Revelstoke City Council has rescinded second reading on amendments that would regulate vacation rentals in the city.

Mayor and council are calling for changes to the proposed regulations to address concerns brought up at the Oct. 27 public hearing.

They shared those ideas with staff at the Nov. 9, council meeting and plan to continue talking about the bylaw at their December Committee of the Whole meeting before bringing it back to council for another second reading and scheduling another public hearing.

Several councillors expressed concerns over points brought up by the community, including:

•cap of 300 short term rental business licenses

•regulating the short term rental to a secondary suite

•restriction of 120 short term rental days

•limiting short term rentals to three bedrooms and six people

READ MORE: Revelstoke vents about proposed vacation rental rules

However, Coun. Jackie Rhind voted against rescinding the motion and later said she doesn’t think the health of the community as a whole is being considered with the changes to the proposed regulations.

“This is difficult because we don’t want to exacerbate the housing crisis,” she said.

She called on staff and council to think about who is benefiting from the proposed changes as well as who might be impacted but isn’t at the table.

Coun. Tim Palmer was vocally in favour of rescinding second reading and hosting a second public hearing, calling it “good governance.”

The December Committee of the Whole meeting is scheduled for Dec. 7. City staff said that an update on the city’s housing plan will be presented at the Nov. 16 Committee of the Whole meeting.

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