The downtown commercial district in St. Joseph could be opened up to short-term rental units following a decision by city commissioners this week. Assistant City Manager Emily Hackworth told commissioners the Downtown Development Authority has looked at the nature of the downtown and determined upper floor spaces could be used by vacationers.
“The commercial downtown is used to having visitors and visitors staying within walking distance of restaurants and stores,” Hackworth said. “It certainly increases commercial activity, and in addition, allowing short-term rentals could encourage economically viable redevelopment of underutilized upper floor spaces in existing buildings. We have quite a bit of that in the downtown.”
Right now, only the R3 Multiple Family Residence district and the Water Recreation District are open to short-term rentals. Commissioner Brooke Thomas wondered if allowing short-term rentals downtown would only benefit the wealthy, but Hackworth said she thinks the opposite could happen.
“I think that one of the benefits of this is it could stimulate more housing development in the downtown, which I think could help bring more affordable housing to the city.”
The DDA has identified 58 apartments in the downtown commercial district, of which 35 have rental certificates, seven are homesteads, and 16 are second homes. That’s not including the Whitcomb or hotels. Commissioners approved a motion instructing staff to draft an update to the zoning ordinance to allow those downtown short-term rentals.
