Bed-and-breakfast inns were added to a 180-day moratorium on permits for “tourist homes” at the April 17 meeting of the Port Townsend City Council.

No members of the public commented on Monday night.

The council’s move was meant to clarify the rules on the two types of guest homes, which have similar definitions.

No one has made an application for a bed-and-breakfast in the time since the moratorium has been in effect, said Lance Bailey, director of development services for the city. He said the addition of bed-and-breakfasts was a cautionary move.

“The two uses are very similar in nature and application,” Bailey said.

One difference between the definitions is that bed-and-breakfast inns have a central kitchen, and food service may be offered to guests. Also, an owner or manager may operate a bed-and-breakfast while a “tourist home” must be the primary residence for the owners.

“I just didn’t want to create a situation where someone is to potentially get around the rules of the difference between the bed-and-breakfast and the tourist home to say that, well, we’re providing some food service of some type and then it could be argued that that’s a bed-and-breakfast use when it’s really a tourist home.”

“People come up with creative ways of making these arguments,” Bailey said.

UNANIMOUS VOTE

The April 17 vote was unanimous.

Council member Robert Gray said he thought the city’s next step should be to incentivize property owners to create long-term rentals in their houses or accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

A shortage of affordable housing in Port Townsend specifically has motivated the City Council to look at rules on rentals.

Residents were emailing the city and asking for clarity about possible projects, Gray said.

“I just hope that we can reach the end of the line on this eventually,” Gray said.

Following the council’s unanimous approval on March 20 of the temporary moratorium, April 17 was set for a public hearing on the moratorium on new conversions of homes to tourist homes. No one from the public spoke.

Since the beginning of 2015, 13 applications for tourist homes have been approved. Unless it is extended by the council, the moratorium would remain in effect until Sept. 16, 2017.

On May 1 at 6:30 p.m., the city is to consider changes to the short-term rentals code.

“Short-term rental” is defined as an accommodation rented for fewer than 30 days. That includes “tourist homes” – properties occupied by owners who rent one or more rooms to tourists on a short-term basis. Short-term rentals have also been known as “transient accommodations” and “vacation rentals.”

“Tourist homes” are currently defined as the primary residence for owners, with no more than two bedrooms for rent to guests staying fewer than 29 days.

City staff recommended that the ban on kitchens in tourist homes be retained, but that microwaves and mini refrigerators not be counted as “kitchens.” City staff recommended against prohibiting separate entrances for the tourist homes’ guest spaces, given the number of existing tourist homes that include separate entrances as a feature.

Online tourist-accommodation businesses such as Airbnb and VRBO make it easy for homeowners to advertise houses, apartments or rooms to rent.

Short-term rentals can be more financially lucrative than long-term rentals, especially in places that are popular tourist destinations, like Port Townsend, officials say.

The city is exploring a number of potential solutions to the shortage of affordable housing, including working with housing-focused nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County, as well as reviving Homeward Bound, a currently dormant housing trust fund for Jefferson and Clallam counties. A quadplex home in Victoria that is slated for demolition may also be relocated to Port Townsend for use as affordable housing.