Update: Public hearing on short-term rental regs slated for Friday at school

The original post of this article neglected to mention that, in addition to a petition presented to the Town Clerk calling for restrictions on short term rentals, there is a change.org online petition, “Support Shelter Island’s Short Term Rentals, a 150 Year Old Tradition,” that as of Tuesday morning had 517 signatures.

The original article continues below.

It’s a debate that opposing sides claim to be championing for the same idealistic objective — preserving the unique character of Shelter Island.

The issue of regulating short-term rentals — usually during the summer tourist season — has consumed the Town Board’s time and energy since the spring of 2016. As Councilwoman Chris Lewis noted at one point, if the board was involved in health care, there would be a lot of dead people.

The argument drew advocates from both sides to Town Hall almost every week last summer through the autumn. Town Clerk Dorothy Ogar reported fielding more than 75 letters and emails from both sides, as well as petitions from a group called “Preserve Shelter Island,” calling for strict regulations on short-term rentals to save “the soul of Shelter Island,” with a total number of 348 petitioners.

Ms. Ogar described the response as “unusual,” perhaps because, “it covers months of time.”

The venue for a public hearing on draft legislation to regulate short-term rentals, originally set for Friday, January 27 at 4:30 p.m. at Town Hall, was changed to the school auditorium in anticipation of a large turnout, with the same date and time.

An example of how contentious the issue has become, is a comment made by Councilman Paul Shepherd in anticipation of the public hearing, when he advised participants to “put on your flame-retardant suits.”

The battle joined

One side has made a case that renting rooms or an entire house during the summer is a time-honored Island tradition. Making their homes available to visitors has helped owners meet expenses, including large mortgage and tax payments, in order to remain full-time residents of the Island. The rentals have also contributed greatly to the Island’s economy, with guests patronizing restaurants and other tourist amenities.

But with the proliferation of online rental agencies such as airbnb, the board has heard from other homeowners who say that once quiet neighborhoods have become a haven for “party houses” in spring and summer. Neighbors have complained to the board about noise, overcrowding and boorish behavior day and night.

Over the course of the debate at Town Hall, the quality of life issue was superseded by the fear that real estate speculators have bought properties solely to rent on a short-term basis, which turns residential neighborhoods into defacto commercial zones.

The speculators also remove available properties that could be rented with long leases, ensuring that people of more moderate incomes, especially younger residents, can live here and contribute to the community.

On the notion that speculators are eyeing Shelter Island as a market for short term rentals — the Island has no legal restrictions on short term-rentals as opposed to Southold, Southampton and East Hampton — in September Town Assessor BJ Ianfolla gave the board a list 110 of houses purchased from 2012 to 2015 that went straight to rentals, Ms. Ianfolla said.

Dueling polls

There have been surveys by the Shelter Island Association (SIA) and the Chamber of Commerce released in August on the issue of regulating short-term rentals. One of the most revealing statistics from the SIA survey, which employed the online tool surveymonkey.com, is that 63 percent of those responding believe unregulated short-term rentals are not beneficial for Shelter Island. About 20 percent said lack of regulations was a good thing and 18 percent were neutral on the issue.

On the question of whether short-term rentals “are good for commercial operations” on the Island, 52 percent of those responding, said yes, 23 percent said no and 25 percent had no opinion.

Although the survey had received 325 responses — characterized as a good sampling by SIA President Tim Hogue — to an extensive questionnaire of 13 questions, with an additional 137 comments written by responders, Mr. Hogue admitted there were flaws in survey, including no residents of the Center being polled.

The Shelter Island Chamber of Commerce had it’s own online poll that asked only two questions — if the respondent was a member of the chamber and if proposed legislation restricting short-term rentals would have a positive or negative financial impact. About 48 percent of chamber members who responded said it would be a negative impact and 21 percent said it would be positive.

Crafting regulations

Also, in September, specific restrictions on licensing, advertising and signage, the number guests and how many times a homeowner can host guests within a calendar year were put in writing and distributed to board members as a draft of legislation.

The proposals were the work of Councilman Jim Colligan and former Councilwoman Mary Dudley, who took the lead to hammer out a consensus among their colleagues on new legislation. Mr. Colligan’s written proposal claimed it is necessary to restrict the short-term rental market because “residential neighborhoods need to be protected” and year-round residential housing has been diminished due to the proliferation of short-term stays. It noted that new restrictions on private rentals “would level the playing field” with hotel and B&Bs and would keep the Island’s character as “a family friendly Island that values its quality of life charm.”

Ms. Dudley emphasized that the proposed legislation would be for “non-owner occupied short-term vacation rentals,” and would include licensing; all advertising would include registry and licensing information; and a “good neighbor brochure” outlining community standards that renters would have agree to. In addition, the number of guests permitted in rentals would be based on the number of bedrooms. Several formulas for limits on the number of times hosts could rent to guests in the calendar year was open for discussion, but no agreement was reached.

The next move by the board in December was draft legislation that is to be discussed at the upcoming public hearing and includes no restrictions on length of stays or how many times a residence can be rented.

The proposed legislation includes:
• Licensing by the town with proof that owners have been registered with Suffolk County for tax purposes and can produce a letter from their insurers showing that guests are covered in the event of any accidents on the property
• Occupancy of a rental shall not exceed two persons per conventional bedroom
• Provide guests with a handbook to familiarize them with limits to noise or overcrowding as well as water concerns on the Island
• Require advertisements of short-term rentals to list the registration numbers and information about maximum occupancies
• Exempt rentals that provide permanent homes for tenants
• Exempt existing hotels and bed & breakfast establishments already covered by other ordinances.

The complete draft legislation is on the town’s website at shelterislandtown.us; click on “Town Topics,” and “Upcoming Hearings & Laws.”

The hearing is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Friday, January 27 in the Shelter Island School auditorium.