ERIN – Town council has voted to adopt a plan to regulate and manage short-term rentals in Erin.
The plan comes after a notice of motion, presented by Mayor Michael Dehn and passed on June 26, called for the regulation of short-term rentals such as Airbnbs.
The motion raised concerns about the growing number of short-term rentals and the town’s lack of legislation to regulate them.
Issues such as parking congestion, noise and property upkeep were presented as areas of concern.
“The goal of this motion is to ensure there’s fairness and consistency in how accommodations are regulated, whether traditional or short-term rentals,” said municipal law enforcement officer Martyna Silwiak at the Sept. 11 meeting of council.
“Ultimately we want to balance innovation with community wellbeing supporting our housing, safety and neighbourhood integrity objectives.”
Previously, the town had regulations for bed and breakfast establishments but lacked legislation on short-term rentals.
A recent scan of the town, conducted by Granicus Host Compliance, revealed a total of 54 unique short-term rental listings.
However, Silwiak told council the true number is likely higher as the data doesn’t include part-time or occasional rentals or those who only rent out rooms or homes seasonally.
A short-term rental is defined as a temporary accommodation, typically lasting under 30 days.
The plan, which was adopted by council, will consist of four phases and take approximately eight to 10 months to complete.
Phase one includes analysis framework and looking at other municipalities and what they are doing.
Phase two would be public consultation. Phase three would see the drafting of a plan as well as feedback and a public meeting.
And phase four would see the implementation of the plan as well as a detailed breakdown of what costs the plan will incur.
A detailed cost breakdown will be presented to council at a later date.
There were a few questions from council, with some councillors expressing concerns for short-term rentals that are currently operating in Erin.
“We have existing businesses, farm experiences, short-term stays, which are not disrupting, but they are adding to our local economy,” said councillor Bridget Ryan.
“What is the plan to address existing local economy developers who have programming going on in place where people stay overnight for workshops or camps … how will we accommodate for that as a town and not penalize them so that they … can’t operate their business?”
Silwiak responded by reminding council there are currently no bylaws regulating short-term rentals and therefore those currently operating such businesses are violating town rules.
Ryan also voiced concerns over financial burden, asking if there will be some kind of assistance provided to small businesses that perhaps could not afford costs such as licensing fees, etc.
“We have a lot of non-complying businesses, big and small,” said Dehn.
“It’s not a free-for-all. We have to have rules that people have to follow.”
Dehn said the town has taken some businesses to court to force them into compliance, as some have refused to do so willingly.
Councillor Cathy Aylard voiced support for the plan, saying she liked its “slow and steady approach.”
Councillor John Brennan expressed his hopes for the plan to have some “teeth.”
“And by that I mean they provide the resources for enforcement, that we haven’t done in the past,” said Brennan.
“We talk about encouraging entrepreneurs and people who do things the right way and right now we’re not doing that, we’re discouraging them because we’re not punishing the people who are operating illegally and incorrectly and in defiance of our bylaws.”
“I would hope going forward that if there are fees they’d be less punitive than the fines, (which should be) exceedingly punitive,” added councillor Jamie Cheyne.
Council voted unanimously in favour of the plan.
