Town Board awaits draft of short-term rental law
SAUGERTIES, N.Y. » Town Board members have asked that a short-term rental law be drafted that can assure renters are safe in residential homes while neighbors are not subjected to disturbances.
Supervisor Fred Costello said the regulations are being developed by a planning consultant after discussions during a video conference earlier this week.
“Right now it’s more or less unregulated in Saugerties and that’s not okay,” he said. “I want to get something on the books that will be fair to the people who might be renting their home on a regular basis and be fair to the perception that the properties that are being used are safe.”
Costello said the regulations are being drafted in response to situations that have short-term rental properties being used as a commercial enterprise rather than supplemental income for people using spare rooms or accessory structures.
“There are people who have made this somewhat of an investment industry and they may not live here,” he said. “The idea that they can go into neighborhoods and set up mini-resort activity has an impact on those neighborhoods and some of it is not fair.”
The problems have included short-term renters that have daylong parties and other gatherings each weekend during the summer.
“If I can’t park in front of my house because my neighbors are regularly
having short-term rentals that’s not fair to my quality of life,” Costello said.
“We all behave differently when we’re off relaxing,” he added. “We may be willing to stay up later or listen to music outside and do things that are certainly appropriate. But if I have to go to work the next day and my neighbor is the one renting the house to someone who is engaged in that activity, it is disruptive.”
Costello previously said drafting regulations for short-term rentals has been one of several efforts that have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue was raised more than two years ago when two former board members suggested that laws in other communities be reviewed.