HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/19/2018 15 Hotel and Motel Zoning Ordinance DefinitionsITEM TITLE:
SUBMITTED BY:
BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDASTATEMENT
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Item No. 15.
For Meeting of: June 19, 2018
Consideration of potential definitions of Hotel & Motel for Zoning
Ordinance
Joan Davenport, Al CP, Community Development Director
Joseph Calhoun, Planning Manager (509) 575-6042
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
At the June 5, 2018 City Council meeting, staff was directed to bring zoning definitions for
"Hotels & Motels" for discussion at the June 19, 2018 City Council meeting. The requested
review of definitions for Hotel uses was in addition to the Council also directed an Ad Hoc
community group to discuss the issues of temporary worker housing. The Council expressed
concern about the lack of a zoning definition for hotels in Yakima. Staff has provided the
requested pertinent information in the attached report.
If Council provides direction on the specifics of a requested Hotel & Motel definition, a public
hearing can be scheduled.
ITEM BUDGETED:
NA
STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Economic Development
APPROVED FOR
SUBMITTAL:
City Manager
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Provide direction to staff
BOARD/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Upload Date Type
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memo 6/14/2018 Coker Memo
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MEMORANDUM
To: Honorable Mayor Coffey and Members of the Yakima City Council
From: Joan Davenport, Community Development Director
Joseph Calhoun, Planning Manager
Date: June 19, 2018
Subj: Motel/ Hotel Definitions
1. Background Information:
The City of Yakima Zoning Ordinance, YMC Title 15, does not currently have a definition for
Motel/Hotel. Since 2002, the City of Yakima has permitted the construction/renovation of 7 new
hotels, some of which include extended stay offerings to guests as part of their operation.
Despite not having a definition, the proposals were permitted as hotels in accordance with YMC
§ 15.02.020, based on the "ordinary accepted meaning within the context with which they are
used.
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Motels and Hotels are currently allowed in several commercial zoning districts, as follows:
SR
R-1
R-2
R_3
B-1
B-2
H
SCC
LCC
AS
C
CD
RD,
M-2
Metes ,end Hatels
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Note, that in all zones except SCC where hotels/motels are allowed they are allowed w.th a
Type 1 review, which is an administrative review with no notice to adjacent landowners. In the
SCC, a Type 2 review is required that does provide notice and an opportunity to comment to
surrounding landowners.
On June 5, 2018, Council moved to direct staff to bring different drafts of a text amendment
defining specific definitions for Hotel/Motel to the June 19, 2018 council meeting.
2. Current Hotel/Motel definition examples:
Washington State defines "Hotels, Lodging House, Etc." as:
"Any building held out to the public to be an inn, hotel or public lodging house or place
where sleeping accommodations, whether with or without meals, or the facilities for
preparing the same, are furnished for hire to transient guests, in which three or more
rooms are used for the accommodation of such guests, shall for the purposes of this
chapter and chapter 60 64 RCW, or any amendment thereof, only, be defined to be a
hotel, and whenever the word hotel shall occur in this chapter and chapter 60,64 RCW,
or any amendment thereof, it shall be construed to mean a hotel as herein described."
(RCW 19.48.010).
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In YMC 11.13 (Buildings and Safety Code) there is a definition of hotel for purposes of the
building safety code for apartments and hotels, adopted by the City Council in 1973 and
updated in 1979. That definition is as follows:
"Hotel" means any building, more than one story in height, containing four or more guest
rooms designed to be used for sleeping purposes, and includes accommodations known
as motels, tourist courts, motor lodges and similar accommodations which meet the
definition of this section; provided, "hotel" does not include any jail, hospital, asylum,
sanitarium, orphanage, prison, detention home or other institutions in which human
beings are housed and detained under legal restraint.
Finally, staff reviewed how several cities in Washington State define the use (see Appendix A
for complete list).
