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Brandon Planning Commission considers rewriting decades-old rental housing code, flags short-term rentals and enforcement options
Summary
The Brandon Planning Commission opened discussion on a project to review and update the town’s Brandon Rental Housing Code (adopted 1983; last revised 1999). Commissioners agreed to prepare recommendations for the Selectboard but took no formal action; next meeting set for Dec. 1.
Brandon Planning Commission members opened a multi-meeting project to review and update the Brandon Rental Housing Code, a 24-page document originally adopted in June 1983 and last revised in July 1999.
The commission discussed taking responsibility for drafting revisions and presenting recommended changes to the Selectboard. The zoning administrator told the commission the code “is the Brandon Rental Housing Code. Original code adopted in June of 83 and it was last revised in July of 99,” and said the document “is in desperate need of some updating.”
Commissioners raised enforcement and scope questions. One commissioner said they would “like to look at the idea of taking the rental housing code and putting it into the blue to make it enforceable,” flagging that decisions are needed about where enforcement language should live and whether penalties should be added or updated. The group also discussed whether to treat short-term rentals (for example, Airbnb-style units) as part of the update.
On process, commissioners debated two approaches: drafting a full rewritten code for the Selectboard to accept or preparing section-by-section recommendations. A commissioner noted the commission could “turn it into a word document and do track changes like what we did with the town plan,” suggesting staff and commission members could use the same drafting workflow used for prior planning documents.
Staffing and contacts were raised as next steps. The zoning administrator said they had not yet received updates from Dennis Risenwreer, who had been expected to serve as a contact, and that Jack (a commission member) had intended to bring the existing code to the commission for review. Commissioners said they would seek Larry’s feedback and that the commission’s role would be to prepare recommendations rather than unilaterally adopt local law.
Commissioners also noted the commission’s contribution to the town report and their coordination with the Rutland County Planning Commission (RPC) on related zoning and mapping tasks. The commission did not vote on any changes to the rental code at the meeting.
The commission set its next meeting for Monday, Dec. 1. No formal motion or vote was taken to begin rewriting the code at this meeting; commissioners agreed to begin drafting language and collect feedback for future meetings.
