An analysis of local Airbnb listings shows at least 80 hosts booking accommodations in violation of Pullman zoning codes as city officials look to assess existing policies and the growing impact of short-term rentals.
Several of those hosts, including a Pullman Planning Commission member and the nonprofit director overseeing the area’s affordable housing program, admitted they had not known about or considered any possible zoning restrictions.
Cities have increasingly sought to regulate short-term rentals like Airbnb or Vrbo in recent years citing potential neighborhood disruptions, public safety concerns or housing cost inflation. Pullman appeared to have about 130 listings, some of which included repeat postings for the same address.
Local hosts say Airbnb makes the city more accessible for tourists and provides much-needed overflow lodging on high-traffic football or event weekends.
A number of issues under discussion include:
- The difficulty in confirming or tracking the locations of local short-term rentals
- An apparent lack of awareness of zoning restrictions, including by operators who routinely work on housing and business matters
- How to balance neighborhood protections against the demand for overflow lodging
- A potential reduction in affordable housing as homeowners convert space to short-term rentals
- A lack of public oversight on Airbnbs such as inspections or background checks
- Whether to revise the time-consuming and costly permit process
Pullman city staff first brought the issue before the Planning Commission in March after a noise complaint against an Airbnb on Sunnyside Hill. (That house was later sold.) Planning Director Pete Dickinson said staff have started documenting listings to get a sense of how many may be operating within city limits. Read the city’s preliminary report.
“They do provide a valuable service,” he said in March. “[But] they are a business in a residential zone. Concerns have been expressed about them. They can create neighborhood disturbances with noise, parking, sometimes trespassing.”
Zoning codes, Dickinson explained, establish limits on the types of homes or industries that can operate in different parts of the city to help protect a variety of residential living environments. Such codes ensure a chemical plant cannot set up shop next to a preschool or in the middle of a quiet neighborhood.
Short-term rentals include bed and breakfasts (operator-occupied) as well as boarding houses (otherwise unoccupied). City code prohibits operating either in R1 or RT residential zones, and a homeowner must apply for a conditional use permit through the city to operate in an R2 zone. Both B&Bs and boarding houses are allowed in R3 and R4 high-density residential zones. Boarding house cannot operate in commercial zones. WSU also prohibits short-term rentals in its housing.
Find how your home is zoned with our interactive map. (Click the magnifying glass to search for an address.)
Local Airbnb operators in March urged the Planning Commission to consider zoning code changes that would allow short-term rentals in R1 zones and promote compliance. Just one couple has completed the extensive process to obtain a permit. Some suggested grandfathering in existing hosts, creating a simplified conditional use permit or allowing rentals of fewer than 14 nights a year without a permit.
Pullman accountant Carmel Minogue explained her family and many of her clients have popular Airbnb listings in R1 zones booked years in advance. She warned the city against shutting down that local revenue and tourism activity.
“I’m not convinced what we’re doing is against the law,” she said. “They’re just going to have to come and put the handcuffs on.”
Whitman County Watch pulled a snapshot of local listings from Airbnb over Memorial Day weekend and used public records to match listings to 94 Pullman addresses. (This total is similar to what Dickinson says the city has compiled.) Listings range from entire family homes to basement apartments to RVs parked in the host’s driveway. Prices vary from $20 to $1,000 a night with a median rate of $100.
Airbnb does not provide direct access to its data. The number of listings often shifts throughout the year as operators register or delete listings, making the local scale and economic impact difficult to pinpoint.
From publicly viewable information, 80 percent of local listings appear to be hosted by the actual homeowner. At least seven appeared to be listed by someone other than the registered owner. Another eight or so were unclear. Booking and guest review information suggests most listings open primarily for high-traffic weekends such as Mom’s Weekend, graduation or home football games.
A comparison of guest reviews suggests just a handful of operators have hosted more than 100 guest stays in recent years. The majority have fewer than 50 reviews. The most reviewed listing (by far) has 238 guest reviews.
Multiplying the number of guest reviews (which does not account for multiple nights, repeat visits or other factors) by the nightly rates can provide a very conservative, bare-minimum estimate for Pullman income. The total estimate for active listings is more than $282,000 with the busiest single operator bringing in at least $18,800.
The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported in May that Airbnb announced its area operators had hosted 450 guests who paid a collective $67,000 over WSU graduation weekend alone. The company said the activity was an 80 percent increase over the previous year’s commencement weekend.
Pullman Finance Director Mike Urban confirmed Airbnb does collect a 2 percent lodging tax, which is remitted back to the city. Urban noted Department of Revenue rules prohibited him from releasing local tax totals for Airbnb.
