Proposed Airbnb rules killed at request of Oberlin law director - Chronicle Telegram
OBERLIN — A flawed plan to regulate how short-term rental units can operate was killed Monday in a unanimous Oberlin City Council vote.
The legislation had taken aim at homes and rooms that are listed on vacation rental websites like Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway.
Airbnb is the largest of the bunch, with 31 listings in the city of Oberlin.
A long list suggested by the Oberlin Planning Commission called for the city to inspect rental properties, mandate fire extinguishers, issue permits, put limits on the number of visitors allowed and require two off-street parking spots and a paved driveway for each unit.
Law Director Jon Clark asked City Council to reject the proposed ordinance “so that we can spend the time necessary to really take a look at this and perhaps totally revamp it.”
The plan had raised several red flags, he and Planning and Development Director Carrie Handy said.
“The way we presented it to begin with, it went wrong. People saw us trying to regulate something, but we were trying to allow something that wasn’t on the books,” said Council Vice President Kelley Singleton in a follow-up interview.
He led Council discussion of the Airbnb ordinance after President Heather Adelman, who operates a short-term rental unit, recused herself.
Singleton said he is split on whether and how regulations should be put in place. On one hand, owners should be able to use their properties as they see fit — but on the other, Oberlin has a critical shortage of housing already.
Airbnbs are profitable, but they lock up affordable housing that should be available to local residents, especially those who can’t afford to buy a $300,000 or $400,000 home, he said.
“We have good rentals in Oberlin, and we need them,” Singleton said. “It’s not easy. … I want to see more housing in Oberlin is what I want to see.”
In the meantime, the Ohio Legislature is moving to craft its own rules for short-term rentals, Clark said.
House Bill 563, introduced by state Reps. Sarah Fowler Arthur, R-Geneva-on-the-Lake, and Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, seeks to limit what controls cities can place on Airbnb and other vacation units.
“I don’t know where that’s going to go. It raises constitutional questions,” Clark said.
He objects on the grounds that Oberlin and other cities and villages are entitled to “home rule,” meaning the Ohio Constitution grants them the right to choose their own local laws.
Councilman Ray English said the Ohio Municipal League “thinks (the bill) is a clear violation of home rule authority” that would prevent locally elected leaders from choosing how short-term rentals should operate in their own communities.
Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or [email protected].
source: https://chroniclet.com/news/294727/proposed-airbnb-rules-killed-at-request-of-oberlin-law-director/
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