Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cheektowaga adopts short-term rental law amid county preemption concerns
Summary
The Town Board adopted Local Law No. 5 (2025) creating Chapter 201 to regulate short-term rentals. Board members voted to pass the law but discussed possible county preemption and the absence of a severability clause; one council member abstained.
At its Nov. 25 meeting, the Cheektowaga Town Board voted to adopt Local Law No. 5 of 2025, creating Chapter 201 in the town code to regulate short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods.
The proposed local law was introduced by the board and described in the meeting packet. A public commenter, Gary Bork, told the board he believed Erie County must opt out of the state registration scheme by Dec. 31 for towns to require registration. "If the county does not opt out by December 31, I don't think we can adopt a registration law," Bork said during public comment.
Board members debated whether to add a severability clause to protect parts of the law if higher-level actions preempted some provisions. Supervisor Brian Nowak said he would vote for the law but acknowledged it "may need to be revisited" depending on county or state actions: "Recognizing we will likely have to revisit this within the next month or 2, I'm a yes at the moment."
The board approved the local law by roll call; five members voted yes and one member indicated he preferred to abstain. Town staff said the clerk would file the local law with the Secretary of State, a process the clerk estimated would take about three weeks.
