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Whistler Platinum to open books for RMOW

Property management company happy to comply with bylaw Whistler Platinum Realty must keep its books open for municipal review after getting caught illegally renting residentially zoned properties.

Property management company happy to comply with bylaw

Whistler Platinum Realty must keep its books open for municipal review after getting caught illegally renting residentially zoned properties.

A four-month investigation uncovered evidence that the local property management company was renting residentially zoned properties for short-term leases – less than 30 days – in violation of a municipal zoning bylaw.

Whistler Platinum has reached an amicable agreement with the municipality and has willingly agreed to abide by the law after signing a consent order.

"We don't feel victimized," said Russell Thompson, the president of Whistler Platinum.

"This has been a very pro-active process between us and the municipality."

Thompson said the consent order gives the municipality "some real teeth" in cracking down on illegal renters.

"Hopefully we're creating somewhat of a template here that can be used with each subsequent non-compliant company," said councillor Ken Melamed.

"So the next step is to pursue this and go after all of the property management companies that we can prove are operating illegally."

The order prevents Whistler Platinum from advertising, managing, or renting its residentially zoned properties.

It also allows the municipality to take strong legal action against the company if they are found to be non-compliant.

"The consent order gives the municipality the power to take out an injunction against us if they find us in breach," said Thompson.

In addition, the order gives the municipality the right to check the company's books as well as increasing the rental time on its residential properties from a minimum of 30 days to a minimum of 60 days.

"We are perfectly happy to abide by the consent order," said Thompson.

"We have no intention of not being in compliance."

In the Whistler Platinum portfolio there are 30 homes which are zoned for tourists and five that are residentially zoned properties.

Thompson said two of those residentially zoned properties were rented out for periods of less than one month.

"Whistler Platinum decided early in the year that they would stop booking residential places for short-term (rentals)," said Ian Davis, Whistler Platinum's lawyer with Race and Company.

"They decided to do that because of the climate in Whistler and because it was a very nominal (portion of their business)."

Although willing to agree to a consent order with the municipality, the owners of Whistler Platinum said they did not believe they were actually breaking a bylaw.

A letter from Whistler Platinum to council dated Feb. 7 states: "It is... critical to stress that we believe we have always acted within the spirit of the regulations, as we have at all times kept to one booking per thirty-one days in these homes."

But booking any short-term accommodation in properties zoned specifically in residential areas is still against the law.

Under law, residentially zoned properties must be leased for a period of four consecutive weeks.

This is to protect residential neighourhoods that do not want to be disturbed by the noise and traffic of tourists.

The zoning issue came to a head about five years ago when residents voiced their concerns about "illegal" tourist rentals.

"People in the neighbourhoods came out loud and clear and a significant portion of permanent residents were against this type of activity," said Gordon McKeever, owner of Rainbow Retreats.

After creating the zoning bylaw it appeared the municipality was not doing much by way of enforcement, he said.

"This has proven that the enforcement was not toothless."

Whistler Platinum is a relatively new company in Whistler, opening its doors in November 2000. They deal with high-end package accommodations, offering chauffeur services, providing groceries when guests arrive, baby sitting services and night club passes for local bars, among many other things.

"Their whole claim to fame is high-end package deals really catering to the affluent traveller," said Gordon Huxtable, owner of Aloha Whistler Accommodation.

Huxtable has been in the same line of work in Whistler for the past 30 years.

"There's lots of those properties that are zoned for that that they could be managing without breaking the law.

"If Whistler Platinum can't find enough legally zoned properties to manage, something's wrong with them. We have 45,000 bed units that are zoned correctly for (nightly) rentals in this valley..."

Thompson said this consent order will not affect too much of their business because most of their properties are zoned for tourist accommodation.

"Ninety-five per cent is tourist zoned and the rest will be separated as long term residential," he said.

The consent order will have broader implications in the industry however, serving as a warning sign that the municipality will no longer turn a blind eye to illegal renters.

"The municipality has an ongoing investigation related to illegal renting," said Bill Barratt, general manager of community services with the municipality.

"(Whistler Platinum) were the most obvious. That's not to say that they are the only one,"

Councillor Melamed said the crack down is long overdue.

"I think it's very important. In my mind this is a key component of our affordability strategy for Whistler," he said.

This enforcement will have two purposes, said Melamed.

It is thought that by cracking down on illegally renting to tourists there will be more housing for employees.

And it is also hoped that the crackdown will deter speculators who buy into Whistler and recoup their investments through nightly rentals, therefore driving up housing prices for people who want to settle here.

Others in the industry agree that the municipality's enforcement of the bylaw will level the playing field in the rental market.

"I'm glad the municipality is starting to crack down," said Jennifer Cole, owner of Alpine Vacation Accommodation.

"I think it sends a message. We've all got to play by the rules."

In the meantime Whistler Platinum has stopped taking short-term bookings for their residential properties and is in the process of updating their Web site to correctly reflect their compliance with the bylaw.

Thompson said: "We have a clean slate. Basically we just wanted to convey that."

But McKeever is doubtful that the crackdown is going to change the way Whistler renters operate.

"The activity itself hasn't gone away," he said.

"It's just gone a little more underground."

Because of the ongoing investigations, companies will be deterred from advertising for short-term accommodation, he said.

"It's an activity that goes way back," said McKeever.

"People have been renting their cabins in this town for a long time."

In addition to cracking down on property management companies, the municipality is still waiting to hear from the court of appeal after taking legal action against one property owner in 1999.

The B.C. Supreme Court sided with the municipality for a permanent injunction which banned a Prince George couple from renting out their second home in Whistler on a short-term basis.

Their home on Clifftop Lane was not zoned for tourist accommodation.

The couple argued that most of the people using their home were co-workers and friends but they also admitted to renting it out nightly for periods of less than four consecutive weeks.

It took B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Drost almost one year to side with the municipality.

Now, the municipality is waiting for the court of appeal ruling to see if that decision will be upheld.