everyone is a trustafarian or a baller.
In the mean time, clear cut a 30 km path 10 meter away from the highway in a national park while the clayoquot warriors are taking selfiiiiies.
bring all the 1 million visitors dogs feces bagged up at the dump one truck at a time, the locals just like their k9 dog shit freeeeeeeee.
Than, of course, long live the whale harassment festival where scientific studies totally concluded that cetacean enjoy the buzzing sound of tourism operator armadas bouncing over their heads at Mach 1!!! Yipppeeeeee
858.08,2016 amendment bylaw November 24,2016 sets the higher business license fees.
ReplyDeleteAmendment Bylaw 982,2005 March 7,2005 17. a0 No person shall operate a Bed and Breakfast,or Short Term Rental,commercial guesthouse or any other form of room rental from a dwelling unit that rents rooms,suites or any combination of rooms for temporary accommodation unless they are resident on the property.
Anybody care to post their interpretation of this bylaw ?
4.10 2E In the interests of clarity, a Short Term Rental operation is NOT permitted:
ReplyDeleteOn any lot that is not occupied by a permanent resident whether it be the
owner or a long term renter.
This seems to conflict with the above comment.
Anybody care to post their interpretation of this bylaw ?
Short
ReplyDeleteTerm Rental Operations
1.
A commercial Short Term Rental is permitted under the following
circumstances/conditions:
a)
Not more
than six (6) guests shall be accommodated per commercial Short
Term Rental.
b)
Not more than three (3) sleeping units shall be used within the building for
such Short Term Rental operations.
c)
No separate or additional cooking facilities or other such facilities for the
keeping or preparation of food shall be provided within any sleeping unit
intended for Short Term Rental use.
d)
Not more than one (1) Secondary Suite shall be used within a Single
Family
Dwelling for Short Term Rental operation.
e)
A Business Licence
is required for the operation of a Short Term Rental
business.
f)
One parking space shall be provided for each sleeping unit utilized for
Short
Term Rental plus one parking space for the permanent resident.
g)
Only one short term rental is permitted per lot.
h)
A short term rental may be conducted
in a secondary suite, caretaker
cottage or principal dwelling.
Section C prohibits separate kitchens within any sleeping unit but many Vacation Rentals have several self contained units.
Anybody care to post their interpretation of this bylaw ?
Given that you can look on airb&b and see listings where locations list kitchens and owners describe a list of reviews from other properties they have connections with, well where is the crackdown on these illegal vacation rentals???
ReplyDeleteTime to turf the mayor and whole council like they did with the Vancouver school board and get some cleanup happening. No wonder I can't find a place to rent.
There is no enforcement of bylaws in this town. These illegal places were supposed to be shut down by now. I've been hoping to find a place to live instead of my vehicle. They've got kitchens. Just what I need.
Given the contradictions between the bylaws they are likely unenforcable . Tell it to the judge !
ReplyDeleteWhy does council ignore all the illegal long term rentals ? They plug up neighbourhoods with cars and are dangerous to the tenants. Many are jury rigged suites with extension cords for heaters. Let's enforce bylaws equally for all. Landlords that exploit helpless tenants are more immoral than the short term operators. Some even do both.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteIt would probably be more convenient to simply get out of the rental business completely, no short term nor long term, and go the West Virginia route. Turn all these extra suites into meth labs, especially the ones with kitchens.
ReplyDeleteNobody cares
ReplyDeleteThe real issue is dogs. There is dog shit everywhere. When was the last time you saw a tourist staying in a VR shit on the sidewalk or your lawn ? Raise the price of dog licences to hire a special bylaw dog agent .
ReplyDeleteSome people let there dogs run on the beach in violation of the bylaws ! It's illegal ! Lock them up ! I've even seen people bag their dog shit and then leave it on a log. The problem isn't VRs it is dogs ! Every dog house is a tiny home .
9:26
ReplyDeleteNo one wants to touch it the possibility that there is fox guarding the henhouse, or in this case a Cheshire cat. I sense the presence of a coach, hiding in the shadows nearby.
You wanna hide something...hide it in plain sight.
Facebook Johnny boy seems quite all right with the DOT's heavy handed tactics used to shut down vacation rentals, throwing people out of work in exchange for more more monthly rentals becoming available. I accept his point of view.
