Community Work Meeting

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times 

GARDEN CITY, Utah. January 9, 2019.   City Council members and Mayor oversaw the Community Work Meeting of the city regarding short term rentals and city growth.  Kathy Hislop was there to take minutes.  Several individuals from the community were in attendance.

Mayor Mike Leonhardt noted that the short-term rentals are good for Garden City.  He said that the rentals bring in jobs and money.  Families enjoy coming here and having a good time.  Changes are happening.  There are concerns as well as good things happening. He feels our city needs to look forward and begin to work together to make things progress and improvements taken care of so that in the future everything will move smoothly.

Some of the concerns are private property issues.  There is an economic impact both good and bad on our community.  Utilities are being used up to their capacity on peak days.  There are areas in town where people don’t have neighbors now because all the buildings around them are all short-term rentals.  There are safety issues as well.  The occupancy loads in residential homes are growing as they become short-term rentals.  The city needs to determine the difference between a residential home and a small hotel.   When the short term rental becomes a small hotel its designation should be commercial.  Which means that water sprinklers need to be installed, entrance and exists need to be bigger, plus many other safety rules need to be established and followed.

Ken Hansen, Council Member, noted that there is a concern on the load being placed on

subdivisions which have been planned for residential homes.  When the homes then are turned into short-term rentals, the homes are not built to the specifications for the amount of sewage that needs to be taken care of.  A septic tank is installed for a family that is now being used by many more individuals than a single family would have. There seems to be a trend towards homes  being built now so large that there is definitely a move from homes into small hotels.  

The amount of water going into a home has been plumbed for a family.  However, there is more water need when it becomes a short-term rental.  The size of the pipe going into the home cannot carry the amount of water needed.  There are five and six bathrooms in many of these homes today perhaps a formula is needed to determine the size of the pipe going into those homes.  The city needs to get more water rights to be able to handle the needs that are starting to show.

It is a real challenge to know how much to allow and yet be fair to all of the citizens in the community.  It is very difficult to determine the power, water, and sewer needs.  When buildings become bigger, it brings problems that are unexpected.  The city needs to be aware of size and move to commercial standards instead of using residential standards.

Garden City is becoming a more year-around area for tourists, not just during the summer months.  People want to be active year around.  There is snowmobiling, snowshoeing, skiing, fishing, ATVs, and the list continues.

The City needs to take advantage of impact fees and make sure they are doing what is needed. 

Again, a decision needs to be made as to what is a residential short-tern rental compared to a small hotel.  Would 20 people in a home be residential and 40 people a hotel?  The group said that this needs to be discussed, worked on and a determination made. 

Garbage in another issue.  The rentals do create more garbage than a residential home in the City.  There will be a public hearing this next month in Randolph dealing with garbage pickup and how much of a fee increase there should be.  Garbage is a county issue.  The Commissioners have come up with a formula, and it would be a good idea for people to go to the meeting and see how much the increase will be in order to take care of this issue.

Utilities needs to be charged fairly.    Road size is also an issue.  In many of the subdivisions they are too narrow which causes all kinds of problems especially in the winter dealing with snow removal.

The current sewer system is almost at capacity.  In fact, during a peak day, it is at full capacity.  Decisions need to be made to take care of this issue.

Garden City is looking at water delivery right now.  The new million-gallon tank has been purchased and will be put in use soon.  The city has been proactive in this area. The tank can carry and take care of the water needs for the next few years.

The group agreed that “we want Garden City to grow.”  Currently, the fees in the city are some of the smallest in the nation.  They are low.  However, down the road, some changes will need to be made here as well.

Impact fees will need to be put in place and/or changed.  There is such a thing as a “pillow tax” that is being used in a lot of areas.  The city is currently investigating this item and hope it will give some answers.  Administrative costs are on the rise.

The city is doing well.  However, we need to look to the future and keep up with changes.  The above are just a few items that everyone in the City needs to know and think about.  Hopefully, many citizens will be able to come up with ideas that will solve some of these problems.

Right now, the City is looking at 6,500 square feet as the break between residential and hotel size buildings.  Currently the fire code says more fire protection is needed in a home of 3,600 square feet.  Going commercial is much more expensive to build than the smaller homes. 

There will be another work meeting, probably in February.  Keep checking for a notice in the post office and come to the meeting with ideas and solutions.