NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - North Salem stakeholders will get the chance to weigh in on the town’s proposed short-term rental regulations.
A public hearing has been set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at the town’s meeting room, 66 June Road.
The town Planning Board had been working on a draft of the law for a while, apparently spurred by complaints from residents about STRs in their neighborhoods.
Among the potential negative impacts looked at were increased noise, traffic, trash, and general aesthetics.
Balancing housing affordability, supplemental income for homeowners, neighborhood well-being, tourism, and economic development can make it challenging to craft effective STR regulations.
Fairness and equity were also an issue. Regulating STRs could help create, some argue, a more level playing field for traditional businesses such as motels and motels, which are subject to similar taxes and fees.
Town planning officials looked around at what other municipalities were doing and then pieced together legislation they thought would best fit North Salem’s needs.
There are approximately eight STRs currently operating in town.
They are, for instance, variously advertised on one booking platform as a “country escape from the city,” “luxe equestrian estate guest house,” “pet friendly lake cottage,” “rustic retreat with a hot tub,” “converted horse barn,” “horse country retreat,” and so on.
The Planning Board wanted to be proactive about controlling STRs without banning or discouraging them, which could lead to legal challenges down the road.
The Town Board has reviewed the draft, set the public hearing, and will eventually vote on whether to adopt the new regulations.
The bottom line is that local governments have certain responsibilities and regulating STRs ensure that they meet certain safety standards and operating requirements.
It aims “to maintain and protect the attractive and harmonious visual image and character of the community; prevent adverse impacts to the environment; protect property values; and protect the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Town of North Salem.”
The proposed law is posted on the town’s website as part of the Town Board’s July 8 agenda.
The intent of the zoning code changes is to “accommodate North Salem residents who want the option to rent their residential dwellings on a short-term basis, while establishing appropriate requirements to mitigate challenges that short-term rentals may have on neighborhoods and the community as a whole.”
Short-term rentals will be classified and only permitted as an accessory use and NOT as a principal use such as a commercial investment property.
(That aims to prevent people from buying property solely as a business, Planning Board Chair Cynthia Curtis has explained.)
Here are some highlights:
PERMITTING PROCESS
Short-term rental owners must apply for special use permits.
Permits last for two years and “run” with the property owner and NOT the property itself, meaning that the permit cannot be transferred to a new property or a different owner.
If the property is owned by an LLC, corporation or trust, a principal shareholder or member of the LLC or corporation or the beneficiary of the trust is considered to be the owner.
Property owners will not be eligible for permits during the first two years of their ownership of the premises and they have to apply for a renewal of their permit 60 days prior to its expiration date.
Operating without a permit is considered a violation of the local zoning code.
According to the proposed law, permits are “a privilege, not a right” and they can be suspended or revoked if owners fail to comply with the regulations.
A conviction on a first offense can result in a $350 fine. That increases to a maximum of $700 for a second offense and to $1,000 for a third if they occur within a five-year period.
In each case, those found guilty after a court hearing could also face up to six months behind bars.
TIME LIMITS
Short-term rentals are those that occur for 30 days or less. Properties that are rented out for longer periods than that will not be affected by the new law.
The use of the permit can’t exceed a total of 90 days per calendar year and no more than a total of 13 weekends – or parts of weekends – can be included in that total.
Weekends are defined as any time between Friday evening and Monday morning.
Noise restrictions will apply from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on all days.
WHERE ALLOWED
Short-term rentals will only be allowed in the following zones: R-4, R-1, R-2, R-1/2, R-1/4 (Residential), NB (Neighborhood Business), GB (General Business), and PO (Professional Office).
DEFINITIONS
The proposed law also defines what dwellings, dwelling units, families, and short-term rentals are.
A dwelling is a building that can be used or occupied as non-transient living quarters for one or more dwelling units. That doesn’t include hotels, motels, or recreation vehicles, trailers, motor homes, or campers.
A dwelling unit is a building, or a self-contained part of it, with complete housekeeping facilities for only one family and no enclosed spaces other than, say, hallways or porches, or cooking/sanitary facilities in common with any other dwelling unit.
Trailers, recreational vehicles, convalescent/nursing homes, dormitories, hotels, or similar structures are NOT considered “dwelling units.”
A family is defined as “any number of individuals living together and doing their cooking as a single housekeeping unit on the premises.”
That excludes transient guests of a boarding room, short-term-rental, bed and breakfast, or hotel.
A short-term rental is any portion of a property rented, leased, or assigned for occupancy by transient guests for a period of less than 30 consecutive days.
Both "hosted" and "unhosted" STRs will be permitted if the new regulations are adopted.
A "hosted" STR is defined as one where both a primary owner resident and short-term rental transient guest are present on the premises and overnight during the rental period.
An "unhosted" STR is one where "no primary owner resident is present on the premises with the transient guest during the short-term rental period."
IMPACTS ADDRESSED
The proposed law aims to preserve the community’s character.
In Curtis’ words: “Neighbors, not Airbnbs.”
Short-term rentals have, it says, have “the potential to negatively impact residential neighborhoods by allowing what are effectively commercial transient lodging uses in buildings and areas where commercial uses are typically not permitted.”
Parking is limited to designated places on the property and guests aren’t allowed to trespass on adjourning properties or engage in behavior that would create a disturbance in the surrounding neighborhood
It also addresses the “affordability” issue.
Short-terms rentals can remove dwelling units from the market and drive up demand for the limited remaining housing supply and cause rents or prices to increase, the document said.
The proposed regulations also cite the town’s Comprehensive Plan whose “overarching vision,” is to “maintain and enhance North Salem’s rural residential character and identity.”
The plan recommends that “maintenance and enhancement of the overall rural and quaint appearance of the town be controlled through the site plan and permitting process.”
When it was put together, residents “overwhelmingly” cited North Salem’s “scenic beauty” and “rural character” as the reason they live there.
To accomplish that, the plan noted, certain things need to be controlled, namely noise, light pollution, incompatible land uses, traffic congestion, and limitations on non-residential development.
COUNTY’S ROLE
Short-term rental owners are required to register their units with Westchester County, pay all lodging occupancy taxes, and collect and pay all applicable occupancy and sales taxes required by state or county law.
The town itself will provide the county with permit and registration information.
A guest register has to be kept with the names, addresses, dates, and lengths of stay of guests. It must be made available to the local building/fire inspector, police, and emergency responders if requested.
The proposed law also addresses the number of bedrooms and the number of guests per bedroom allowed and prohibits kitchen, cooking facilities, or appliances in those rooms.
Use of the short-term rental as a commercial event space is also verboten.
INDUSTRY VIEWS
At its June 24 meeting, the Town Board acknowledged the receipt of a form-letter type email from Manny Capellan, public policy manager for Airbnb.
“Airbnb is committed to working with policymakers to help ensure home sharing strengthens communities,” it read, referencing an “important resource,” aka its best practices guide developed in 2023, that it wanted to "share" with the town.
“The Policy Toolkit outlines how local jurisdictions around the world have successfully partnered with Airbnb and Hosts on short-term rental registration, transient occupancy tax collection, addressing trust and safety concerns, and data and resource sharing.
We hope it is useful for your community as you consider how to best craft fair rules that enable responsible home sharing and the benefits it can bring for residents and local economies,” Capellan wrote.
Supervisor Warren Lucas responded that the town had been “working on the legislation for some time” and was “all set.”
However, if an Airbnb representative wanted to come to a Town Board or Planning Board “and comment like everyone else that is fine but other than that we do not need the help.”
Lucas added that if Airbnb wanted to be notified when the matter was on either agenda it could send a request to his chief of staff.
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