Crafton planning panel sets 90-day threshold for transient housing in draft zoning

The Crafton Planning Commission on Tuesday voted to define transient housing — short‑term and medium‑term rentals — as stays of 90 days or less in the borough's draft zoning code and to restrict those uses to commercial districts, including the transit-oriented district.

Mandy (planning staff) told the commission that the draft had moved short‑term rentals out of residential districts and into commercial or mixed-use areas and that the remaining question was how to define the time period. She said the commission's recommendation is to treat any rental of 90 days or shorter as transient housing and to regulate it under rules similar to hotels and motels, with a separate registration and inspection ordinance anticipated.

Under the proposed language, transient housing would have to comply with borough regulations including rental registration, noise and property‑maintenance codes, parking requirements and fire‑code occupancy limits. Mandy said the draft previously contained a numerical guest cap that was removed and instead would defer to the applicable fire code. She added that registration and inspection procedures would be addressed in a separate ordinance.

Commissioners asked whether existing bed-and-breakfast operations in residential neighborhoods would be affected. Mandy answered that such uses will be unlawful in residential neighborhoods going forward and that the draft makes them permitted only in commercial districts.

A motion to define transient housing as 90 days or less was moved and seconded and carried on a voice vote of members present. Staff said the revised language and definitions will be incorporated into the working draft and posted online within days.