City grappling with tourist house conundrum

Tourism is an essential component of the local economy but the potential proliferation of tourist houses — Airbnbs, VRBOs and the like — is a concern for those who believe short-term rentals may pose a risk to residential neighborhoods.

In recent weeks, as the City of Rhinelander plan commission considered and ultimately approved a conditional use permit (CUP) allowing for the operation of a tourist house on Woodland Drive, the tension between those who see short-term rentals as a safe, potentially lucrative way to make use of an empty home and those who worry that transient housing will negatively impact well-established single family enclaves has intensified. 

On one side are those who argue that single family residential neighborhoods are a poor fit for the increasingly popular practice of renting out homes to tourists who want to experience a community through a short-term stay in a residence rather than a few nights in a hotel. 

On the other side of the debate, there are those who argue it doesn’t make sense to restrict tourist houses in a community that depends on tourism. 

The May 7 meeting of the city’s plan commission featured commentary from individuals on both sides of the debate. The remarks were prompted by an agenda item, listed as discussion only, on whether tourist houses should be allowed in the city’s R1 (single family residential) zoning district.

During public comment, Woodland Drive resident Brandon Karaba noted that all municipalities are intentional in choosing which areas should be designated R1 and which should be R2 (single and two-family dwelling) and the two districts are not the same.

He suggested the city follow the town of Minocqua’s lead and prohibit short-term rentals of less than 7 days. Prohibiting stays of just two or three days protects single family neighborhoods by reducing disturbance in the form of a constant influx of new people in and out of the area, he noted.

This practice has been very successful in Minocqua as numerous permits have been issued and only two have been revoked, he noted.

“It’s effective. It’s been proven. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel,” he said.

In response, Jolene and Kevin Kopplin, who were granted a permit to operate the Woodland Drive house, brought up the area’s long history as a tourist destination.

“My permit was approved but the reason I still wanted to speak today regarding the proposal to eliminate the approval of tourist homes in R1 neighborhoods is because it still follows the premise that somehow tourists are bad, or tourists are bad for a neighborhood, or tourists are dangerous for a neighborhood,” she said. 

Kopplin went on to assert that there is no evidence that short-term rentals have caused disturbances for neighbors.

 “There’s no evidence they have detracted from our community. There’s no evidence that they caused an increase in local crime. There’s no evidence that they have put our children at risk and there’s no evidence that the tourists coming into the area are criminals or pedophiles or anything of that sort,” she added. “If any of this were true, community, local organizations, the chamber of commence and the city’s own plan commission, wouldn’t all have a mission to be recruiting tourists to our area,” she continued. “We know that tourists enrich our area, they bring money to our economy and we value tourists coming to the area. We can’t be doing that (encouraging tourism) on one hand and then on the other hand say ‘oh no, not in my neighborhood.’”

Kopplin complimented Karaba on his work with the Kiwanis Club in raising funds for  a new splashpad and playground in Hodag Park and noted the splashpad could certainly “attract out-of-town and even out-of-state visitors to the area and, of course, the splashpark is going to welcome out-of-town people to play with the children of our community but then, on the same token, claim that they are not welcome to stay in our neighborhoods, our special neighborhoods, they’re not worthy of that. It just doesn’t really make sense. They don’t cause a disruption, they are not unruly people. We can’t think of them that way otherwise we wouldn’t want them in our community and we wouldn’t be recruiting them.”

Kopplin finished her remarks by suggesting that short-term guests do not come and go at any higher rate than local families where both spouses are traveling to and from work on a daily basis and making other trips to transport children to various sports, activities and events. For his part, Kevin Kopplin told the commission that zoning in Rhinelander “is not consistent at all as far as R1 neighborhoods and R2 neighborhoods.”

For example, he noted that the lake side of Lakeshore Drive is zoned R1 while the other side is designated as R2. There are also neighborhoods where the majority of the homes are zoned R2 but two or three are listed as R1.

“So, if we’re going to talk about the zoning districts, I think we need to also have consistency in what’s R1, R2, R3,” he said. “Maybe certain areas should be rezoned as R2.”

“In conclusion, I’m just saying it’s not as easy as just saying no tourist houses in R1, there’s a lot more to it,” he added.

The three members of the commission present in person ( three members were absent and Mayor Kris Hanus appeared via Zoom) did not directly address the issue.

City administrator Patrick Reagan and zoning director Veronica Tonnancour indicated it might be beneficial for the members of the commission to take some time to review the packet of material submitted by Karaba regarding the town of Minocqua’s approach to short-term rentals.

The discussion ended with Hanus suggesting the city consider adjusting its ordinance so that residences in R1 can only be rented out one time in a 7-day period. In other words, stays of two or three days would be allowed but the residence would need to be unoccupied for the remainder of the 7-day period.

This topic was also expected to be on the agenda for the city council’s May 13 meeting which took place after this edition went to press. 

Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].