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Increased enforcement of vacation rentals likely in Cook County as annual permit fees set to double

Larger annual fees, increasing enforcement on those who violate the county’s vacation rental ordinance, and restricting the total number of short-term rentals in places like Lutsen, Tofte, and the Gunflint Trail are recommendations from the Cook County Vacation Rental Committee.

During on Oct. 11 Meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, a summary report was shared by the local vacation rental committee. The committee, which was formed this spring, completed its work in September. Members of the group – consisting of community members, county officials, resort owners, short-term rental operators and others – agreed on the framework of a process that could, in a sense, put a limit on the number of vacation rentals operating at any given time in Cook County.

Though not a strict ‘cap’ or a moratorium, the vacation rental committee agreed that a ‘trigger’ mechanism could be a valuable tool to potentially limit the number of vacation rentals to approximately 395 total units for all of Cook County. There are currently 358 licensed vacation rentals in Cook County, according to Land Services Director Tim Nelson. The notion of a ‘trigger’ essentially means the county will take action if the 393 figure is reached when it comes to the number of licensed vacation rentals in Cook County, Nelson said. Such action could include setting a cap on the number of vacation rentals allowed in the county, or other similar policies and recommendations, he added.

“If we hit a certain number (of vacation rentals),” Nelson said, “that would trigger us to then look more closely at setting a limitation, or cap, on licenses that are issued.”

The county’s current vacation rental ordinance is set to expire at the end of 2022 if the commissioners do not take action to renew it. The renewal is essentially guaranteed to happen, Nelson said, though the ordinance will be modified.

Among the updates to the ordinance, as recommended by the committee, are stricter enforcement of the county’s rules and permits that apply to vacation rentals. In order to do this, the county will consider creating a new position within the land services department that would be responsible for providing this oversight. The position could be funded, largely, by increasing the annual fees participants must pay to operate a vacation rental in Cook County. The permit fees will increase from $200 to $400 annually, according to the recommendation from the vacation rental committee and information shared by Nelson during the commissioner meeting Oct. 11.

When it comes to vacation rentals in Cook County, much of the community discussion goes back to a lack of housing options for the local workforce and the rising cost of housing locally. What role holiday rentals play in these scenarios remains largely hypothetical, although many community members have an opinion on the topic. Information shared during the Aug. 15 meeting of the vacation rental committee regarding the total number of vacation rentals in Cook County adds perspective on the situation, Nelson said. During the meeting, County Assessor Bob Thompson told the committee and members of the public that between 2019, when the county started tracking the number of vacation rentals locally, and January of this year, there was a net decrease in one vacation rental overall throughout all of Cook County.

This fact seems to contradict the opinion of some community members who frequently blame vacation rentals as a reason for the lack of housing in Cook County, Nelson acknowledged.

“And yes, people are buying houses and converting them to vacation rentals. But there are also people that are buying vacation rentals and converting them to housing,” Nelson said. “So it was interesting, because you would think that a lot of the housing is being taken up by holiday rentals. And apparently, it’s about 5 percent of the housing stock that we have in the county.”

The Cook County Vacation Rental Committee completed its work in late September. Nelson said the purpose of the vacation rental committee is not necessarily about trying to bring the opposing viewpoints community members have about vacation rentals to a unified space. Rather, he said, it’s about understanding how local oversight from county government can play a role in keeping the situation sustainable.

WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs spoke with Nelson Oct. 11 about the recommendations from the vacation rental committee. Audio below.

To view the summary report and list of recommendations from the Cook County Vacation Rental Committee, click here.

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