Yesterday was a good day!
Mayor Hoover stated that he received almost 90 emails.
The Mayor opened his speech by praising the authors of those emails and thanked them for the respectful delivery of their message. As a result of “putting faces on the issue”, he feels that the council should “delay any action that carries with it a better than 50% chance of unintended consequences that make the situation worse.” With that said, he feels the ordinance that went into effect on April 1 left some important issues unresolved.
The larger issue of workforce housing is very important to Mayor Hoover. He mentioned addressing the need to find solutions, in his words “breaking the log jam on our perpetual problem.” He agrees there is no direct path to solving the housing problem by over-regulating the STR industry. Although, he stated he can’t ignore the impact STRs have on the lack of affordable housing.
He pledged to "work on the resolution of the impact of STRs on the lack of housing opportunities, in a different way, with a different mindset." He does not see the STR industry or the people working in it as an enemy. He wants to learn more about the STR industry.
A Task Force consisting of representatives from the STR Alliance, the Neighborhood Coalition, and some Realtors has been appointed. They will be tasked with finding some common ground and working to improve the Ordinance for the betterment of our town.
Mayor Hoover closed with recognizing the urgency of addressing the problem houses. Although, he did mention an hour or so later, that there are only four to five problem STRs in town that he has been made aware of.
We can’t thank you enough for taking the time to write to the Mayor, City Council and City Manager. Your voices were heard! Hopefully common ground can be reached with the findings and solutions offered by the Task Force.