ALTUS – City officials will continue to cite homeowners for operating crash pads, which serve as a commercial business in a residential area, City Manager Gary Jones said.
Typically, the property owner rents bedrooms for up to $85 a day, most typically for Altus Air Force Base trainees who are staying in Altus for a short period of time. Jones estimated about 160 crash pads are operated in the city limits.
“A crash pad does not conform to the zoning codes” or neighborhood covenants, he said. “We will continue to cite property owners who operate crash pads and it’s also a violation for anyone to assist in the operation of them.”
The city council voted at its March 1 meeting not to accept a proposed zoning amendment that would have defined crash pads since the issue involves a legal challenge in Comanche County District Court. A lawsuit was filed by the city against a property owner, but the case was moved out of Jackson County when the district judge recused himself.
According to Jones, crash pads advertise “just like hotels,” but property owners “insist they are not a commercial entity.” Military guidelines state their personnel must stay in commercial lodging, Jones said.
Microtel built its facility in Altus several years at the urging of Altus Air Force Base, but is now struggling to stay in business with the emergence of so many crash pads, the city manager said.
However, the situation would be different if property owners rented their homes to a single family, and not several different renters.
“If an airman comes in here with his family and pays $85 a day, then that’s OK because it’s a single family. It conforms to the zoning codes and covenants,” Jones said.
In one instance, a property owner built a seven-bedroom house for the sole purpose of renting each room to airmen needing a place to stay while in Altus. The property was surrounded by parking and was considered to be a lodge, not a home.
Ward 2 Councilman Matt Rester is a crash pad supporter but recuses himself when votes are taken due to his work for crash pad owners.
“Crash pads have been around nine, 10 years without any problems,” he said. “Yes, they are set up in residential areas, but are not commercial lodging.”
Rester doesn’t believe crash pads violate the city’s zoning code, and he’s unaware if any homeowner’s covenants exist in Altus that prevent crash pads from operating.
Gina Wilson, the owner of three crash pads and manager of more than 80, likens the business operation of crash pads to college students who rent a house together.
“We’re not operating illegally,” she said. “Everything we do is legal. They (city officials) say you’re illegal and we have to follow the law. We are following the law. We do the same thing with airmen as college kids do” when living off campus.
Wilson claims there is no city ordinance or zoning law that prevents crash pads.
“We are not a commercial enterprise. We’re like any other rental,” she said.
The crash pads also give airmen the chance to choose where their living quarters will be instead of being forced to live in hotels without a kitchen.
“It doesn’t cost the government any more,” Wilson said, noting that hotels have dropped their prices to compete with the 170 crash pads in Altus.
Wilson also complained about “constant harassment” from city officials who go “overboard” with their threats.
“They even threatened me with criminal prosecution,” she said. “They don’t like it (crash pads) because they think we’re making too much money.”
The houses that Wilson manages cost each airman $2,635 to rent regardless of whether there’s one or four people living there. The $2,635 figure is the base’s monthly housing allotment for off-base living quarters. The leases are for 12 months with a military clause that states if an airman is given orders to report to another base, the lease is cancelled.