Council reopens short‑term rental discussion; staff to map unlicensed units and costs for enforcement
Loading...
Summary
Councilors discussed short‑term rentals (STRs) in Saco after staff presented an earlier study; members voiced concern about STRs reducing long‑term housing supply and about enforcement costs, and asked staff to return with data and redlined ordinance language.
City staff and councilors resumed a discussion of short‑term and seasonal rentals Oct. 20 after the interim administrator shared a prior study by regional partners. The Council heard that many short‑term rentals in Saco are currently unlicensed, that the pattern may reduce the long‑term rental supply, and that enforcement would require additional staff and clear ordinance language. (Cole Prescott; David Toomey; Councillor Johnston)
Why it matters: Councilors framed STRs as a policy trade‑off: they can increase visitor spending but may remove long‑term rental units from the local market and cause neighborhood nuisance, parking and safety concerns.
Interim City Administrator Cole Prescott told councilors the city has a seasonal rental ordinance but that expanding regulation to a broader STR program would require a staffing and enforcement cost analysis; she asked Code Enforcement Director David Toomey to evaluate the program and return with proposed redlines and budget impacts for the next budget cycle. (Cole Prescott)
Councilor Johnston summarized data from a regional sampling that shows many unlicensed short‑term rentals are outside the beach ward and concentrated in downtown neighborhoods. Johnston said that converting long‑term rental units into short‑term rentals has reduced the stock of units available for 30‑day or longer tenancies and expressed concern about safety and code compliance for carved‑up units. He said the sampling indicated roughly 38% of unlicensed units were outside the beach ward and about 31.5% were in the downtown area. (Councillor Johnston)
Councilors offered differing perspectives. Councillor Hatch urged the council to decide at a high level whether it wants to encourage or discourage STRs, said penalties must be meaningful to deter noncompliance, and noted enforcement will carry costs. Councillor Hewitt noted some landlords are driven to STRs by state eviction and landlord‑tenant law constraints and observed some STR guests patronize downtown businesses. Councillor Edwards asked staff to examine corporate ownership of STR properties. (Councillors Hatch, Hewitt, Edwards)
Ending: Staff will gather additional data, including a map of suspected unlicensed STRs and comparisons with neighboring municipalities, and will prepare ordinance redlines and cost estimates for council review. No ordinance changes were adopted Oct. 20.
