ROGERS, Ark. — With the uptick in short-term rentals, Beaver Lake would be a prime location for an owner to open up their home to people visiting Arkansas. However, for property owners with boat docks, a policy may stand in the way.
A U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) policy prohibits any guests from using private docks on Beaver Lake. This policy prevents any visitors from docking their own boat at the dock of a short-term rental property.
"The Title 36 Code of Federal Regulations says that a private boat dock can't conduct commercial activities; so does Beaver Lake Shoreline Management Plan and so does their real estate agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers," Jay Townsend with USACE said.
Daniel Rechtfertig, an owner at Beaver Lake, said USACE is strict about the policy because allowing commercial activities at private docks could snowball.
"It's kind of like if you lent your car to someone because you trusted them. You trust them, you lend your car to them, but what if they said, 'OK, I'm going to lend that car that you lent me to someone else,'" Rechtfertig said. "You can't just go lending it to someone else."
The only people allowed to use docks for commercial purposes are marinas and resorts.
"The commercial activity is conducted by the marinas in the resort lessors, and they have the leases from the Corps of Engineers to be able to do that," Townsend said.
This rule is permanent with no exceptions. If you break it, there will be consequences.
"There are no exceptions," Townsend said. "Everybody with a private boat dock permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, this applies to them. It applies to their permit with us. It states explicitly that they cannot do this, and if they're in violation several times, it's possible they could have their boat dock revoked on Beaver Reservoir."
Townsend said you do not want to lose your slip.
"Those boat docks on Beaver Lake, we're not allowing any more slips or any new boat docks, and so if you were to lose your boat dock, you're not going to get it back," Townsend said.
Bill Horton owns a house on Beaver Lake and was upset with this rule until he met face-to-face with the USACE.
"When we first purchased a home off the dock, we were upset that we couldn't rent it out to VRBO," Horton said. "I had a meeting with the Corps, and after learning that Beaver Lake is really a community that belongs to everyone, it made sense that we can't use it for a commercial purpose simply because we have a dock there. It made sense, from a safety standpoint, that people shouldn't be running private commercial docks, like 1,700 of them, on the lake."
However, Horton said they do have a legal way of allowing their guests to keep their boat close.
"They allow shore parking, so we have a four-by-four post in our yard," Horton said. "You can back up, pull your boat into our backyard, tie up, and it's no different than using our slip, except that you can't use the slip."
Out of courtesy for renters, homeowner Elizabeth Malatesta said owners need to make sure guests are told this restriction before they rent their house.
"If you share a dock, it's disrespectful," Malatesta said. "You have to let the people know that are going to rent your property that the dock does not come with it."
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