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My name is Jesse Bifulco, and my wife and I own and
operate a Bed and breakfast in Camden.
I wish to make some comments about the proposal being
considered before the committee.
I’d like to say first that I support free fair and open
competition between the businesses in town. As a
general rule zoning changed should be considered in
that light. Unfortunately in the past many have used
their support or opposition to zoning as an opportunity
to stifle competition and favor existing businesses at
the expense of innovation and quality.
Accordingly, if any change to the lodging requirements
in town is adopted it should make it clear that any
single night rentals must comply with the same
standards as all single night rentals. It would not be
fair to allow some to operate under the radar of
business regulation, while others are forced to have
more expenses.
The second point I’d like to make is that this idea is
not in any way supported by the current Comprehensive
Plan.
In fact the zoning change proposed would add commercial
activity to the Hosmer Pond Ragged Mountain area 1. For one thing the Hosmer Pond/Ragged Mountain area
is a Resource Conservation Area
2. As far as tourist activity is concerned the
Comprehensive Plan favors transient activities
3. The Comprehensive Plan also states that the tourist
commercial activity should be confined to the
downtown. Increased commercial density should be
encouraged where it already exists, - in the
downtown – for two reasons:
a. in order to have a vibrant downtown and
b. prevent sprawl
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4. If increased lodging is permitted in a Conservation
Resource Area all of the services appurtenant to
the lodging guests will also soon appear:
a. Restaurants
b. Retail shops
c. Other goods and services
Is there a need for it?
Weekly rentals are more in keeping with the policy of
the Comprehensive Plan
Homestays are also permitted as of right, but keep the
activity limited.
As far as permitting this use in any other area I have a few comments to propose:
Any form of this idea that goes to a vote must at a
minimum provide
Licensing of all properties rented on a nightly basis
To get a license the property owner should
 provide proof of a commercial liability insurance
policy
 Have two means of egress
 Have annual health and fire inspections
Also, a reassessment of the property’s real property
taxes to raise the taxes to the level of a commercial
property.
What would be the unintended consequences of a poorly
written law?
If this change were adopted as it is it would in effect
make every residence in town a hotel. There are serious
repercussions for such a modification of zoning.
Surely it is not the intention of the Comprehensive
Plan to turn the entire town of Camden into one big
hotel.
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This law would open the door to a flood of unlicensed
unregulated and therefor un-auditable businesses
located in purely residential neighborhoods.
As I said, our business is a bed and breakfast. The
popularity of Bed & Breakfasts arguably arose out of an
amateur desire to host guests in one’s home.
But B&Bs have developed into a professional industry,
and are legitimately regulated as such for the health
and safety of those who patronize them.
If any property owner could rent nightly, than the
zoning laws that regulate lodgings in this town would
be effectively be nullified. Every house in effect
becomes a bed and breakfast.
Anyone owning property whether they reside at the house
or not, whether they reside in the town or not, or have
onsite management could rent.
Imagine what that means. A clever hotelier or group of
investors could buy a string of single family homes for
the rental income – which would be in everything but
name – a hotel. With the internet all the rooms of one
or several homes could easily be marketed and reserved
and rented online.
This brings me to another point I want to make. I am a
strong proponent of owner-occupied lodging businesses.
The current law regulating B&Bs in this town requires
owner occupancy.
Operation of owner-occupied lodging I believe supports
a number of worthwhile public interests.
It encourages year round residence of the property
owner,
It encourages the expenditure of private money to
market the town as a destination
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It encourages restoration and beautification of private
homes and as such it is a form of de facto historic
preservation because many of the homes operated as
B&B’s would not be restored or maintained absent the
lodging income.
In comparison to investment property whose owners may
reside in another state, our bed and breakfast is
owner-occupied and well maintained. My wife and our
three middle school children comprise year round
residents who contribute to creating a vibrant town.
Since our business is also our home we are not inclined
to view our property as a speculative investment but
rather a stake in our community.
In addition to the contingent benefit of supporting
legitimate lodging businesses such as our own, the Town
of Camden’s legitimate interest in the health and
welfare of the general public in the form of consumers
of lodging is well served by the regulation of the
lodgings in town.
So, if this suggested zoning change becomes law I
strongly urge this committee and the planning officer
and the select board to regulate these properties and
require them to be licensed.
My wife and I have owned and operated our lodging
business in Maine since 2005. We have struggled to make
a living despite the record of our property’s ability
to generate sufficient income in part because of unfair
competition from illegally operated single night stay
lodging properties. These properties advertise for
single night stays despite being prohibited by the
zoning regulations of our town. These properties
capitalize on savings to their operating costs from
their failure to provide the minimal safety required of
licensed lodging businesses in Maine.
