— The Otter Tail County Board passed a resolution to adopt the vacation home rental ordinance at its meeting on Tuesday, June 11. Commissioners Kurt Mortenson, Wayne Johnson, Robert Lahman and Leland Rogness all voted in favor of the resolution.
The vacation home rental ordinance establishes a licensing program for vacation home rentals. Licensees must also meet the standards and licensing requirements of the Otter Tail County lodging ordinance.
All existing vacation home rentals that received a lodging license prior to the effective date of the VHR ordinance will automatically be issued a vacation home rental license and must meet all the requirements of the VHR ordinance. Licenses must be renewed each year.
The ordinance defines a vacation home rental as any home, cabin, condominium or similar building that is advertised as a place where sleeping quarters are furnished to the public on a nightly, weekly or less than 30-day period and is not a bed and breakfast, resort, hotel or motel.
It also sets standards for occupancy, noise, parking, pets and more. The maximum occupancy allowed at VHRs sets limits for both overnight guests and daytime guests. The maximum occupancy allowed is calculated by bedroom sizing or the size of the septic system, whichever is less. Use of recreational vehicles, tents or fish houses for overnight or sleeping accommodations is prohibited. Quiet hours are also set from 10 p.m. – 7 a.m.
Parking can’t occur on yards, septic systems or other green spaces. Pets must be leashed or within sight of an adult and under verbal command at all times, regardless of distractions. These are just a few examples of the standards set by the ordinance.
Contributed / Otter Tail County
District 1 Commissioner Dan Bucholz, who represents Perham, was the only board member to vote against the resolution because he said he felt the ordinance should take effect Jan. 1, 2025, rather than July 1, 2024.
“There are people that have permits already, they’re on board for the whole year, and there’s some big events coming up and it’s heartbreaking to some people,” Bucholz said. “I don’t think that’s fair to the homeowners of the rentals. So I would like to see it moved to January 2025.”
Rogness agreed with Bucholz, and they attempted to pass an amendment to change the effective date for the ordinance, but the amendment didn’t pass.
“There’s a perception that this is heavy-handed, and I suppose any regulation that’s proposed could have that tone, and I’m concerned about that,” Rogness said. “I would offer a motion to amend the starting date to January 2025. I think when we institute this at a later date, we’ll be well founded on it and give some peace of mind in the middle of this season of the year.”
Johnson gave his thoughts on the proposed amendment before voting against it.
“Another summer without any ability to correct bad behavior is just putting our staff in a really horrible spot,” Johnson said. “Frankly, from my perspective, I don’t see this affecting 95% of the people that have vacation home rentals. I don’t see how it would affect them. They’re good operators. Unless they’re bad operators and there’s complaints, no one from the office is going out to check on people.”
Prior to passing the VHR ordinance, the Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners held an open house meeting at the Vergas Events Center on Monday, June 10. A variety of topics came up at the meeting, but the VHR ordinance became the main point of discussion, with multiple people voicing their support of and opposition to it.
One argument brought up was that some property owners have renters booked up a year in advance, and some of those renters are planning to host things like weddings and youth fishing events — all of which would exceed the new ordinance’s daytime maximum occupancy.
Otter Tail County resident Kristen Erdman was in favor of the ordinance because she has had poor experiences with vacation home renters in her neighborhood.
“I purchased a home in a residential neighborhood on a lake and I work from home,” Erdman said. “I didn’t buy a home next to a resort for parties every week during the summer, which is what the intent of a vacation home is. This ordinance is necessary to respect the residents who live in the neighborhood on a permanent basis. They have not chosen to be near this VHR experience on a day-to-day basis.”
Williams has worked as a reporter for the Perham Focus since April 2024. He has also worked at a newspaper in New Baltimore, Michigan, after graduating from Michigan State University in 2019.
