At a Monday, June 10, meeting of the Warren Planning Commission, owners of Short Term Rentals (STR) pushed back on aspects of a draft ordinance requiring them to register properties with the town and comply with several rental requirements. They said some of the requirements are too strict and asked commissioners to get more public input before sending the draft to the select board.
The ordinance, which commissioners started drafting in late February, requires the registration of STRs so the town can better understand the STR market. For two or three years, the town would collect data to determine who owns STRs, how the STR market is growing and other information. The broader goal, which commissioners began discussing at least a year ago, is to understand whether the STR market is negatively impacting the availability of long-term housing in Warren, and to determine whether regulation of STRs “is appropriate and consistent with the best interests of the town,” according to draft ordinance.
The draft defines an STR as any residence containing a kitchen, in which one or more rooms is rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days and more than 14 days per calendar year.
The ordinance calls for STR owners to apply for a permit, with an approval process that, according to the draft, could take up to two months. They would need to pay an annual fee – to be determined by the select board, as well as provide proof of insurance and get properties up to compliance in various ways.
The draft includes fines for ‘quality of life’ violations – with noise, for example, ranging from up to $150 for the first violation to “an amount not less than $500” for the fourth. With violations, an STR owner’s permit could be revoked by the town’s zoning administrator, who can also inspect properties both before and after issuing permits.
Daisy Scarzello, a rental manager at Kismet Properties, which specializes in vacation rentals in Warren, said the ordinance draft is too strict for property owners. She said she was planning to rent out an Alpine Village cabin that she inherited from her father, who recently passed away, as this is the only way her family could afford to keep the property.
She pointed to a requirement in the ordinance that for non-owner occupied STRs, owners must designate someone who lives within a 30-minute drive of the property to act as a host. Scarzello said she currently lives just 45 minutes away and asked the commission to rethink that rule.
“I know you’ve been working on the STR registry for some time now . . .and I agree it’s high time a registry is implemented,” she said. “However, it does feel like it went very quickly – and with little community discussion – from registry to a more restrictive ordinance.”
Collin Phillips, who manages 30 STRs in Warren through a company he co-owns called Mad River Valley Rental Management, said that while he supports the creation of town safety guidelines for STRs, the ordinance could infringe on the rights of STR owners. He asked for a more “condensed and simplified” version, “especially with the economic impact that Short Term Rentals bring to this town.”
He asked the commission to allow STR owners to have 90 days to get in compliance, instead of 30 as written in the draft, and to allow owners to appeal town decisions to revoke a permit. He also asked them to remove guest parking requirements and recordkeeping rules for owners. While the draft ordinance allows two guests per “sleeping room,” Phillips asked the commission to allow two to four additional guests depending on the rental’s size.
Josh Vogel, who owns a home in Warren and splits his time between Warren and New York City, pointed to fears of future policy decisions that would ban STRs in the town, arguing that “the cleaners and all the businesses in town that benefit from people using our property would no longer be benefitting from that.”
Commissioners were clear that a ban on STRs was not in the future of the town. “That’s not a realistic answer, at all,” commissioner Dan Raddock said.
“This is registration,” planning commission chair Jim Sanford said, “not a regulation. This should not be seen as an adversarial position.”
A software program called Granicus would house the STR registry as well as collecting and organizing data about the STR market. Registration fees paid by STR owners would reimburse the cost of the software, at $27,800 annually.
Commissioner Macon Phillips stressed that the ordinance is needed to get people to register with the town, which would allow the town to collect data about STR ownership, and how that might be impacting the availability of long-term housing.
The draft ordinance reads that “while renting STRs can provide owners with the opportunity to earn income, subsidize the cost of living and benefit The Valley’s tourism economy, there may be negative impacts. The prevalence of STRs could be reducing the number of dwelling units available for long-term occupancy, which could contribute to rising house costs and lack of adequate workforce.”
Warren resident Lisa Miserendino said at the meeting that “from my perspective, in Warren Village, one of our concerns was, how was it affecting what is available for people to live in -- how is it affecting the housing shortage?”
“It appears that close to 50% of the homes in Warren Village are not occupied by people who live here full time,” she said. “I’m not going to comment on whether that’s a bad thing or not, but I will tell you that I used to live in a community of neighbors and when I look around, there’s nobody home.”
The planning commission will take up the draft ordinance again in its June 24 meeting. Commissioners said they wanted more public feedback and that they would make it available on the town website. Following that, they will send it to the select board, who will eventually put it to a vote.