ReplyDeleteHowever, to quote from one of my favorite books,
1 John 1:10 ESV /
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Tofino is the private playground of the Clintons. Zoning and bylaws only apply to others.Visitors displaced from the "War on Tourism" at South Chestermans are welcome at the EcoLodge.
ReplyDeleteRalph here are the answers to your questions
ReplyDelete#1 Very clearly if you are not resident on the property you are not allowed to be in the accommodation business. Seems the Mayor did not understand that law that they just passed that staff wrote for them.
The staff understood what was needed.
#2 You can't get a legal license without living on the property so that is the big change back in December. #1 eliminates the absentee owner situation. Thus #2 is dead if you can't get a legal license in the first place.
#3 Simple, every place with a kitchen or capable of sleeping over a maximum of 6 people is operating illegally. I understood you could not short term rental your place if it had more than 3 bedrooms/sleeping areas. Things like hide a beds I figure should be counted in there too. 3 bedrooms and a hide a bed equals 8 guests.
Also if you have multiple self contained units too bad, you are only allowed to have one.
Seems pretty clear to me so why did you have to ask the question?
Now a question for you or other guests to answer. How is the Botanical Garden operating this year? Are they only taking education groups or are they still in the alleged illegal hotel business just like all these illegally run Vacation Rentals in town. We've had a Mayor, the proverbial Fox, guarding the hen house of VR's. Town hasn't got a hope.
Oh dear!
I looked!
I guess the Fox really is in charge as they have 10 rooms.
https://www.tourismtofino.com/ecolodge-tofino-botanical-gardens
Something smells bad here especially with her glib answer on Facebook.
Don't look folks nothing to see behind the curtain. Everything is fine.
What's with the 'me me' agenda ?
ReplyDeleteThis is truly typical politics ... everyone else is to blame but not moi !!
Bloody two-faced council ... but why should we have thought any different with these boneheads !! Same s*** different packaging !
Hope none of them get back in !!
10:09PM is right on the money...... Dog by-laws don't need to be enforced apparently. When the issue came before council it was brushed aside and paid some cheap lip service. This, after the mayor joked that "I guess I'm guilty" when responding about dogs running at large on the beaches. When asked about enforcement, there was "no money". When increased fines for infractions was suggested, that was ignored. When increased license fees were suggested, that was ignored. There's still piles of dogshit from one end of town to the other. It still pisses people off and creates a health hazard and there's still nothing done about it..... except to place the burden on the backs of the taxpayers by supplying "free doggie bags". I can hear the replies now...... "I guess you don't like dogs". Wrong, I like dogs just fine. I just don't like the way certain people fail to be responible for them, and I don't like the way that mayor, council, and staff fail to enforce the existing dog by-laws.
ReplyDelete8:32
ReplyDeleteI don't think you have the right reading here. I don't blame you for being hazy on the bylaws though. With all the proposed amendments and controversy things are confusing and getting more so!
#1 and #2--Actually the owner does NOT have to be resident on the property in order to run it as a vr. The owner just has to have a someone living in a secondary suite or cabin on the property to caretake the place. Someone has to be resident on the property, not necessarily the owner. This rule has been in place for over a decade and has not been changed. There is talk of changing it to prevent out of town ownership, but the present bylaw would have to be amended and the latest attempt at that early this month had the proposed amendments sent back to staff for a rework because the presentation was pretty confused. I think it will be presented again at the next council meeting.
#3--Just because a place has beds for more than 6 people does not make it illegal. Not everyone is a "couple". For instance, many people travel together but do not want to sleep together and want seperate beds, or if there are 2 rooms with 1 person in each the third could have 4 people and still be under the 6 person limit. Hence a place with three rooms and two beds in each is totally legal, so long as there is no more than 6 people on the property at any one time. Further many places do not operate fully during the winter slow season so if a vr dropped from 3 rooms to 2 or 1 for a few months it would change how many they could legally accommodate in the remaining open rooms.
I don't know about the Ecolodge. Aren't they zoned differently than residential to allow that operation? A quick check of a village zoning map should solve that. Even back then I know for a fact that any new accommodations, vr or otherwise, were inspected by bylaw before they could get a license to operate. It was built, inspected, approved and put into operation long before Josie became mayor, so it isn't really fair to blame her for favoritism in this case.
