A flawed system

Dear editor:

We should all give thanks to the city board for their selfless effort and time to administer the laws and ordinances that hopefully work for the greatest good for the greatest number of citizens.

I recently had occasion to speak to the city board on the issue of short-term rentals because of a number of them having recently been established in my neighborhood. Very sadly, none of us in the neighborhood had been given any advance notice by the city that such a “special use permit” had been requested for what was essentially a group of “motel houses,” with strangers coming and going on a regular basis. We had no chance whatsoever to be involved in the permit process that has significantly altered the nature of our neighborhood. And according to one local Realtor, it has adversely affected the chance to sell our property if we so choose.

I don’t know who drafted the current policy, but it certainly seems to have little or no regard for the wishes of those being affected — the neighbors. Neither does the current policy seem to be at all concerned with the quality of life issues, so important to many of us, especially we who are fortunate enough to live on the lake.

In my opinion, we currently have an extremely flawed process. It “puts the cart before the horse.”

One person, the director of planning and development for the city, is assigned the task of giving a thumbs-up or thumbsdown on what is essentially a zoning variant. To my knowledge, his only concern is that the property be up to code; all the toilets flush and there are a certain required number of fire extinguishers. Once this is established a permit is issued. Once the permit is issued, a small sign, “permit issued,” is placed on the property, giving a website for further information (we never saw such a sign on our street, and one must wonder how easy it would be for an applicant to remove it). Only after the permit is issued can one appeal the decision, which involves going before the city board, and all that entails. To date, there have been only two appeals submitted to the city board.

To me, reason dictates that neighbors should be notified before such a potentially dramatic change in their lives takes place. Such change can negatively affect the ambience and character of a neighborhood and perhaps — more importantly — it has been shown to adversely affect property values and the appeal of a property.

Would you want to buy a property next to such a “motel house”? For, no matter what fancy name you put on it, that is what it is.

Because of these realities, I feel led to urge all interested citizens of Hot Springs, who want to protect their property’s value and the nature of their neighborhood, to contact their representatives on the board of directors and urge them immediately freeze all short-term rental permits until a new ordinance with “due process” can be drafted. This ordinance should involve prior mail-out notification to those affected and allow citizen input before such permits are granted by the city.

John R. Bomar Hot Springs