Rutland Herald
Thursday, December 13, 2018
KILLINGTON — The town is researching a
possible rental property registration program aimed at handling rentals
that go through sites like Airbnb.
The Select Board talked about the program at its Dec. 3 meeting, directing Town Manager Chet Hagenbarth to further research the proposal.
Hagenbarth said Wednesday the town has had some issues with people renting out residential properties to scores of people, advertising the rentals on websites and apps like Airbnb and Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO).
According
to Hagenbarth, the town’s zoning bylaws limit residential occupancy to
two people per bedroom. Some properties are being listed on rental sites
advertising that they can hold far more than the two-person-per-bedroom
limit.
Hagenbarth said the town has had zoning-related issues with these properties. At least one involved an overloaded septic system.
Hagenbarth said it’s not clear yet what form the new program will take, be it an ordinance or a registration program.
“It will be specific to the issue we’re dealing with,” he said.
At the Dec. 3 meeting, Hagenbarth told the board he’s run the proposal by the town’s attorney, Kevin Brown, who said the town has the authority to create such a program but would need to adjust some of the draft language.
Hagenbarth
said Wednesday that he’s in the process of getting more information by
looking at what other towns have done since the issue has come up in
other places.
Selectwoman Patty McGrath said at the meeting the program isn’t being sought to punish any one person, but is being done so that all will be treated evenly. She said these rental operations need to be held to the same standards.
The town was recently in a dispute with a property owner on Estabrook Road who is advertising with VRBO a home with between four and five beds that would sleep 28. Town bylaws only allow two people per bed. The home, at the time, was permitted with three bedrooms. Zoning Administrator Richard Horner issued a notice of violation to the owner, who appealed it, only to have the appeal ultimately denied by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Hagenbarth said if the new program is created it would likely apply to all rental properties. He said the main concern is septic systems being overloaded at these residential homes being run as if they were commercial hotels. He said commercial operations are already regulated.
keith.whitcomb @rutlandherald.com
The Select Board talked about the program at its Dec. 3 meeting, directing Town Manager Chet Hagenbarth to further research the proposal.
Hagenbarth said Wednesday the town has had some issues with people renting out residential properties to scores of people, advertising the rentals on websites and apps like Airbnb and Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO).
Hagenbarth said the town has had zoning-related issues with these properties. At least one involved an overloaded septic system.
Hagenbarth said it’s not clear yet what form the new program will take, be it an ordinance or a registration program.
“It will be specific to the issue we’re dealing with,” he said.
At the Dec. 3 meeting, Hagenbarth told the board he’s run the proposal by the town’s attorney, Kevin Brown, who said the town has the authority to create such a program but would need to adjust some of the draft language.
Selectwoman Patty McGrath said at the meeting the program isn’t being sought to punish any one person, but is being done so that all will be treated evenly. She said these rental operations need to be held to the same standards.
The town was recently in a dispute with a property owner on Estabrook Road who is advertising with VRBO a home with between four and five beds that would sleep 28. Town bylaws only allow two people per bed. The home, at the time, was permitted with three bedrooms. Zoning Administrator Richard Horner issued a notice of violation to the owner, who appealed it, only to have the appeal ultimately denied by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Hagenbarth said if the new program is created it would likely apply to all rental properties. He said the main concern is septic systems being overloaded at these residential homes being run as if they were commercial hotels. He said commercial operations are already regulated.
keith.whitcomb @rutlandherald.com
No comments:
Post a Comment