Belleville council approves short-term rental permits after debate over parking and occupancy

The Belleville City Council on Jan. 21 approved special-use permits for short-term rental properties, including a permit for 1009 LaSalle Street, following debate about neighborhood parking and occupancy limits.

The decisions matter because they clarify how the city will treat short-term rentals in residential and commercial districts and because the council postponed a broader zoning-code amendment that could change the rules citywide.

Council members voted 8-6 to approve a special-use permit for 1009 LaSalle Street after questions from alderpersons about parking, trash and whether short-term rentals would be used like rooming houses. The Zoning Board of Appeals had recommended approval of that permit by a 6-0 vote. The council later approved several other short-term rental permits and related zoning items in a single group vote.

Cliff Cross, director of economic development, told the council that short-term rentals “are not designed to be an individual room rental. Right? It is a rental that's based on a short-term basis through an…