Short Term Rentals: Thurs, Sept 14, 7-pm public hearing, Meredith Community Cntr

[Heaven]

Originally Posted by Weekend Pundit

The only thing I will say about this is I hope the folks in Wolfeboro won't make the same mistakes that were made in Conway which originally banned them outright. They ended up in front of the NH Supreme Court. Now Conway is rethinking its position and is offering up regulations for STRs. Here's an article from the Conway Daily Sun covering their efforts:

https://www.conwaydailysun.com/news/...5087820a2.html

Any ban would have to be very specific so as not to accidentally include long-standing summer rentals that have been taking place for decades.

I have not heard anyone talking about a short term rental ban in Wolfeboro except those who want to scare people from voting for some method of regulation.

[Loub52]

Short term rental == 1 week minimum seems reasonable?

[Weekend Pundit]

Originally Posted by Loub52

Short term rental == 1 week minimum seems reasonable?

Maximum rental terms should likely be set. Some towns define what constitutes a short term rental. Gilford did that with their zoning ordinance which defines maximum rental periods to a transient resident in order for a dwelling to be considered a short term rental. They did not set minimums. (It went into effect on July 1 but is allowing a 'grace period' for existing commercial STRs to meet the requirements laid out by their ordinance. New ones must meet the requirements before they can offer their properties as STRs.)

Minimums might be difficult to set by a town, but not impossible. I know some HOAs have set minimum terms of a week. Others have banned STRs outright. Yet others have set no limits.

Should towns define the difference between commercial STRs - those owned and rented solely as a source of income and not used by the owners as their own residence? Should someone renting a room be required to meet the same requirements as someone renting out their STR property? What about people renting out their personal home for only a few weeks out of the year, be it their full time residence or their seasonal residence?

Lots of questions to be asked and answered.

[Descant]

There are other complications--IRS definitions on investment properties limit the amount of personal use. NNH requires room and meal taxes if rented less than six months, banks don't like to finance properties in complexes that are too high an investor ratio... Lots of issues that vary from place to place.

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by Descant

There are other complications--IRS definitions on investment properties limit the amount of personal use. NNH requires room and meal taxes if rented less than six months, banks don't like to finance properties in complexes that are too high an investor ratio... Lots of issues that vary from place to place.

Also, insurance companies need to know if it's owner occupied or a rental, coverage will be different.

[Heaven]

Originally Posted by Weekend Pundit

Maximum rental terms should likely be set. Some towns define what constitutes a short term rental. Gilford did that with their zoning ordinance which defines maximum rental periods to a transient resident in order for a dwelling to be considered a short term rental. They did not set minimums. (It went into effect on July 1 but is allowing a 'grace period' for existing commercial STRs to meet the requirements laid out by their ordinance. New ones must meet the requirements before they can offer their properties as STRs.)

Minimums might be difficult to set by a town, but not impossible. I know some HOAs have set minimum terms of a week. Others have banned STRs outright. Yet others have set no limits.

Should towns define the difference between commercial STRs - those owned and rented solely as a source of income and not used by the owners as their own residence? Should someone renting a room be required to meet the same requirements as someone renting out their STR property? What about people renting out their personal home for only a few weeks out of the year, be it their full time residence or their seasonal residence?

Lots of questions to be asked and answered.

Many of the parameters you mentioned can be set in the zoning language. There is lots of flexibility.

[Weekend Pundit]

Originally Posted by Heaven

Many of the parameters you mentioned can be set in the zoning language. There is lots of flexibility.

Indeed.

From my experience in Gilford, it took 3 years to craft a zoning ordinance that was acceptable to the voters in town. It was aimed primarily at the commercial operators since they were the ones people were having the most problems with. It required a change to the town's noise ordinance because at the time an "unamplified human voice" was not considered noise...unless you have a bunch of drunken people being loud and obnoxious at 3AM. Sounds pretty loud then.