I was always taught never to get involved in either politics nor religion....... but when someone comes along with a "holier than thou" attitude and attempts to lecture or "teach" me how I ought to think and behave, then my "go fuck yourself" side emerges. Who do you think you are, Facebook Johnny, to judge the property owners at SC and Shore?
ReplyDeleteSo some jerk with a facebook group came along and decided that an attack on the vacation rentals at South Chestermans would be a good solution to Tofino's housing shortage. Well, you got your fight, good for you. You got lots of attention, you get to be a hero, I guess, at least in your own mind. But have you seen any units at South Chesterman's available for long term rental? None! And you're not going to see any. So what have you accomplished? Nothing! Except to cause a lot of strife in our community, damage people financially, cost people employment, and give council a veil to hide behind as they continue to fail to address the housing shortage in a realistic manner.
ReplyDelete12:02
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's easy to grandstand whilst hiding beneath your wife's financial skirt.
Left to his own devices, I wonder how he'd survive.
So many goofy ideas.
Don Quixote comes to mind.
12:02
ReplyDeleteYou are right on. Johnny E. has done nothing in the service of creating affordable housing and everything to create a rift among the residents of Tofino. SC has been operating for 18 years providing good quality VR bringing tourists to town, and what do they get in return? A big fat kick in the teeth. Thanks to this initiative, Tofino will lose tourists, revenue, good jobs and its reputation. Well done.
SC has been operating illegally for years. The rift is between condo pimps and local residents and families.No rift with legal VR operators.
ReplyDeleteIrony !!!
ReplyDeletemany of our local residents & council members are just as guilty of pimping as those more obvious ... open your eyes ...
what is your point 2:22 ?
what role do you play in this issue ?
envy & anger are such powerful & self-destructive emotions !
ReplyDeleteA different perspective.
"Tofino Botanical Gardens Foundation is home to the Tofino Botanical Gardens. We are a non-profit organization and a registered Canadian charity, located on a 12-acre waterfront site in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our mission is to inspire conservation of the world's temperate, coastal rainforests."
Is the restaurant non-profit?
Is the E-coli lodge non-profit?
Is "The Botanical House" VR non-profit?
Gimme a f.....g break.
The immature personal attacks on John E are completely uncalled for. Just goes to show how classless some people who post here are. John is doing a great service by helping others find a home in this town unlike the posters who are doing a disservice by pimping out illegal STRs. With no doubt he has found homes for a number of people who would otherwise not be able to live here, contribute to the local economy and staff the legitimate businesses locally. Seems like only a few unintelligent posters that have obviously lost their illegal income. Grow up and face the facts!!!!!!!!! You're busted. Man up and apologise.
ReplyDeleteI debate with John about taxpayer funded housing but it is always civil and he really does mean well. Did anyone go to the Open House for the proposed rental apartments ?
ReplyDeleteWe own a VR. If it were shut down it would still not be available for long term because we use it part of the time. If we were shut down, it would accomplish nothing more than having fewer people coming to Tofino to spend money on food and tourist activities. I would think that is the case with quite a few. I deeply resent having my license fee doubled in order to catch those who are not complying. That reasoning does not make sense. Punish the people who follow the rules?
ReplyDelete11:27, There are many that would not be able to afford to keep their non resident homes empty as they are completely reliant on tourist dollars to pay for them. They would either have to sell them or rent long term. I'm sure however there are also some who already have them paid for by tourist revenue. Having a home in Tofino that you can use for your own pleasure that has been paid for with illegal business activity is one reward that some STR owners have I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteHey Ralph
ReplyDeleteI went pre open house to checkout proposed plans. Not a terrible plan to roll out over 10 years. Infrastructure needs to catch up ie sewage. Motel is needed as is permanent rental elements. Not everyone is a trustafarian or a baller.
10:30, Baller???
ReplyDeleteIn the mean time, clear cut a 30 km path 10 meter away from the highway in a national park while the clayoquot warriors are taking selfiiiiies.
ReplyDeletebring all the 1 million visitors dogs feces bagged up at the dump one truck at a time, the locals just like their k9 dog shit freeeeeeeee.
Than, of course, long live the whale harassment festival where scientific studies totally concluded that cetacean enjoy the buzzing sound of tourism operator armadas bouncing over their heads at Mach 1!!! Yipppeeeeee
I'm thinking that the IQ of 7:10 is the same as their hat size.
ReplyDelete