As we approach the Village of Egg Harbor Plan Commission meeting on Tuesday, July 25, it’s critical that STR and business owners continue to voice their concerns and come to the table with productive suggestions and comments that will benefit all involved (the village, residents, local businesses, tourists, and the owners).

Village of Egg Harbor, Paul J. Bertschinger Center

7860 STH 42 Egg Harbor, WI 54209

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

2pm-4pm

Members of the public can also JOIN THE MEETING BY ZOOM VIDEO CONFERENCE: https://villageofeggharbor.zoom.us/j/94130060330

Click Here For Zoom Meeting

Click Here for the AGENDA

Here are some key messages:

Remind them of who we are: Good Neighbors invested in preserving ethical home-sharing in Door County. We care deeply about the community and want to help support it.

STRs have not grown at the rate originally believed based on DCTZC* numbers (please see data after Action Steps):

STR Growth declined in the last year.
Total listings have only grown from 79 (2018) to 93 (2023). A total of 14 listings over 5 years or an annual average growth rate of 3.5%

This is an important change in perception of how fast STRs are growing and could influence the plan commission’s actions related to whether there is a “fire” that requires severe action or a trend we may wish to slow, but doesn’t need drastic actions with considerable consequences.

*Data source: Door County Tourism Zone Commission (DCTZC)

Neighborhood Balance Desired

We understand the Village is concerned about maintaining a balance between year round residents, seasonal residents and those who share their homes. Given towns don’t have the ability to cap STRs under the state statute, an approach to slowing growth of STRs under consideration is to:

Limit NEW STRs to renting once every 7 nights in RESIDENTIALLY zoned areas
Grandfather EXISTING STRs, without restrictions on the number of nights or frequency of rentals and the ability to pass their license onto new owners, who would also be exempt from the 7-night restriction.

We encourage the Village of Egg Harbor to “grandfather” existing STRs into any new ordinance. If a 7-night minimum was imposed on all existing licenses, it would cause a significant decrease in the number of people who visit our local businesses — most people don’t shop multiple days in our stores, eat multiple nights in the same restaurants, attend our drive-in, theater performances and musical performances multiple nights while they are in Door County. And our local cleaning folks will have their businesses cut in half if we have a 7-night minimum and many will go out of business.

By grandfathering in existing STRS, you likely double the STR visitors who will be supporting our local businesses in comparison to a 7 night restriction. This is because a typical week includes two stays of 3/4 nights.
We understand the town wishes to develop a method to create neighborhood balance but this needs to be done carefully, i.e., only for new STRs in residential zoned areas so as not to decrease the total number of STRs available to guests. If the number of STRs decrease in the Village, this could have the unintended consequence of making the Village of Egg Harbor less attractive to tourists over time because this is a preferred type of lodging (families like to stay together). Today 30+% of guests choose to stay in STRs.

STRs are not a main source of the affordable housing crisis. A local realtor provided us with real estate sales for the Village of Egg Harbor from 2019 -2023 and we then compared the addresses to the current DCTZC database. Surprisingly, there was not the volume expected. Additional data listed below action steps.

2022: 21 sales, 1 STR

2023: 7 sales, 0 STRs

So, it appears that NEW STR licenses come more from existing homeowners starting to rent than new buyers converting homes.

Remind town leadership: We want to preserve the magic/greatness of Door County and share this gem with others while supporting and helping the Door County community.

Please remember to be respectful and sincere in your communication with the board, plan commission and residents. It is easy to get upset when your property rights are threatened but town leaders and residents will only hear what you have to say if you are calm and fact-based. We don’t want to stereotype residents and leaders, just like we don’t like it when others stereotype us. Appreciate that residents are afraid and address those concerns with care and information. The more they see we share the same values, the closer we come to strong, long-term solutions.

Please see our talking points:

Action needed from STR Owners in the Village of Egg Harbor:

We highly recommend you attend the upcoming Plan Commission meeting in person. By attending the meeting, you may ask your questions and express your concerns directly to the Plan Commission members.
Join via Zoom. *The ZOOM link provided is for listening purposes only. Materials and/or presentations may not be available to view via ZOOM. Technical difficulties may occur.
If you’re unable to attend the meeting, please email any questions or concerns to the Plan Commission members by clicking this link. See the Supporting Data below for your emails.
Learn more about what Home Hosts is doing to represent STR owner’s with local governments. Become a member of Home Hosts.
Join our Egg Harbor Action Team by contacting Michael Servais at Michael Servais We have 4 municipalities considering more restrictive STR rules. We don’t have enough volunteers. Now is the time to step up!

Supporting Data:

STR Growth Smaller than Perceived:

Total listings have only grown from 2018 (79) to 2023 (93). A total of 14 listings over 5 years or an annual average growth rate of 3.5%
Growth from ’21 to ’22 is 4.4%; growth from ’22 to ’23 is a negative -2.1%
These DCTZC unit listings numbers are net numbers: net total # of homes/condos = baseline STRs plus new listings minus listings that stopped renting. There are many discontinued rentals every year but we often only hear about the new rentals. We believe this is what has led to misperceptions in the rate of STR overall growth.

Approximate Distribution of STRs within the Village of Egg Harbor in 2023:

20 total units are single family homes in R-1 district.

16 single family homes in REC district

35 condos/ townhome / duplex units in REC district.

18 units in the C-1 district

This is based on a manual counting of licenses by address within the new zoning map. It totals to 89 units. There are a few units that were not counted due to lack of clarity on location based on permits vs. units.

It seems to tell us there aren’t as many STRs in residential areas as was first understood

Visitor Preferences:

1. 30+% Visitors prefer to stay STRs. This is based on DCTZC data indicating choices visitors have made in Door County over the last number of years, including pre-pandemic periods.

2. This is a change in tourism that will impact where people chose to stay. Now that families have experienced the advantages of staying in an STR many will not return to a traditional hotel/motel. They will vacation where STRs are available and this is where their dollars are spent. Creating an environment where STRs are declining in availability will potentially harm Egg Harbor over time. You could say you have a good level at this point, to sustain your businesses and visitor economy but to take actions to reduce the volume of STRs may have long term unintended consequences.

STR % of total Real Estate purchases/Affordable Housing Impact Minimal:

1. We are aware there is a concern that STRs remove homes from the market for year round residents so we attempted to determine the percent of homes/condos purchased that became an STR after they were purchased.

2. A local realtor provided us with real estate sales for the Village of Egg Harbor from 2019 -2023 and we then compared the addresses to the current DCTZC database. Surprisingly, there was not the volume expected. Given we compared the sales in previous years to the current DCTZC database, it’s possible some became STRs and then discontinued but that’s probably less true for sales in the last few years.

2019: 25 sales, 0 STRs

2020: 26 sales, 3 STRs

2021: 25 sales, 4 STRs

2022: 21 sales, 1 STR

2023: 7 sales, 0 STRs

Details about the Plan Commission Meeting: