By Emery Cowan | Arizona Daily Sun
Jeff Meilander began Flagstaff Eco Ranch two and a half years ago as a nonprofit sustainable living and agriculture demonstration site. The Baderville ranch has served as a place to grow produce in support of local healthy eating causes, host volunteers and hold hands-on educational events.
While the nonprofit gets some donations and sells some of its produce, a big chunk of its funding comes from income Meilander earns by using part of his home as a vacation rental. Renting out his two downstairs bedrooms during the summer months provides the majority of Flagstaff EcoRanch’s income, he said.
In recent years, short-term vacation rentals like Meilander’s haven’t been regulated in Coconino County, though that has a good chance of changing in a few months.
