Lewis County recently moved forward with plans to create an advisory board to research and recommend rules and regulations for the operation of short-term rental (STR) properties in the county.
The Lewis County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution during its Tuesday meeting that officially creates a STR advisory board responsible for advising both the Board of Commissioners and the county’s planning commission on STR policy.
The resolution also approved a set of bylaws that set the organization and responsibilities of the new advisory board.
With the creation of the advisory board bylaws, the county is now looking for applicants to serve on the advisory board. According to the bylaws, the new advisory board will have 11 members.
Six members will be short-term rental owners with two from each of the county’s three legislative districts. Another three will be average residents of the county. Finally, one member will represent the hotel industry and another will represent Lewis County fire districts. Those appointed to the advisory board will serve four-year terms.
Under the new bylaws, the advisory group will have four main responsibilities. Firstly, the board will work with county staff to begin gathering data to measure how STRs impact the surrounding area and how new regulations impact STRs. The group will also be responsible for collecting the experiences of county STR owners, researching how to enforce STR regulations and finally proposing policy to meet community needs.
The creation of an STR advisory group has been expected since the Lewis County Board of Commissioners approved its comprehensive plan updates at the end of September. At that time, the commissioners approved two new rules around short-term rentals — the requirement for a STR operating permit and occupancy limits for STR properties.
The commissioners had originally received recommendations from the Lewis County Planning Commission for stricter short-term rental regulations. However, after significant opposition from a large group of Lewis County-based rental property owners, the commissioners chose not to implement the strict rules. The board instead agreed to create an advisory board to provide fact-based support for any necessary regulations in the future.
The county will be accepting applications to serve on the new advisory board from now until Dec. 23.
Application packets are available under the “BOCC News” tab at the bottom of the commissioners’ webpage at https://lewiscountywa.gov/offices/commissioners/. Completed applications may be submitted via email to mindy.brooks@lewiscountywa.gov (include “STR Advisory Group” in the subject line) and are due by 3 p.m. Dec. 23. The Lewis County Planning Commission will review all applications and forward its recommendations to the BOCC by the end of January.
For more information about the new short-term rental registry process, visit https://lewiscountywa.gov/departments/community-development/short-term-rentals/. For questions about the Advisory Group, contact Community Development Director Mindy Brooks via email at mindy.brooks@lewiscountywa.gov or by phone at 360-740-1232.