The town changed the noise ordinance to redefine noise, eliminating the "unamplified human voice" exception and giving the local gendarmes the ability to quiet things down up to including arresting offenders after 11pm, if memory serves regarding the cut-off time.

The commercial STRs require a Conditional Use Permit from the Planning Board. One of the problems the town had with some of the STRs was no one knew who actually owned them. Because of that one of the requirements for the permits was an emergency contact within a 1 hour drive of the property to handle emergencies should something occur if the owner(s) were 'from away'. It also allowed the town to address any chronic problems with the rental property or the folks renting it. The town also has the power to suspend or revoke the permits which then means the owners can't rent out their STR.

The town's zoning ordinance has some flexibility into granting permits, but has clearly defined conditions under which permits can be suspended or revoked.

However, Gilford's circumstances are somewhat different than Meredith's and any solution Meredith creates needs to address the unique conditions that exist there versus any of the other towns. I would expect there would be some similarities if Meredith goes along the same path as Gilford, but they won't be identical by any means.

[John Mercier]

They may be.

Already written by other towns/Laconia around a popular lake is likely just to be verbatim at the start. They may adapt after that... but it is usually just easier to start with existing template.

Meredith's big difference is the commercial being so compact and close to the lake... while having a pinch point for Holderness and Moultonborough.

Anything with I-93 access around any of the lakes is developing faster than the municipalities are used to responding.

[Weekend Pundit]

The 'explosive' growth of STRs in Gilford caught everyone off guard. At first it was thought we didn't need to address the issue right away...and then it became a problem in a number of neighborhoods.

While most of the commercial STRs are near the lake, basically along the NH Route 11 and Route 11B corridors between Alton and Laconia, the rest are scattered all over town. I think Gunstock likely has something to do with that.

Gilford looked at a number of other towns and cities inside and outside of New Hampshire to see how they handled it. Some were draconian and all encompassing (like North Conway's). Others addressed things like trash and parking, but not much else. Some restricted them to certain zones. Some banned them outright (like Conway, just to name one).

I have no doubt Meredith will work its way through this and find something that works for it. But I think it will take time and more meetings like this one to hash things out.

[Loub52]

When you’re renting for just a few days, that’s where short term rentals obviously shine. Why spend a few hundred dollars per night at a local hotel or resort when you can do the same with your own four walls and all the amenities of home. Downside is that too many change the character of a neighborhood.

[John Mercier]

Time is the one thing that none of these towns have.

[Loub52]

Originally Posted by John Mercier

Time is the one thing that none of these towns have.

Not sure what you mean. Sort of a cryptic post.

[Heaven]

Originally Posted by Loub52

Not sure what you mean. Sort of a cryptic post.

Because it takes a long time to make and approve regulations, and the short term rental wave has already caused issues that are difficult to reverse

[Weekend Pundit]

Originally Posted by Heaven

Because it takes a long time to make and approve regulations, and the short term rental wave has already caused issues that are difficult to reverse

If they are handled via zoning ordinances then it will require a vote at town meeting to approve those changes. So the earliest any changes could be made via that route is March 2024.

If Meredith is 'starting from scratch' it might take more than just the six-and-a-half months between now and Town Meeting. Actually the proposed changes would need to be ready by February, at least in the case of Meredith. (Is Meredith an SB2 town? If so, then the proposed changes would need to be finalized by some time around late January.)

If they are able to crib from other towns they might be able to get something put together in time for Town Meeting.

I know it took Gilford 3 years and a number of public hearings to get something acceptable to the voters. But then we did start from scratch and the only guidance we really had was more in the form of "What NOT to do". Hopefully Meredith will be able to wade through everything in a lot less time than it took Gilford and get something that works well for the town in a much shorter time.

[John Mercier]

Not only does it take time to enact regulations... the market changes.

[Loub52]

Originally Posted by Loub52

Short term rental == 1 week minimum seems reasonable?

Allot to consider for sure. My thought was starting at a 1 week minimum (no thoughts on the maximum rental period from me) would assure at least some level of commitment from the proposed renter.