CENTRE WELLINGTON — Centre Wellington is back to square one when it comes to its draft short-term rental licensing bylaw.
In a lengthy discussion about the draft short-term rental (STR) licensing bylaw at a council meeting Monday afternoon, Centre Wellington councillors shared several concerns about the draft bylaw's points, including parking, owner-occupation and enforcement, as well as how to protect long-term rental spaces in the community.
While staff initially recommended that the draft bylaw be endorsed or rejected at the meeting, council deferred it in favour of conducting a committee of the whole workshop, where council can look at different options and decide together what they want the draft bylaw to look like rather than repeatedly go back and forth with staff over long periods.
Due to the township staff's current workload, the draft bylaw is anticipated to come back to council in Q3, which is between July and September.
"Let's get naked and build it together ... I think we have to just take it back to the general provisions, and then you tell me where we go," said the township clerk Kerri O'Kane, during the meeting.
Going around the horseshoe, Coun. Bronwynne Wilton said her main concern is protecting long-term housing and how to limit "ghost houses" bringing lots of strangers to the community and making neighbours nervous that they "never know who's next door anymore."
In her mind, ensuring all future STRs are owner-occupied is the easiest way to deal with that while addressing any issues with partying.
"It is in our strategic plan that we want to provide housing for everybody who works here, can afford to live here. I think we kind of missed that point because we're not putting that as a priority," said Wilton. "By putting that as a priority ... we would actually be intentionally limiting the number of STRs in the community one way or another."
Wilton was also concerned about the draft bylaw's proposition to make the Historic Core Area, which runs from William Street to York Street West, exempt from any parking or buffer requirements.
"It's saying that our downtown heritage core areas are not residential," said Wilton. "The bylaw said we're protecting residential by using the 100-metre setback in residential areas but when I look at those historic zones ... I'm concerned we've drawn this line and outside the historic corridor lines are different roles than inside."
Capping the number of STRs at 175 was discussed, although staff are concerned that this could create a "licensing frenzy" if implemented. O'Kane said staff know of approximately 155 STRs in Centre Wellington and suspect there are more.
Coun. Barb Lustgarten-Evoy said a cap is "absolutely" needed, suggesting something higher than 175. She later shared concerns about the bylaw's "lack of clarity" around parking and the limited options regarding enforcement.
"I don't want to leave our residents without any options," said Lustgarten-Evoy. "We're saying you get demerits, but between Friday at 5 pm and Monday at 9 am, there's really nobody except our OPP."
Saying she generally agrees with Wilton and Lustgarten-Evoy, Coun. Jennifer Adams asked for council to look at tighter rules for non-owner occupied STRs rather than create a cap.
Coun. Kim Jefferson suggested requiring STR owners to renew their licenses annually instead of every three years to help keep a handle on the bad apples.
"I do feel like when we started down this road, it was to target those bad actors that are harming the enjoyment of our community and our residents ... I think we also want to protect any responsible hosts that we do have in the community," said Adams. "I think there is a lot of them and it is a source of income and I don't think we're looking to do any harm."
Two STR owners delegated during the meeting to share their concerns about the draft bylaw, asking for a simpler registration process and for the township to make it "less restrictive," especially for responsible owners.
"We chose this path because it felt safe and accessible. These proposed bylaws now make it unstable and unwelcoming," said STR owner Mark Reilly. "Our STR is essential to us. It helps us support our home and contribute to the community."
The full draft bylaw is available here.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
