During a special meeting Tuesday, Feb. 9, the Joseph City Council voted to ban short-term rentals within the city’s residential zones. The ban passed on a 4-3 vote. The short-term rentals in question are nightly or weekly home rentals in an area zoned for residential dwellings.

Councilors Rodd Clark, Tyler Evans and Teresa Sajonia voted against the ban, while George Ballard, Pearl Sturm, Sharon Newell and Mayor Dennis Sands were in the majority.

Following the vote, Evans made a motion to form a committee to determine what short-term rentals exist in Joseph and to present a recommendation for potential special-use permits to possibly allow some property owners to continue short-term renting. The motion passed with Ballard voting against.

Sands appointed Evans, Clark and Sajonia to the committee, which will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Joseph Community Center and report its findings to the full council at its March 3 meeting.

The council is addressing the issue because several Joseph homeowners have inquired about the possibility of creating vacation rentals within residential zones inside city limits. The issue is not the regulation of legally recognized hotels or bed and breakfasts, but rather the practice of buying homes in residential zones and renting them to tourists on an overnight or weekly basis.

Ballard said that 90 percent of the citizens he talked to are in favor of the ban, while Sands said 99 percent of the people he queried favored a ban. He acknowledged the option of putting the issue on the ballot, but said time constraints did not allow for that option this year.

Clark struggled with the issue because of his beliefs in private property rights, although he said he also understands concerns about the practice. He acknowledged that because of changing economic dynamics, many rural towns struggle to bring in revenue for their citizens.

“I think this (allowing vacation rentals) has potential for that, but not without adequate regulation and oversight,” Clark said. “I think a well-regulated proposal would work and not adversely affect the citizens.”

Strum said her major concern was the city’s ability to enforce a ban or regulate the rentals if they became legal. She also mentioned Kathy Siebe, one of the two public attendees and a short-term rental owner.

“We have one lady (Siebe) who was told from our office that … she could go ahead and remodel a home and she’s doing a rental. Are we going to tell her that now she can’t do that, or are we going to have to bypass her because she got the wrong information and let her go ahead? There’s a lot of things to look at before we vote.”

Evans said the city should allow regulated rentals because of the time and effort involved in not only identifying illegal rentals and enforcing penalties.

“Creative people will find creative ways to get around it all if we have an ordinance that says ‘Don’t do it,’” Evans said.

Sajonia said her vote against the ban was intended to protect the city from legal action by present rental owners.

Newell said she previously lived in the resort town of Sun River, Ore., where short–term rentals proved a major headache for law enforcement.

The two camps divided along the line of interpretations of property rights: The right of a property owner to do what they want with their property, and the rights of the property owner who settles in a residentially-zoned area with the expectation their home will not be located near a business.

Ballard eventually motioned to ban all short-term rentals within the city’s residential zones while letting the rental owners fulfill their current contractual obligations with tenants.

Siebe asked Ballard if the motion meant a complete ban.

“Yes, all of them,” Ballard replied.

“Do you guys know how incredibly mad I would be?” Siebe countered.

Joseph resident Tom Clevenger, the only other member of the public who attended, replied: “About as mad as I’d be if you allowed them.”

After Newell seconded the motion, Sands took a roll call vote that saw him, Newell, Sturm and Ballard voting for the ban and Evans, Sajonia and Clark voting against.

Immediately afterward, Sturm said she didn’t realize she had voted to ban Siebe’s property and wanted another motion and vote. At that point, Sands asked City Attorney Wyatt Baum his opinion, and the attorney advised appointing a committee to examine the Siebe issue as well as suggest a protocol for contacting other short-term rental owners and enforcing the city’s ban. The committee idea satisfied Sturm’s apprehension regarding Siebe’s situation.

Sands appointed Clark, Sajonia and Evans to the committee with a directive to report their recommendations to the council at its March 3 meeting.

Siebe was optimistic that the committee would legitimize her rental.

“It’s pretty devastating when you do everything you know to do and get the rug pulled out from under you,” she said. “I think in this day, vacation rentals are here to stay. I’ll be very disappointed if I’m not grandfathered in.”

Clevenger said he was happy the council voted to prohibit vacation rentals in residential districts. He said he already lives next door to one of the rentals and another was set to start soon.

“I’ve got a vested interest in this. … I don’t think there’s a place for them in a residential area. If you want to do it in a commercial district, that’s fine, but not next to homes. Even Disneyland gives their workers a place to get away from the tourists.”