View Royal councillor calls for pause on short-term rental rules during FIFA

One View Royal councillor is calling for a pause to the town’s short-term rental restrictions as thousands pour into Vancouver and Seattle for next summer’s FIFA World Cup games. Coun. Don Brown says temporarily lifting restrictions will benefit fans visiting the region and give the local economy a boost. “I can see people coming up from Seattle, I can see people coming over from Vancouver,” he told the Goldstream Gazette. “Sure, they’re going to come for the games first and foremost, but they’re obviously going to want to come before and after to take part in some of the other attractions that are going to be close by.” The World Cup takes place between June 11 and July 19 and will offer 104 matches. Seven games will be played in Vancouver, and Seattle is slated to host six others. Brown wants View Royal to pause restrictions between June 1 and July 31, giving those visting the Island plenty of time to explore the region’s most popular attractions. While the councillor says local bars, restaurants and grocery stores would benefit from a potential influx of tourists, he adds the move could help families, too. “It’s … an opportunity during these tough economic times for perhaps a younger family or people that just have room in their home … to put some cash in their pocket,” he said. Brown says the pause is also a chance to test-drive possible changes to the town’s short-term rental rules. “It would give us an idea that if … all of a sudden you get hundreds and hundreds of complaints, we might say, ‘Well, we tried this, we’re not going to do it again.’ Or they might say, hey, ‘There are no problems at all, maybe we should allow … people to have short-term rentals on a regular basis,’” he said. Brown plans to table the notice of motion on Nov. 18, which, if approved, would be debated at the following meeting on Dec. 2. While communities across Greater Victoria, including Highlands, Langford, Victoria and Oak Bay, allow short-term rentals, View Royal is one of few that prohibits them alongside Colwood and North Saanich.