HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – Havre’s City Council met Monday night for their regular meeting and passed a few ordinance changes on their second reading.
Two of the changes that were approved had to do with temporary yard signs in city limits. The Council changed the wording so that political signs are treated just like any other temporary sign. These signs can be displayed in a yard for up to 60 days and the date the sign was posted must be noted on the sign itself.
The third ordinance change they discussed was about how to fill vacant City Council seats between elections. The wording said that a resume and administration philosophy are necessary to apply, instead of having those things optional. There was some debate during the meeting on whether or not requiring both items was setting the bar too high for a position not many people are willing to apply for. They made a motion to only require a resume and not an administration philosophy, but the vote was evenly split. Mayor Tim Solomon broke the tie, voting to only require a resume. This change to the ordinance now resets the process and it must be reviewed by the City Attorney again.
The Council also confirmed the appointment of Andrew Brekke to the City County Planning Board for a two-year term and approved several street closures for the Festival Day Celebrations in September.
After the meeting, a few residents addressed the Council about the ordinances and regulations regarding AirBNB’s within the city. At the Council meeting on July 1st, a petition by Kerma Boyum to have her residence in Northern Heights Drive rezoned to allow her to operate an AirBNB was denied by the Council. At the time, several people who signed the petition felt Boyum had misrepresented the petition and weren’t aware it was a rezoning matter. Boyum was not present at that meeting.
Boyum addressed the Council Monday night, asking to explain the confusion surrounding her previous petition. After some discussion, Mayor Solomon told Boyum she needed to start over with a petition. There are residential areas in Havre where AirBNB’s are allowed, but not in areas zoned for single-family dwellings, like Boyum’s neighborhood. Councilmember Caleb Hutchins said that some cities have changed the zoning ordinance itself to allow AirBNB’s with some restrictions and said he would bring the topic up at the next ordinance committee meeting on August 19th.
