Lawsuit claims Bellingham’s short-term rental restrictions are unconstitutional
Two Bellingham residents and property owners are suing the city over its restrictions on short-term rentals, claiming that the ordinance violates Constitutional rights including due process and equal protection.
Kathryn and J. Patrick Sutton, who filed the lawsuit in Whatcom County Superior Court on May 12, own multiple properties in Bellingham that they want to operate as short-term rentals. This means that someone can rent the residence for up to 30 days.
The properties the Suttons owned and wanted to rent included an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU. Bellingham defines ADUs as separate, self-contained units on the same lot as an existing single-family home. Sometimes called backyard cottages or “mother-in-law units,” City Council voted to allow their construction in all single-family zones in 2018.
ADUs can be licensed as short-term rentals only if they are attached to the main residence. The Suttons, who wish to rent out a detached ADU as a short-term rental, are suing in part due to the city’s denial of an exception to do so. They allege that the ordinance deprives them of their “pre-constitutional, fundamental, historical, natural, vested, settled property right to set the lease term for their private dwellings.”
The Suttons also filed the lawsuit over the ordinance’s requirement that short-term rentals must be occupied by the owner or a tenant for 270 days per year. They state that this provision “conditions an STR-permit on restriction to one’s own home, akin to requiring an ankle bracelet tracking an owner’s whereabouts.” They allege it “completely bars” short-term renting by anyone who primarily resides outside of Washington, as the Suttons plan to.
The city filed a motion to dismiss the case either partially or entirely on June 5, alleging that the case was duplicative. If the court denies a complete dismissal, the city asks that claims related to the detached accessory dwelling be dismissed without prejudice, as the Suttons’ appeal of the denial of the licensure exception is currently active in Whatcom County Superior Court.
The city’s motion to have the assigned judge recused from the case was granted Friday, and the case was reassigned.
The Suttons are asking the court to declare the city’s short-term rental ordinance partially invalid or unenforceable against them.
This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 2:59 PM.