HomeMy WebLinkAboutSTRCommMtgMinutes 4.30.24_.pdfShort Term Rental Subcommittee
April 30,2024
9-10 30am
Attending:
Deputy Supervisor:John Stype (Chair)
Town Board:none
Government Liaison:Gwynn Schroeder
Building Dept:none
Planning Staff:Heather Lanza,Mara Cerezo
Town Attorney:Jack Squicciarini,Ben Johnson
Code Enforcement:none
Housing Advisory Commission:none
Accept the Minutes from the last meeting Approved.
Understand our current Town Code -relevant regulations on rentals &tourism:
Reviewed current code.(See supplemental slides and handouts from the meeting.)
In the definition for a transient rental property it uses the term “dwelling unit”.A “dwelling
unit”is defined in Chapter 280 as being a minimum of 850 square feet.So when a transient
rental violation is brought to court the size issue can be contested.
Transient rental amenity definition was added recently because there were people renting
out their pools and if a pool is of a commercial nature then SCDHS needs to be involved to
ensure health and safety.
The definition for Bed &Breakfast states it is an “owner-occupied dwelling”but that may
not always be the case on the ground.
Is there a way to make it clear that transient rentals are currently prohibited?
Ideas to improve current situation:
➔Add Chapter 280 rules for short term rentals to the rental permit application and
affidavit
➔Add to the Town website all the rules about rentals and short term rentals so people
can find out what the rules are now.
Overview of Rental Permit process
Rental permits were started in town to address health and safety concerns of rental
situations.
Chapter 207 Rental Permits does not mention duration of rental.
The Town utilizes an automated system throug h Laserfiche to notify permitholders when it
is time to renew their rental permit.(Note:John Sep is the wizard of Laserfiche.)
Information tracking for rental permits is not done in municity but is kept separately.
It is expected that personnel needs will increase to aid in management and enforcement of
rental permits,specifically if the Town looks at ways to increase the different types of
permits and or clarify any definitions further (i.e.seasonal rental,short-term rental,
year-round rental,etc.).
The Town can also look at utilizing online platforms to streamline how people submit
application materials.This may require further training on the software/platform and
follow-through at all levels to ensure buy-in.
Ideas to improve current situation:
➔Have a brochure about the rules of rentals
➔Clarify/specify the location for a rental permit to be displayed.
➔Submit the lease with the application.
➔Include if the rental requires a family member or a tenant form the Housing Registry
Review of Code Enforcement activity and Justice Court resolutions
Code enforcement:Complaint-driven (online system mostly,some walk-ins or calls)
Main Complaints:Noise,trash,parking,sometimes pre-existing neighbor conflict,location
is a residential neighborhood and they don’t want to live next to a hotel (revolving door of
guests)
Process:
1.Check for rental permit -make sure house is safe
2.If rental permit -investigate whether they are renting less than 14 days
3.Code enforcement officers make site visits to determine
4.They try to catch them doing this on the weekends (Thurs-Sun.)
5.Affidavit of the tenant that they stayed less than 14 days.
6.Tickets for no rental permit,and transient rental.
7.Serving tickets to LLC’s takes a long time -trouble serving papers and getting them to
show at court
8.If no rental permit -they then get made to get a rental permit.
9.If no c.o.,it can’t get resolved easily.
10.After permit,settle for a sum or go to trial.
11.The person who signed the affidavit has to come into court to make the evidence work.
➔Can you ticket the renter?Idea to make enforcement work better.East Hampton
does that.
12.Penalty for a transient rental $1500 to $8,000 (Settlements $2000-$6000)avg.$2700
We have successfully resolved 12 or 13 transient rentals in the past 10 months.
Consider pulling a permit after so many violations.
What can we do to find transient rentals -can we use their online calendars and
information?
Yes,we are starting to do that but that can be considered hearsay.
What about follow up for the ones that are sitting in pending for c.o.?
Their case stays in court until they get the c.o.
They have to keep coming to court to explain why they haven’t done this.
They cannot continue to rent.
Repeat offenders.Yes.one received the highest fine.But this is not common.
Ben can send more information about Justice Court data.
Ideas to improve current situation:
➔Code Enforcement -need a weekend worker for year-round.Town hiring additional
PT person for code enforcement.
➔All scenarios (including status quo)require more personnel and improved systems
for permitting and enforcement.
Closing Thoughts:
Should this committee have a stepped process to get the Town Board to make some
changes immediately?What items can we do now without code changes?
Consider creating a timeline for the Board to spread out the things that need to happen
delineating between short and long term items.
➔Example:Revise rental application and update “transient rental prohibition”
information to make it clearer on Town Website
Reminder of future meeting dates:
●Next meeting on May 28th.
○The current plan is to review research/ideas and come up with pros and
cons for our top choices.
○Consider a master list of issues and then prioritize using our guiding
principles.
●See presentation materials (separate pdf )and meeting handouts (links shared
below)for overview of code definitions and review of rental permit process.
○Chapter 207 Rental Permits -https://ecode360.com/33976699
○rental-permit-app (southoldtownny.gov)