Looking for a new business opportunity in Northern Bruce Peninsula?
Here’s one worth looking into.
Based on the Municipality’s current interpretation of the B&B rules, the recipe appears to be: Have a house. Live somewhere in it. Provide a private, self-contained accommodation. Give your guests their own bedrooms, living space, kitchen, bathroom, laundry and access to the property. Provide a breakfast coupon. Then collect the revenue.
The guests can come and go independently and have the privacy and amenities they would expect from a short-term rental.
So, what exactly is the difference?
Northern Bruce Peninsula has specific rules governing short-term accommodations (STA). Those rules recognize that commercial accommodation in residential areas can affect parking, traffic, noise, neighbours and the character of a community.
But if a B&B can provide essentially the same accommodation experience as an STA, what purpose is being served by treating the two so differently?
This isn’t about being against tourism. Tourism is an important part of our local economy, and people should be able to operate legitimate businesses.
It is about having rules that make sense and are applied consistently.
If this is now an acceptable way to operate a B&B, then it shouldn’t be a secret known only to the property owner who happens to be testing the limits of the rules. Every homeowner in Northern Bruce Peninsula should know what is permitted.
Think about the possibilities.
You own a house. You live there. You have a self-contained space that isn’t being used all the time.
Could you offer it as a B&B?
Could your guests have their own kitchen, laundry, living area and outdoor space?
Could they essentially enjoy the same experience as an STR while you simply happen to live somewhere else in the dwelling?
If the answer is yes, then perhaps the Municipality has unintentionally created a much broader accommodation opportunity than anyone anticipated.
And that raises an important question for Council: Where exactly is the line between a B&B and an STA?
If the answer is that the owner lives somewhere in the dwelling and the guest receives a breakfast coupon, then let’s be honest about what that means.
Because once that interpretation becomes the standard, it doesn’t apply to just one property. It applies to anyone who wants to take advantage of it.
So, entrepreneurs of Northern Bruce Peninsula, pay attention.
The next great accommodation business might already be sitting in your spare room — or your self-contained suite.
And if that’s what our bylaws now allow, residents deserve to know.
Kevin Carson
