photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

The Douglas County Commission at its meeting Wednesday is set to consider a pair of conditional use permits, one of which may prompt the county to consider setting standards for a particular type of permit in the future.

One of those permits is listed as a vacation rental, located at 1269 North 870 Road in the unincorporated area of Douglas County south of Lawrence. The other is listed as light equipment storage for a snow removal service, also located in unincorporated Douglas County, at 1074 North 100 Road west of Baldwin City.

According to a letter included with the first permit’s application materials, the vacation rental is owned by the Mott family. The family owns two neighboring residential properties, and the vacation rental permit they’re applying for would essentially turn one of them into a space to host their friends, family and others who are visiting the area for special occasions and holidays.

That application also may set the stage for future action regarding vacation rental standards in rural areas of the county; a presentation from county planner Karl Bauer notes that there actually aren’t specific vacation rental standards for unincorporated areas on the books in Douglas County. For now, Bauer’s presentation notes that county staff is recommending conditions on a case-by-case basis until standards are adopted.

Bauer also notes that this is the first conditional use permit request for a vacation rental taking up an entire house in the county’s unincorporated area. Two other vacation rental permits have been approved in unincorporated areas of the county, but those were just for portions of a house. Outside of that pair, Bauer said there are at least 18 unpermitted vacation rentals currently operating in rural areas around the county — 14 of them for an entire dwelling — that would be subject to code enforcement action, were standards to be codified.

Wednesday’s meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. The meeting also will be available by Zoom. For meeting information, visit the county’s website: dgcoks.org/commissionmeetings.