A. City of Seattle
"Lodging use" means a commercial use in which the primary activity is the provision of rooms
to transients. Lodging uses include but are not limited to the following uses:
1. "Bed and breakfast" means a lodging use where rooms within a single dwelling unit
are provided to transients by a resident operator for a fee by prearrangement on a
daily or short-term basis. A breakfast and/or light snacks may be served to those
renting rooms in the bed and breakfast.
2. "Hotel" means a lodging use located in a structure in which access to individual
units is predominantly by means of common interior hallways, and in which a
majority of the rooms are provided to transients for a fee on a daily or short-term
basis.
3. "Motel" means a lodging use located in a structure in which access to individual
units is predominantly by means of common exterior corridors, and in which a
majority of the rooms are provided to transients on a daily or short-term basis, and
in which off-street parking is provided on the lot.
4. "Short-term rental" means a lodging use that is not a bed and breakfast, hotel, or
motel, in which a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, is offered or provided to a
guest(s) by a short-term rental operator for a fee for fewer than 30 consecutive
nights. A dwelling unit, or portion thereof, that is used by the same person for 30 or
more consecutive nights is not a short-term rental. A dwelling unit, or portion
thereof, that is operated by an organization or government entity that is registered
as a charitable organization with the Secretary of State, State of Washington,
and/or is classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity or private
foundation, and provides temporary housing to individuals who are being treated
for trauma, injury, or disease, and/or their family members, is not a short-term
rental.
Yakima already has a definition of bed and breakfast, as follows: "a residential structure
providing individuals with lodging and meals for not more than thirty days. For home
occupations, such uses are limited to having not more than five lodging units or guest rooms.
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Seattle's "short term rental" definition is intended to cover vacation rentals through platforms
such as AirBnB and VRBO where people rent out rooms, their apartments or their whole house
to travelers. The City of Yakima does not have a definition or regulations for such vacation
rentals and that was not part of the Council's directive to staff.
Seattle's definitions of hotel and motel provide that a majority of rooms are to be available to
transients for daily or short-term use. Transient (although not defined in the Seattle code)
means something other than a resident—a temporary use of the property. Short term is also
undefined in the code. Generally speaking, undefined terms have their ordinary meanings. As
such, a majority of the rooms in a hotel must be used for accommodations for people for a short
period of time—they can't be there as their permanent residence. The main difference between
the two is the set-up of the building.
In both of these situations, a majority of the rooms must be set aside for short-term transient
accommodations.
B. City of Auburn
The City of Auburn specifically contemplates extended stay accommodations in its definition of
hotel. Extended stay hotels are a growing market, and Yakima is no exception as there are two
new extended stay hotels in progress. Auburn's definition of hotel is as follows:
"Hotel" means any building containing six or more guest rooms intended or designed to
be used, or which are used, rented, or hired out to be occupied, or which
are occupied for sleeping purposes by guests, and includes additional amenities such as
banquet halls and meeting facilities. Hotels include but are not limited to motels and
extended stay hotel accommodations. Hotels do not include renting of rooms,
boardinghouses, or bed and breakfast accommodations
This definition contemplates guest rooms and traditional amenities at hotels. The definition also
specifically states that motels and extended stay hotels fall under the definition. It then
specifically states that renting a room to someone would not fall under such definition, nor would
boarding houses or bed and breakfasts.
Yakima has definitions for boarding houses and bed and breakfasts, so putting language similar
to Auburn's in a definition could make clear that if a building falls under the definition of a
boarding house that it cannot be a hotel. Further, the definition does not allow renting rooms in
a landlord/tenant type of relationship to people and calling the business a hotel.
There are some possible local issues associated with ensuring that hotels do not provide rooms
for rent for Extended Stay uses. There are some businesses that are licensed as hotels that
rent rooms by the month. In some cases they may rent rooms by the month to the same people
for extended periods of time—thus renting rooms more like residences than transient
accommodations. Any evaluation of the definition of hotels may want to look at how the change
in definition would affect those businesses.