This results in these mostly illegal lodgings being
able to offer their services at a far lower rate than
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legitimate licensed businesses and give them an unfair
advantage at the expense of public safety. Regulation
provides a level playing field.
Unlicensed lodgings have lower operating costs because
they conceal their essentially commercial character
behind apparent residential home ownership. As
residential property these unlicensed lodgings avoid
the costs of compliance and licensing with State and
local laws. Because they are not recognized by the
municipality as businesses these unlicensed lodgings do
not carry commercial liability insurance, and therefore
are not inspected by their insurance carriers, they are
not inspected by the Fire Marshall to provide two means
of emergency egress for every bedroom, operational fire
alarms, and fire suppression equipment, and do not pay
the Maine lodging tax.
Unlicensed lodgings are also not appraised by the
municipality at the substantially higher values that
commercial properties are.
As a licensed business in Camden Maine, we have a State
license fire inspection and fee, a town license and fee
renewable and payable each year. We must file regular
sales tax reports and keep careful records. During the
seven years we have owned and operated our lodging our
costs to operate have all gone up, while the depression
in the real estate market has lead to a boom in
unlicensed lodgings of owners who, for the most part,
have purchased their homes as vacation property or
second residences. Unlike these unlicensed properties
we have had to upgrade and maintain our means of
egress, fire alarms and fire extinguishers. In the past
four years alone we’ve paid approximately $70,000 in
sales taxes. In comparison to a nearby house that rents
without a license that is similar to our property, our
real property taxes are $14,292 compared to $6589 per
year. That’s an additional seven thousand dollars per
year we must pay for the privilege of being considered
more valuable because we are a declared rental
property. Over the course of the seven years we have
owned our property we have paid almost $54,000 more in
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taxes than a similar non-commercial residential
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property pays. While an exact comparison is not
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possible because our property and its uses are
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completely transparent, the difference in taxes is
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instructive to anyone who wishes to get the maximum
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yield for their rental property – the lesson is to
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avoid being a transparent commercial enterprise at all
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costs.
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In order to stay competitive, despite the cost of
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compliance, our rental rates have steadily declined
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since 2005. With the advent of websites such as
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airbnb.com and others, we’ve seen more and more illegal
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one night stay lodgings offering rates so low that we
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could not possibly lower our rates that far and stay in
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business. The purchase price of our property as well as
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our mortgage financing were both predicated, that is to
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say, based upon our being able to compete in a level,
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fair, government-regulated marketplace. However, if we
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must compete in a marketplace where a surplus of
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investment and vacation property can be easily
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converted into tax free hotel rooms we cannot succeed.
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This idea should not become law because it is not supported by
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the Comprehensive Plan to make the entire town a hotel.
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But if it does go to a vote, it should provide a fair and level
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playing field for anyone who rents a room in town.
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Relevant Comprehensive Plan Sections
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(3) Home occupations, allowed as a matter of right,
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should be continued, provided that standards to protect
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residential character are retained and enforced.
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Tourism is central to Camden's economic health. Increased visitors, seasonal traffic
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congestion, and demand for Town services are an inevitable result of this part of the
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economy. They are and will continue to be an acceptable price to pay compared to
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the economic gains received, provided:
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(a) the commercial core serving this sector (retail establishments, lodgings,
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restaurants, and similar enterprises) is confined to the traditional
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downtown and harbor area;
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(b) a pedestrian environment is retained in the downtown and 17-4
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harbor area, such that visitors do not have to rely on their automobiles once
arrived downtown;
(c) visual and pedestrian access to the harbor is maintained across Town lands
and, by means of existing zoning provisions, along the rest of the
waterfront.
(d) an effort is made to attract and retain visitors who tend to stay for extended
periods of time and are committed to and supportive of the traditional
and cultural environment Camden has to offer; and
(e) destination and specialty types of activities are
favored over high volume, transient types of
activities.
Hosmer Pond and Ragged Mountain are identified as
resource conservation areas.
Ragged Mountain-Bald Mountain-Hosmer Pond: This
resource conservation area is coincident with the
Hosmer Pond watershed. It encompasses the northeast
side of Ragged Mountain, including the Ragged Mountain
recreational area; the southwest side of Bald Mountain;
and Hosmer Pond. This is an area of high elevations,
steep slopes, erodible soils, a vulnerable pond,
outstanding scenery, and important public recreation.
It also is distant from many public facilities and
services.
8. Resource conservation: areas of multiple natural resource constraints; and/or that
are especially important for their recreational, scenic, or other resource-based
opportunities, including farming and woodlands; and/or that are especially important
for long-term protection of water quality. Residential densities in these areas should
be as low as one dwelling unit per 1-2 acres for single lots and residential
subdivisions should be mandatorily subject to open space zoning (clustering),
without bonuses and with density of one dwelling unit per 5 to 10 acres.