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Strongsville resident asks council about short-term-rental ban, rezoning and event use for historic barn
Summary
A Strongsville resident told council she operates short-term rentals at a restored 1830 house and asked whether the city’s ban on short-term rentals would apply; the law director said short-term rentals are not permitted under current code and that the property is not currently up to code.
Deborah Thomas Lemmers told Strongsville City Council on Feb. 18 that she and her husband operate short-term rentals from a restored 1830 house at Albion Road and Pearl Road and asked whether a recently passed ordinance banning short-term rentals would bar their operation.
"I heard that there's, like, a new ordinance that, that you can't do rentals anymore like that. Is that true?" Lemmers asked, adding that she and her husband live on the property, operate it like a bed-and-breakfast and are not offering the entire house to guests.
Law Director Jamieson responded that the city has passed an ordinance that does not allow short-term rentals and that “there's no provision there for exceptions.” He said the Lemmers were previously instructed to contact the building department and, to the city's knowledge, had not yet done so. Jamieson said some of the activities the Lemmers described — for example, weddings or large events — may be prohibited under the property's current zoning and that neighborhood input would factor into any rezoning request. He also noted constraints posed by a high-pressure gas line that runs through the property, saying that line restricts certain uses and building work. Jamieson said city staff (Mr. Painter and Mr. Smarrigan) have spoken with the Lemmers and will continue to assist, but emphasized the steps required before the city could allow uses outside current zoning.
Lemmers described plans to host small groups, theater rehearsals, dances, wedding receptions and similar community events in an on-site barn and said the Strongsville high-school theater group and several bands had expressed interest in the venue. She asked about rezoning to permit a travel-service or event use and noted she would prefer not to be dependent on third-party platforms such as Airbnb or VRBO.
Councilmember Kaminski offered to forward contact information to the high school theater group and encouraged the Lemmers to work with the building and planning departments on rezoning and code compliance.
The council concluded audience participation after 5 minutes for the speaker; Jamieson and city staff instructions remained the principal officials' response on next steps.
