Short-term residential rentals may be appearing in Kalispell, but they are operating illegally for now, city officials said Monday.

“Right now, they’re just not allowed under the terms in the ordinance but we know a lot of them have popped up,” City Planner P.J. Sorensen said.

At Monday’s City Council work session, city officials agreed to examine a number of conditions to allow short-term rentals inside city limits.

These conditions included life-safety checks on things such as smoke detectors, acquiring contact information for neighbors who want to report issues such as noise and ensuring that short-term rental owners are registered with the Montana Department of Revenue to make sure owners are collecting bed taxes.

The bed tax is a statewide 4 percent tax imposed on lodging facilities. The money is distributed to local tourism organizations such as the Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The current zoning ordinance defines “residential” to include rental periods of one month or more. Periods of time less than one month are either hotels or bed-and-breakfasts.

Short-term rentals, often used by travelers for vacations (the city has defined short-term residential and vacation rentals as synonymous) don’t currently meet standards set for hotels and bed-and-breakfasts, so they’re technically illegal.

Sorensen said the Planning Office found over 100 websites such as Airbnb, VRBO and Craigslist that offer short-term vacation rentals. He said with increasing demand for short-term rentals, it’s hard to keep track of how many are currently offered in Kalispell.

“It’s tough to come up with any type of number,” Sorensen said. “We counted 23 last summer, but when they’re listed as Kalispell, some are in the city and some aren’t.”

The Planning Office has received three or four complaints from neighbors each year about vacation rentals. But the city has recognized the increasing market for vacation rentals and wants to allow rentals that bring travelers to Kalispell.

Diane Medler, director of the Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the organization has already taken a hit due to travelers escaping the bed tax through short-term rentals.

“We’re definitely seeing the effects around events,” Medler said during the public comment period of Monday’s work session. “Teams are selecting to stay in houses” rather than hotels.

Medler said she supports the use of and increasing demand for short-term rentals that bring visitors to Kalispell, but would like to see the loophole in the bureau’s revenue source closed.

“My point is they should be following the law and collecting bed tax,” Medler said.

The council will hear the first reading of an ordinance setting conditions for short-term rentals on May 2, Sorensen said. If the ordinance passes, he said, the conditions would take effect in mid-June.

At Monday’s work session, the council examined 15 zoning ordinance amendments brought by the city Planning Board. Most amendments were simple housecleaning measures to update things such as language and new technology applications.

“The vast majority is just kind of cleaning things up and smoothing out the language,” Sorensen said.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.