They may be a growing concern in neighbouring municipalities, including London and Port Stanley, however short-term rentals have not resulted in warning flags being raised in St. Thomas.
That’s according to a report from Lou Pompilii, the city’s Director of Planning and Development, to be presented to city council at its meeting today (Tuesday).
He is referring to the services provided by Airbnb, Vrbo, Cozycozy or individual owner-operators renting out their dwellings.
To deal with real and perceived impacts, some municipalities have put controls in place.
These include the need to protect long-term housing, “By mandating that only a principal residence can be rented, the municipality keeps long-term rental units from being converted into permanent, short-term rentals, easing housing scarcity.”
And, protecting neighbouring properties with regulations “that allow the municipality to manage potential disturbances caused by frequent guest turnover in residential areas.”
In his report, Pompilii concludes, “While believed to be minimal in number, the exact quantity of listings within the city’s municipal boundary is difficult to determine.”
To date, staff have not received a significant number of complaints related to STR. There may be other properties under private listings or other brokers. With so few listings and no notable complaints being received about the active STR’s, it may be premature for the city to implement licensing and other controls at this time.
“It is noted that there would be staffing costs associated with such a program, and the fees are intended to address those costs. However, with so few actual listings, the fees might need to be set unreasonably high to achieve cost recovery.
“Council may wish to table this matter for the time being and review it again in another five years or so after the anticipated impacts associated with growth from PowerCo and other economic development initiatives begin to materialize.”
Written by Ian McCallum