C. City of Pasco
We point out the City of Pasco's ordinance because staff has used Pasco as an example of a
City that has migrant and H2A housing within the City at a former hotel/motel. Pasco's definition
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is very broad and encompasses traditional hotels/motels, extended stay hotels, and hotels used
as month to month residencies. It states as follows:
"Hotels or motels" means any commercial establishment offering lodging to travelers and
sometimes to permanent residents.
Such a definition would encompass all aspects of hotels and motels, including the use of them
for month to month tenancies for people who are unable to find other rental opportunities. This
definition would allow permanent residences within hotels and motels even though they may not
have all of the amenities required in dwellings (such as kitchens). It also allows longer-term
stays and the ability to use hotel/motel accommodations for permanent residents.
3. Planning Commission recommendation
The Planning Commission created and recommended the following definition of hotel/motel
during its review of congregate living and in its March 28, 2018 recommendation to Council:
"Motel/Hotel" means a commercial establishment offering transient lodging or lodging
and meals to the general public for compensation. Accessory uses to Motel/Hotels may
include restaurants, meeting rooms or recreational facilities.
This definition requires that the commercial establishment offers transient lodging to the general
public for compensation. Transient would have its general dictionary definition if there was a
question of whether an application met the definition of "motel/hotel." Unlike some other
examples, this example did not indicate how many units constituted a motel/hotel, nor does it
make any statement about extended stay accommodations.
4. Extended Stay
If the Council wishes a "Hotel" definition that excludes Extended Stay uses, that should be
added to the definition of Hotel. And a definition of Extended Stay Hotels of more than 30 days
would need to be added to the Zoning Ordinance. This would require a new land use category
to be added to Table 4-1.
Extended Stay;
Next Steps:
City Council can combine any of these definitions, use the definition proposed by the Planning
Commission, or direct staff to create a new definition, which may include language specific to
extended stay (more than 30 days), or other types of accommodations. Staff will then draft an
Ordinance specifying the new proposed definition based on council feedback, after which the
Council will need to schedule the matter for an open record public hearing. After adoption, the
Ordinance will be effective 30 days after publication.
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Appendix A
The following examples come from several cities in Washington State, both eastern and
western, and are presented as information and options for council to consider. Like Yakima,
there are cities that do not have a definition. Cities that define the use range from a single
sentence to a broad scope including numbers of units, length of stay, and/or the inclusion of
other amenities.
1. Spokane
No definitions in zoning code for hotel or motel.
Spokane does regulate short term rentals for less than 30 days in a dwelling unit—such as an
AirBnB or VRBO rental.
2. Walla Walla
No definitions in zoning code for hotel or motel.
However, Walla Walla does have a code section that applies to short term rentals. This section
addresses the AirBnB and VRBO situations where dwellings are used for short term vacation
rentals. Walla Walla also has code sections addressing bed and breakfasts specifically.
3. Vancouver
No definitions in zoning code for hotel or motel.
4. Pasco
"Hotels or motels" means any commercial establishment offering lodging to travelers and
sometimes to permanent residents. (Ord. 4369, 2017)
5. Wenatchee
"Hotel" means a building or portion thereof designed or used as a commercial establishment
offering lodging to persons with the rental of six or more units for sleeping purposes. A central
kitchen, dining room(s), shops and services available to hotel guests and the general public are
common and ordinary accessory activities.
"Motel" means a building or group of buildings where lodging is available in six or more separate
rooms to guests for compensation and providing parking for automobiles adjacent to the
lodging. Said building or group of buildings include, but are not limited to, tourist court, motor
lodge, auto court, cabin court, motor inn, and similar terms.
6. Spokane Valley
Hotel/motel: A building in which there are six or more guest rooms where lodging with or without
meals is provided for compensation, and where no provision is made for cooking in any
individual room or suite. See "Lodging, use category."
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7. Everett
"Hotel" means a facility offering transient lodging accommodations on a daily rate to the general
public which may also provide incidental services such as restaurants, meeting rooms or
recreational facilities.
"Motel" means a building providing transient lodging with parking conveniently located to each
unit, which may also include incidental uses such as meeting rooms, restaurants, etc.
