Editor’s Note:
The Revelstoke Current, the Review and the Revelstoke Mountaineer have been collaborating on a package of stories regarding development in our city. The following story by Review Editor Alex Cooper discusses the situation with regard to the legal — an illegal — vacation rental suites popping up in neighbourhoods everywhere.
By Alex Cooper
Revelstoke Review
When Scott Duke decided to build a second home on his CPR Hill property, the only way he could see it as feasible was to run it as a vacation rental.
“The only way we could do it is rent it long-term in the summer and then rent it short-term to skiers in the winter,” he told the Review. “That way we could get some money to build a house.”
Duke, a City Councillor, just legalized one of his homes as a vacation rental and an application to zone his other home for the purpose is set for a public hearing and vote on Tuesday.
For him, it’s the way to recoup the investment he made building the one home and renovating the other. Vacation rentals are an economic contributor to the community, he says, both in terms of the rental income from tourists, as well as the money spent on construction, renovations, and household products. They also increase the number of beds available in a town who’s hotels are fully booked at peak season.
