In response to the growing housing crisis on South Whidbey, the Langley City Council has decided to limit the number of a certain type of short-term rental unit.

The council unanimously agreed to reduce the capacity of type IV short term rental permits from 30 to 15, which was suggested by Councilmember Craig Cyr.

Cyr wrote in a memo to the council that recently, the number of short-term type IV permits was nine, so this does not impact any property owners seeking this kind of permit.

According to the proposed ordinance, “unregulated short-term rentals introduce the possibility for adverse consequences including a reduction in affordable housing and the commercialization of residential neighborhoods.”

During the meeting this week, Cyr clarified that type IV permits pertain to people who are looking to rent out their entire homes to someone via Airbnb, VRBO or some other website.

“The reason I’m bringing it up now is that the reissue of the permits will start in September,” he said.

Councilmember Gail Fleming said she was all in favor of the new restriction and added that she has experienced the negative effects of entire properties being rented out in her own neighborhood.

Councilmember Chris Carlson spoke about the importance of prioritizing the local community.

“We live off of tourism, and it’s such a big part of our economy, so we want to still encourage people to come here,” he said. “But our housing situation is so dire that I think we need to communicate that we’re going to prioritize locals first and look for appropriate places for the tourists that we welcome that doesn’t steal housing from the people who live here year round.”

Violators will be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500 per violation and/or suspension or revocation of an issued short-term rental license, according to the amended city code. Each day of violation will be considered a separate offense.

This isn’t the first time the city has wrestled with short-term rentals; in 2019, there was a six-month moratorium placed on new applications to allow the planning department time to evaluate the impacts of a growing number of short-term rentals.