SANDPOINT — The City Council and Mayor Jeremy Grimm made speeches against House Bill 583 before unanimously prolonging the process of repealing the city’s current short-term rental ordinance.

All councilors in attendance said they were opposed to the changes brought before them, which would repeal the ordinance to bring the city in line with state law. H.B. 583, which bars cities from having any regulations, outside of health and safety, on short-term rentals, was signed into law by Gov. Brad Little after passing in the Idaho Legislature.  

“Although I realize that we have to comply with state law, I think House Bill 583 was some of the worst legislation I've ever seen,” Grimm said. “Allowing unfettered short-term rental speculators and investors to come in and buy our housing stock, displace the opportunity for a local resident or employee to live ... in my mind is not the direction we need to be going as a community.” 

H.B. 583 will go into effect July 1, giving the council some time before needing to repeal the ordinance, and it’s time they intend to use. The new ordinance passed its first reading by title only, 3-2, with Grimm breaking a hesitant tie alongside Council President Deb Ruehle and Councilor Josh Torrez, with Councilors Kyle Schreiber and Pam Duquette dissenting. 

Schreiber called the legislation “short-sighted” and said he was 100% against repealing the STR ordinance.  

“It’s in the best interest of the city not wanting to litigate with the company as large as VRBO and Airbnb,” Ruehle said before voting. “I would like to vote with these [Duquette and Schreiber], but I do have a fiduciary responsibility to all the taxpayers of this city, so I will very disgustingly and apprehensively vote yes.” 

Following that vote, the council voted unanimously, 4-0, against suspending the Idaho law that requires ordinances to be read three times before adoption. With that vote, adoption of the ordinance will come before the council at its next meeting and potentially the second meeting in June. 

“I'd just like to follow that up in the statement. I'd like this to be read that many more times, so we can express our disgust publicly,” Ruehle said. 

Before the vote, Schreiber asked if the repeal of the ordinance would have any effect on the city’s lodging tax revenue, which STRs contribute to. Grimm said the city would receive its revenue from the state tax commission after the large corporations that run STR sites like Airbnb and VRBO submit their data to the state. 

In an interview with the Bonner County Daily Bee in April, Little said the sponsors of the bill, which included Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, admitted H.B. 583 wasn’t perfect. He added that there was a commitment made by Little and the sponsors to look at the STR issue in the next legislative session. 

“I looked at it, and in fact, the short-term rental bill, the sponsors of it readily admit that it wasn't perfect,” Little said in April. “There was kind of a commitment they're going to look at it next year, and I told them I'd work with them.”  

The repealed STR ordinance will come before the City Council again at its next meeting, scheduled for June 3 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.