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Milford committee advances short-term rental licensing after heated public comment
Summary
After hours of public comment from residents and hosts, the Board's ordinance committee approved a domestic short-term rental licensing framework with data-privacy and ADU carve-outs; the committee vote was 9-6 and the ordinance will go to the full Board of Aldermen.
A committee of the Milford Board of Aldermen voted to advance an ordinance to license and regulate short-term residential rentals, following more than two hours of public comment that split residents and property owners.
The ordinance as amended would require annual registration and a $50 processing fee, set basic health-and-safety and occupancy expectations, and create a citation-and-hearing procedure for enforcement. Committee members removed a proposed requirement for hosts to collect personal identifying information from renters and amended the text to exempt accessory dwelling units (ADUs) from the measure. The committee recorded a roll-call vote of 9 yes, 6 no to move the ordinance forward to the full Board.
Why it matters: Board members said the ordinance is intended to give the city a clear, uniform way to address verified nuisances while balancing privacy and the economic interests of small owners who rent seasonally.
"I don't think there's an issue, and I don't think there needs to be restrictions," Michael Mecca said during the ordinance committee's public comment, urging objective enforcement thresholds and verification before action is taken. "Without that clear guidance, it becomes difficult for homeowners to understand what constitutes compliance." (Michael Mecca, resident and host)
Opponents of deregulation argued the measure would place new burdens on owners and could be enforced unevenly unless the city sets clear standards. "This discriminatory regulation fails to identify a problem specific to the use group being regulated," Paul Pouliese said, urging a no vote unless the city can show STRs cause distinct ordinance violations.
Hosts and small-business owners pushed back, describing STRs as critical supplemental income and a source of repeat, family-oriented visitors. "We are not BlackRock or Goldman Sachs," Victor Ng said. "We're just individual owners trying to get by." (Victor Ng, property owner)
City Attorney's Office and legal basis: The city attorney told the committee the state legislature gave municipalities authority to license short-term rentals and to regulate them for health and safety. He said the ordinance was drafted to be legally balanced and to include due-process protections for license revocation and nonrenewal.
Key amendments adopted in committee: - Removal of the proposed personal-identifying-information collection requirement (PII): the committee voted to delete the section requiring hosts to gather guests' personal data. - Exemption for ADUs: committee amended the definitions to exclude accessory dwelling units and struck a cross-referenced prohibition on ADUs from the operational sections.
Next steps: The ordinance as amended will be considered by the full Board of Aldermen; if enacted, the city would publish implementation details and the licensing application form. The draft includes language allowing homeowner associations and boroughs to adopt more restrictive local rules; the city attorney noted such rules carry their own legal and procedural responsibilities.
What didn't change: The committee did not adopt a ban on short-term rentals; it framed the measure as licensing with redress for verified health, safety, or nuisance violations and a pathway for permit suspension when violations are substantiated.
