New Ordinances And Public Hearing

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  July 9, 2015.  The Public Hearing was called to order at 6:00 p.m.  The first ordinance discussed was #15-26, an ordinance updating the parking and loading requirements in the Town of Garden City. 

This ordinance dealing with parking and loading requirements is based on business characteristics.  Since the City plan is that businesses on Bear Lake Blvd. will eventually be contiguous to each other, parking should be placed in the back of the businesses.  The ordinance should have definitions for some of the terms used, and a transportation plan needs to be added.

The other ordinance is #15-27, an ordinance establishing life safety requirements for sensors/detectors and fire sprinkler systems.  To retrofit current buildings with sprinkler systems would be much too costly for everyone.  It would, however, be reasonable that any new building over 6,500 square feet could be required to put in a sprinkler system.  These systems are the most effective way of stopping fires.

Smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire extinguishers are already required in short-term rental homes and commercial businesses.  Responses to these devices are slow.  However, these devices do alert anyone in the building to get outside.  The building may be lost, but the people inside are generally able to get to safety. 

Monitoring systems also require the installation of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, but generally are able to get a faster response time.  They are not nearly as costly as the water system.  There is an installation cost and a monthly fee for the monitoring capability.

The City has a potential liability when short-term rental homes are not properly fitted with monitoring systems.  These devices would help with public safety, lower the City’s liability, and result in a quicker response.  Mayor Spuhler felt that especially all of the short-term rentals should be required to obtain a monitoring system.

Several citizens attending the hearing were against a monitoring system.  It was suggested by the Fire Chief that perhaps all short-term rentals should be inspected annually instead of only once at the time of obtaining a license.  That way the City would know if the fire alarms and CO detectors are working and fires extinguishers are properly certified.  A charge of $30 for the annual inspection would be the same amount that is charged for the original inspection.  The Fire Department could handle this inspection and would make sure all short-term rentals were maintaining these safety devices.

Another suggestion was made that perhaps the City should get an insurance policy with a much higher liability amount.  That would at least partially mitigate any lawsuits that could be brought against the City.

It was also suggested that perhaps the short-term rentals pay a larger fee to obtain and renew their license each year.  The price suggested was $50 for a short-term rental license. 

It was noted that many times short-term rental homes do not follow the requirement of having a contact person that is available 24/7, 365 days a year, and who lives within 15 minutes of the short-term rental unit.  This contact person should also be able to take care of minor problems that arise.  It was suggested that the owners of these units that are in violation should be made to pay.  A fee could be set, and the money collected from this infraction could be placed in a fund to help pay for the City’s liability insurance.

Another suggestion was made that perhaps the managers of the short-term rentals raise their fees slightly.  That money could also be used to help pay for the City’s liability.

It was also suggested that short-term rental owners should be encouraged to obtain better insurance themselves so that they, too, would be able to mitigate some of the costs in case of a lawsuit. 

It was noted that the City should follow-up on the short-term rentals and ask the managers how many days the units are rented each summer.  That would allow the City to determine if all taxes that are required have been collected and submitted to the proper authorities.

The public hearing was closed.

THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING WAS RESUMED

The motion was made concerning ordinance #15-26, an ordinance updating the parking and loading requirements in the Town of Garden City.  It was decided that definitions needed to be added to the ordinance, and that the section concerning berms and swells should be removed from the ordinance.  The motion was approved with the above suggested changes.

Ordinance #15-27 was read.   Item 9-606 was removed from the ordinance.  It was decided in section 9-607 that sprinklers would be required on all new structures over 6,500 square feet in size.  Part A2 of this same section was removed from the ordinance.  The MAS abbreviation was removed from section 9-608.  With those changes, the ordinance was passed.

It was noted that several suggestions that were made dealing with short term rentals require a public hearing in order to put them in place.  If the suggestions are accepted, this ordinance will then be updated to add the items desired.  Also it was suggested the monitored safety alarm systems be high recommended to short-term rental owners and managers.  This suggestion could be placed on the short-term rental license so that all owners and managers are aware of safety concerns of the City.

Resolution #R15-05, a resolution to update the administrative code infraction fine schedule to include a fine for violations to quiet hours and noise was discussed.  There have been some quite serious infractions of quiet hours and noise recently.  Apparently the fine was not large enough to make any difference to those creating the problem.  It was asked that the fine be changed from $150 to $5,000.  The first infraction will continue to be a warning; the 2^nd infraction will be $5,000, and so forth.  The motion was made and passed.