Of all the listings, Dickinson said one homeowner has applied for and received a conditional use permit to operate in an R2 zone. The application costs $250, involves a 20-plus page filing report and must go before the Board of Adjustment for public review. Conducting a similar process for dozens of other operators would take significant resources, but Dickinson said compliance matters and the city should take steps to develop a workable process.
He suggested local operators who are not in compliance should cease operations until the city adopts changes, but did not have a timeline for when that might occur.
“I don’t feel like the city should be turning a blind eye to those,” he said. “We can’t condone that when it’s not legal right now. It’s difficult because in six months time it may be legal in an R1 zone.”
Dickinson did not offer details on potential enforcement or penalties, but city code allows for civil injunctions or fees of up to $5,000 a day for continued operations in violation of zoning regulations.
Many cities across the nation have adopted new rules on short-term rentals to help protect against abuse or housing inflation. The Municipal Research and Services Center outlines a number of regulation models used at other cities in Washington state. Some require operators to live on site or register as businesses. Some include inspections to check for smoke alarms or safety hazards. Others set limits on the number of nights an operator can host guests each year.
Critics argue Airbnb activity harms housing affordability by taking guest houses, basement apartments or entire family homes out of the long-term housing inventory. Investors increasingly buy up houses to convert into full-time Airbnb listings, lowering vacancy rates and increasing rents, according to some studies.
“This is what’s driving up some of the costs,” Pullman resident Anna Enger argued at the March meeting. “You have the same money chasing the same properties owned by the same people and we’re turning into a town of landlords and renters.”
Jeff Guyett, executive director of the local Community Action Center that administers several affordable housing programs, said Pullman’s shortage of low-cost housing availability is a “huge concern.” The center is working on a new 56-unit complex.
But Guyett also operated an Airbnb out of his home in an R1 zone.
“[Airbnb] is a very attractive and affordable alternative for folks when they come to visit Pullman,” he told the Planning Commission in March. “It gives a really unique experience. … We should make that short-term rental option available in all zoning.”
Guyett later told Whitman County Watch he had spoken primarily as a community member and had not seen studies suggesting Airbnb increases housing costs. He noted widespread conversions of housing into short-term rentals would be a “bad trend.”
While he has always enjoyed welcoming people into his home, Guyett said he stopped booking guests once he learned about the zoning restrictions.
Planning Commission member Scott Hodge said he only learned about the zoning restrictions on his R2 home when it appeared on the commission agenda in March. He said he had spoken with other operators and researched Airbnb before launching his listing in 2017, but never came across anything that indicated zoning could be an issue.
“We’re all pretty busy and nobody was complaining,” he said. “I just think it didn’t come up on [the city’s] radar.”
Hodge said he often stays in Airbnbs while traveling and believes the company does a good job of self-policing responsible operators. Those with bad reviews don’t last long. He said he would be surprised if his neighbors even noticed his guests.
But he also said it’s unfair for operators to violate city rules that should apply to everyone. He believes there is a balance between protecting residential neighborhoods and allowing for overflow lodging on busy weekends.
“I don’t want to negatively impact a neighborhood,” he said. “[And] I don’t think we should turn off all Airbnb. I think they can coexist.”
Some cities divide short-term rentals into two categories — one for resident owners who host Airbnb guests just a few times and one for primarily commercial operations in which the operator lives elsewhere. Carmel Minogue said she believes that to be a fair distinction and commercial housing should receive more scrutiny.
In addition to her home Airbnb, Minogue purchased a separate house a block from downtown last fall to convert to a dedicated short-term rental.
“It’s a very ideal location,” she said. “Are we going to follow the requirements? Yes, we are because I intend that fully to be a business.”
Minogue suggested the city keep compliance easy. She would like to see operators who host 14 or fewer nights a year to get a pass. She explained the IRS allows 14 nights of renting out a vacation home before having to report anything. Maybe the city can adopt a simplified conditional use permit or a license.
She noted services like Bedfinders have operated in this area for years without any problems.
In March, Planning Commission members asked Minogue and other about their motivations and experiences with hosting Airbnbs. The board acknowledged that people had started to buy and renovate homes with Airbnb hosting in mind. They asked about rent increases, room inspections and noise complaints. Read the meeting minutes here.
“I think this is a big issue,” commission member Brent Carper said, “and we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg.”
The commission meets again at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Pullman City Hall. Short-term rentals are not on the agenda, but you can find more information and future meeting agendas at the Planning Commission website.
Lisa Waananen Jones contributed reporting and data analysis to this story.