Saratoga Springs unveils short-term rental licensing plan after hours of public comment

Commissioner Dylan Moran introduced proposed Local Law No. 6 to create Chapter 136A regulating short-term residential rentals, telling the council the city is "creating a licensing ordinance. It's gonna require insurance, a fire inspection, and it gives us effective enforcement for those times, unfortunately, when we may need to." The ordinance would require online registration, an inspection program and differentiated annual fees for primary and non-primary residences.

Moran said the city is responding to a surge in short-term rental listings and complaints and to New York State's recently enacted registry, which will provide monthly reports to municipalities. He proposed starting the local limit at 150 days per year, with the first year designed mainly to gather data and refine policy. "We're not gonna do things or be repetitious to what the state law is doing," he said, framing the local law as a complementary accountability framework.

Fire Chief Aaron Dyer described how inspections would work: "It is not...an impromptu. It is something that we we will schedule with you ahead of time once you submit your application process." Dyer said inspections will use a pre-inspection checklist focused on life-safety elements such as smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors, extinguishers and evacuation planning, and that most inspections would take roughly 20—20–30 minutes depending on building size.

During a lengthy public comment period, speakers were sharply split. Neighbors urged tighter limits and warned of noise, parking and housing-affordability impacts in residential districts. "This is a blight," one resident said, urging restrictions in strictly residential neighborhoods. Hosts and tourism supporters countered that the industry supports local small businesses and individual households; one host said short-term rentals allowed her to stay home with a young child. Anna Smith, who identified herself as a spokesperson for a hosts group, faulted the draft for ambiguity and enforcement costs and said the process had grown "extremely boring, tiresome, and we seem to continue to run-in circles around the same poorly written legislation."

Council members made two practical concessions after hearing community concerns. The council referred the zoning amendment portion of the proposal to the city and county planning boards for advisory opinions and agreed to table final votes on fee levels until staff can report how many single-family homes in commercial zones would be affected. Commissioners requested further data collection and scheduled an additional public hearing so changes can be posted and noticed before any final vote.

Next steps: staff will assemble counts and revenue projections for fee tiers and single-family properties in commercial zones; the council set a follow-up public hearing to allow additional public review before any final adoption or vote.