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Resident urges city to close loophole as house rented as commercial event venue in East Albany
Summary
A resident told commissioners that an East Albany home listed earlier on Airbnb has become a ticketed event venue with amplified music, shuttles and parking problems; commissioners said the short-term rental ordinance may not cover the current conduct and asked staff to review enforcement and possible ordinance revisions.
Tommy Gregors, a resident of Cromartie Beach Drive in East Albany, told the City Commission on June 3 that an out-of-town purchaser converted a residence into what he described as a commercial event venue that operates off-platform from Airbnb and sells tickets on social media.
Gregor said the property was purchased in March 2022 and has since hosted multiple events that drew vehicles and shuttle buses to the neighborhood, blocked driveways, produced late-night amplified music and left trash in the streets. "I couldn't even sit outside in our yard in the afternoons," Gregor told commissioners, and he said police responses often suppressed activity only temporarily before music resumed.
Commissioners and staff discussed enforcement options under the newly enacted short-term rental ordinance and whether the property is exploiting a loophole by removing listings from Airbnb and instead contracting with private promoters. Commissioner Vilnius Gaines asked whether the ordinance's first-violation fine of $500 had been applied and noted other tiers of fines and contact-person requirements in the ordinance. "If the short-term rental ordinance is not addressing this problem, we need to figure out because there's clear fines," Gaines said.
Commissioner John Howard and other commissioners said the city would explore revisions to the short-term rental ordinance to close gaps other communities have addressed, and that staff should pursue legal remedies when social-media advertisements show a planned event. "If we don't stop it in this neighborhood, it's going to be everywhere in town," Howard said.
City staff and the police chief said they have been contacted about the property and that police have responded to calls and broken up at least one significant event when a fight occurred. Gregor said the venue had shuttle buses and as many as 150 vehicles using a nearby park for overflow parking.
No fines or formal enforcement actions were reported on the record at the June 3 session; commissioners directed staff and the city attorney's office to investigate whether the current ordinance and code enforcement tools cover events run as commercial promotions from residential properties and to recommend amendments if needed.