8. Kent
Hotel means any building containing six (6) or more guestrooms which are intended or designed
to be used or which are used, rented, or hired out to be occupied or which are occupied for
sleeping purposes by guests.
Motel, including hotel and motor hotel, means a building or group of buildings comprising
individual sleeping or living units for the accommodation of transient guests for compensation.
9. Auburn
"Hotel" means any building containing six or more guest rooms intended or designed to be
used, or which are used, rented, or hired out to be occupied, or which are occupied for sleeping
purposes by guests, and includes additional amenities such as banquet halls and meeting
facilities. Hotels include but are not limited to motels and extended stay hotel accommodations.
Hotels do not include renting of rooms, boardinghouses, or bed and breakfast accommodations
(Ord. 6245 § 3, 2009, Ord. 4229 § 2, 1987.)
"Motel" or "motor hotel" means a group of buildings containing individual sleeping or living units,
designed for use by automobile tourists or transients, with garage attached or parking
space conveniently located to each unit. (Ord. 6245 § 3, 2009; Ord. 4229 § 2, 1987.)
10. Bellevue
Hotel/Motel. A building or portion thereof designed or used to provide transient lodging of six or
more units in any building or more than 20 percent of the units comprising a development. A
central kitchen and dining room and accessory shops and services catering to the general
public can be provided. Institutions housing persons under legal restraint or requiring medical
attention or care, bed and breakfasts and boarding houses are not included within the scope of
this definition. (Ord. 5301, 6-18-01, § 3)
11. Bellingham
"Hotel" means a building, other than a motel, providing lodging with or without meals for the
public and especially for temporary guests, but which does not have cooking facilities in
individual rooms.
"Motel" means a building or group of buildings containing rooms where lodging with or without
meals is provided for compensation. Cooking facilities may be installed, provided no more than
10 percent of the motel units contain complete cooking facilities, and cooking facilities in the
remaining units are limited to a "countertop range" with no oven. Motels shall be designed to
accommodate the automobile tourist or transient; daily maid service shall be provided, and
parking facilities must be provided convenient to each guest room.
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12. Kennewick
Hotel means a facility offering transient lodging accommodations on a daily rate to the general
public and may include additional services, such as restaurants, meeting rooms, and
recreational facilities. (See Transient accommodations). Note, Transient Accommodations
definition was repealed 2007)
Motel means a building or group of detached buildings designed or used primarily for
providing sleeping accommodations for automobile travelers and having a parking space
adjacent to a sleeping room.
13. Lynnwood
"Apartment hotel" means a building providing accommodations for transient guests in which at
least 50 percent of the gross habitable floor area is devoted to dwelling units.
14. Seattle
"Lodging use" means a commercial use in which the primary activity is the provision of rooms
to transients. Lodging uses include but are not limited to the following uses:
5. "Bed and breakfast" means a lodging use where rooms within a single dwelling unit
are provided to transients by a resident operator for a fee by prearrangement on a
daily or short-term basis. A breakfast and/or light snacks may be served to those
renting rooms in the bed and breakfast.
6. "Hotel" means a lodging use located in a structure in which access to individual
units is predominantly by means of common interior hallways, and in which a
majority of the rooms are provided to transients for a fee on a daily or short-term
basis.
7. "Motel" means a lodging use located in a structure in which access to individual
units is predominantly by means of common exterior corridors, and in which a
majority of the rooms are provided to transients on a daily or short-term basis, and
in which off-street parking is provided on the lot.
8. "Short-term rental" means a lodging use that is not a bed and breakfast, hotel, or
motel, in which a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, is offered or provided to a
guest(s) by a short-term rental operator for a fee for fewer than 30 consecutive
nights. A dwelling unit, or portion thereof, that is used by the same person for 30 or
more consecutive nights is not a short-term rental. A dwelling unit, or portion
thereof, that is operated by an organization or government entity that is registered
as a charitable organization with the Secretary of State, State of Washington,
and/or is classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity or private
foundation, and provides temporary housing to individuals who are being treated
for trauma, injury, or disease, and/or their family members, is not a short-term
rental.