More than 60 people sat in the back room of the Camp Verde Community Library. Most were residents of Camp Verde, but some came from Cottonwood, Clarkdale, Sedona and even Flagstaff. Many were homeowners, but they also hoped to become entrepreneurs, using their properties as vacation rentals.
In 2016, the Arizona State Legislature passed Senate Bill 1350, prohibiting all municipalities in the state from banning privately owned short-term vacation rentals by homeowners, through services like Vacation Rental By Owner and Airbnb.
On June 25, the Camp Verde Town Council officially changed the town’s building codes to comply with the law and allow short-term rentals and regulate them directly.
The day before, Camp Verde held its first workshop mixer on short-term vacation rentals at the library.
“We want to talk about flying under the radar versus doing things the right way,” said Sebra Choe, an economic development specialist who works for the town.
Choe led the presentation and welcomed those who wanted to start renting out extra rooms, extra wings or whole houses to tourists traveling the area.
In the view of the Camp Verde municipal government, these rentals should be encouraged by the town, but the best way to do so would be to encourage those interested to register their dwelling with the town and let others in the community know their plans.
The presentation featured guidelines on many of the regulations that the town has implemented to manage vacation rentals, with explanations from Choe as well as Carmen Howard and Melinda Lee, representatives of the Camp Verde Community Development and Planning and Zoning departments.
“We’re not the bad guy,” Howard said. “We want to support local businesses.”
Town employees outlined the tax structure, the importance of safety precautions like smoke alarms and the necessity of getting approval from insurance providers. They told potential renters to inform their neighbors before converting a property into a rental. They encouraged potential renters to get a business license for their listing, which would allow the town to keep tabs on those renting and in exchange would result in free advertising from the town.
Along with town representatives, the presentation allowed veteran renters to give advice to those interested in getting started. Those who had already had success told of the value of professional photography, the importance of being specific up front about requirements, the difficulties of guests bringing pets and additional services like home-cooked meals for guests, if hosts were interested.
Sandi Huffman, a homeowner who, along with her husband Dwayne, are interested in getting started renting out extra space on their property, said that much of the presentation covered things they already knew, but nevertheless looked forward to taking advantage of the community that came together for the first mixer.
The Huffmans spoke highly of their interactions with the town so far in getting started.
“Every time we’ve done business with the town they’ve been excellent,” Sandi Huffman said. “Two days after we put in the application they came in and inspected us.”
The Huffmans said they had been considering renting out their property long-term but had decided short-term rentals made more sense.
“We did it as a proper rental and decided it was a little too invasive on our privacy,” Huffman said. “It’s like somebody else said, ‘if you don’t like them, you know they’re going to be gone.’”
In some communities, a market for short-term vacation rentals have had negative effects from this incentive — a focus on renting to tourists can reduce longterm housing stock for local residents, as homeowners choose to rent short-term rather than allowing for locals to live long-term in properties.
According to Choe, the importance of providing affordable housing in town is a top priority for the town’s Economic Development staff, with a focus on bringing in new affordable housing development, but they hope to be able to do so while simultaneously encouraging locals to take advantage of the business opportunities of rentals.
In Choe’s view, it is partially up to Camp Verde residents to keep in mind what kind of community they want to live in.
“What do we want Camp Verde to look like?” Choe asked. “Everyone who lives in Camp Verde says ‘We don’t want to turn into Cottonwood or Sedona.’ They love that we’re rustic and rural.
“If you want to stay alive and have a healthy community, you have to also look out for your workforce and you can’t just put all your eggs in one basket and chase after a moneymaking machine because you think bringing in more tourism dollars is going to fix all of our problems. I think it’s important to educate everyone to look at it from those perspectives as well so they can weigh it out.”
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551 or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
