BANFF – Bed and breakfast homes may no longer have to shut down if an emergency forces a live-in owner to be away for several days.
The governance and finance committee directed administration to draft Land Use Bylaw amendments that provide clarity that B&Bs must be operated exclusively by a live-in owner.
However, the committee was also OK with short absences in the event of a crisis, such as a death in the family or a health emergency for example, so long as the planning department is notified.
“This is about an emergency,” said Mayor Karen Sorensen, noting there is no direction on the appropriate number of days at this time.
“It’s not about booking your vacation and thinking someone could run your B&B while you’re away for two weeks.”
A council-struck B&B working group wants to see a specified number of nights that an owner can be absent while the B&B remains open, for example for vacation or emergencies. While there was no consensus on a number, it recommended a range from a minimum of five to a maximum of 21 days.
The group supported this based on a few conditions, including having the owner notify the Town of Banff of their absence as well as who is in charge. The group suggested longer absences could be granted after notification of an emergency situation.
The Municipal Planning Commission (MPC), on the other hand, strictly wanted to make sure a bed and breakfast operation is exclusively operated by the owner at all times, based on the principle that B&Bs are an accessory use.
“The MPC fundamentally disagreed with the working group,” said Dave Michaels, development services manager for the Town of Banff. “This probably one of the few areas that they did.”
Councillor Brian Standish initially stood behind MPC’s recommendation, noting this has been an issue that the commission has struggled with for many years.
However, he ended up supporting the concept that a B&B could continue to operate short-term when owners were away for emergencies.
“It’s a compromise and I’d be willing to go with it,” he said.
Councillor Chip Olver, a council representative on MPC, said it is absolutely essential that B&Bs are an accessory use and not in operation during an owner’s planned absences, like a vacation.
“If you’re booking holidays to go away, then you block off your B&B and you say ‘I’m not renting it at this time because I am not there,’ ” she said.
“I sympathize if you need to go to a memorial, or a death in the family, and you need to leave this area to attend to that. I don’t think your licence should be in jeopardy for that.”
Coun. Corrie DiManno, who also sits on MPC, said the commission felt very strongly about its recommendation.
“Emergencies are tricky, and so I think this is a nice middle ground and provides very clear language to these owners,” she said.
“My one concern is suddenly creating more work for administration in terms of keeping track of B&B owners that have emergencies and what-not.”
Mayor Sorensen said some flexibility for emergencies also means that visitors with a reservation won’t be disappointed.
“By no means do I think that a B&B owner should be able to leave town for four months in the winter and have their B&B operated,” she said.
Sorensen said the bylaw still needs to go through three readings and includes a public hearing for community feedback, noting the committee is merely giving administration preliminary direction to begin drafting a bylaw.
"We are a long way from making final decisions," she said.
