Rules proposed for short-term rentals

Oft-discussed topic, new ordinance subject of public hearing Monday


A decade ago, Michael Swistak, as chairman of the planning commission, introduced Jamestown to a relatively new method of lodging — short-term rentals — “that was flying under the radar.”

“That whole issue is about to surface,” he said in March 2012.

Swistak was right. Within a year, neighbors of these rental properties began launching their complaints to public officials, and by June 2014, the town council became involved. The concerns included parties, congestion, parking and the water supply.

On Monday night, after nearly 100 months of on-and-off debates, which included a failed ordinance in August 2016, the fate of the issue again will be considered.

There will be a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 22 to determine whether properties rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days will be locally regulated.

According to the proposed ordinance, the owners of short-term rentals will have to be registered with the town clerk in order to legally rent their homes for fewer than 30 consecutive days. The fee for residents who operate these properties would be $300, which would be doubled for owners not considered residents. A resident is defined “as the record owner of a parcel of real estate who physically resides in the subject property for no less than 183 days per year, and has designated the subject property as their legal residence for a driver’s license, voter registration, state identification card or other suitable form as proof of domicile.” Business entities and trusts are not defined as residents in the proposal.

Prior to being registered and licensed, a short-term rental must be inspected for a fee by the building official and fire marshal, with biennial inspections required thereafter. As proposed, short-term rentals only would be permitted in “dwelling units,” which are defined as complete, independent living facilities with “permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, and containing a separate means of ingress and egress.” Accessory structures would be prohibited from being used for short-term rentals.

The maximum occupancy would be set at two people per bedroom, and in dwelling units that use sep- tic systems, the “maximum occupancy shall not exceed the number of bedrooms supported by the design load.” Bedrooms are defined as any room greater than 70 square feet in area, which has at least one window and one interior method of entry and egress. The minimum area must be met excluding closets, shared spaces open to the house and bathrooms.

No tents, storage units, boats or recreation vehicles can be used or occupied on properties being rented as short-term rentals. As for parking, “one off-street parking space shall be provided on the same lot on which the short-term rental is located for each bedroom, plus one additional parking space, as determined by the building official.”

The off-street parking spaces, moreover, must be within an identified driveway or parking area, not on lawns, and the total number of parking spaces required shall be one greater than the number of bedrooms utilized for occupancy. Parking spaces must be at least 10 by 22 feet “exclusive of drives and maneuvering space.”

“Where the total number of parking spaces required by this section cannot be met, the permitted occupancy of the dwelling shall be reduced to conform to the available amount of off-street parking spaces,” the ordinance says.

As for the obligations of owners, agreements with renters “shall state that the renter may be held legally responsible and liable for any violations of law committed by the renter or by other occupants or guests while at the Short-term Rental unit premises, including violations of the laws and ordinances pertaining to noise, disorderly conduct, disturbance of the peace, keeping dogs on a leash, parking, trash maintenance and disposal, and dwelling occupancy limits.”

Absentee owners must have a local representative to be authorized “to respond to tenant and neighborhood questions or concerns on a 24/7 basis.”