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Commissioners debate tightening short-term rental penalties, notice rules and transfer language
Summary
The board discussed edits to the short-term rental ordinance to limit a 3-year bar running with a property after sale, consider a 1-year advertising-related bar, expand or narrow firm-level sanctions, and clarify notice and renewal procedures; staff will draft language and the board will workshop it before reintroduction.
Commissioners reviewed several issues in the short-term rental ordinance that produced unintended consequences after prior edits. Commissioner (speaker 6) told the board that one change had caused a three-year prohibition to run with the property, preventing a new owner from receiving a license even after a sale. He suggested narrowing that consequence for advertising-related violations to a one-year bar while retaining a three-year bar for knowingly renting while unlicensed.
The discussion ranged over how to draft an exception for arms-length sales, whether transfers to close relatives should trigger the bar, and how to apply firm-level consequences when multiple agents within a firm manage properties. Town staff recommended adding specific timing for notice (how many days after a notice the town must wait before taking enforcement action) and cautioned that revocation affects property rights, which requires clear due-process language. Staff also reported a recent enforcement trial awarding fines to the town for an unlicensed rental; commissioners asked staff to draft ordinance language reflecting the desired changes for future introduction and to schedule an additional workshop.
