To consult or not to consult?
That was the question Tay Township councillors tossed around Wednesday during a council committee meeting, which included deputations by area residents bringing forward complaints about short-term rental (STR) properties in their neighbourhood.
Brad Chapman, Brenda French and Bob Mullens were also part of the meeting making a deputation to council.
"We endure constant noise, there's litter frequently on our property, we've had dog feces, dogs chasing my daughter, crowds of people in the lake in front of us, beer bottles in the lake," said Chapman, a resident of 148 Robins Point Rd. in Victoria Harbour. "I don't think I need to paint more of a clear picture of this, other than you have a community problem."
He said he could see that the staff report suggested the township open up a community consultation process.
"My opinion would be, you have a problem like other municipalities," said Chapman. "I'm not sure what more feedback you would require at this time. The two comparator municipalities are Oro-Medonte and Blue Mountains and Collingwood and they both have bylaws to prohibit short-term rentals under 28 days."
Mullens agreed. He lives on the other side of the contentious AirBnB property at 252 Robins Point Rd. that Chapman said is operating as a commercial outfit in a residential zone.
"There should not be a commercial operation in residential areas," he said. "The usage of these properties does not come close to the residential definition. When we bought here, it was our expectation that the area would remain residential unless a rezoning application was made. I believe there haven't been any rezoning applications made."
With no one onsite to ensure the conduct of renters is appropriate, Mullens said, the onus falls on the neighbours.
"It should not be our job," he added. "We do not accrue any rewards. Fines and revoking licences do little to alleviate anything. The township needs to act now to prevent this untenable situation from magnifying and becoming an even larger problem in the future."
French said she would reiterate the complaints brought forward by her peers.
"We have an elderly lady on one side of the property and small children on the other side," she said. "It's just not a safe feeling to arrive at your property and see 10 cars on the property across the street. The concerns are the same at this part of the beach around the corner."
Some council members said they were done with public consultations and wanted staff to come up with solutions.
"This has been an ongoing issue," said Deputy Mayor Gerard LaChapelle. "I don't know, I guess, there could be a benefit to go back to the public. But we have so many complaints that I, for one, would like to see some closure with regulation or bylaw. I just don't want it to be dragged on forever."
But Steve Farquharson, general manager protective and development services and manager of planning and development services, cautioned council.
"If council wants to regulate this type of use through a zoning bylaw, then there has to be a public consultation process," he said. "If we don't add it to the zoning bylaw and only want to license it, then there's no Planning Act requirement. It's a faster process to go through."
Mayor Ted Walker backed his comments.
"One of the reasons I would like to get public input is that I've gotten several calls from people who run AirBnBs and people live beside them," he said. "Their concern was that we don't (want to) penalize those who are running good operations."
Coun. Mary Warnock agreed: "The problems are all going to be the same. But on the other side, let's maybe see what the AirBnB owners have to say. This could be an education for them as well."
Warnock said she did agree that the township needs to have some kind of bylaw.
"I don't think re-zoning is the answer," she said. "In my mind, it's a licensing problem. We know who they are and they pay a fee and they have to follow the rules. We make the bylaws very detailed."
Coun. Barry Norris echoed everybody's concerns, and added the matter needs to be looked at thoroughly.
"When we lay a charge, does it actually have to be to the person that's committed the offence or can we lay the charge directly against the property?" he asked.
Rob Kennedy, municipal law enforcement officer, said the township could choose to do either.
"When we receive a complaint for an STR property, we have e generic letter that we send to the owner saying the township has received one or multiple complaints in regards to multiple bylaws," he explained. "At the bottom of that letter, we do say any further complaints will be on the owner's responsbiility to police. If there are further issues, the owner can be responsible for charges."
However, added Kennedy, if the STR property owner lives in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), it's difficult to write them a ticket or issue a summons.
"There are a few properties that have a business number, that's easier because we can send them a registered mail," he said.
Walker asked if the township could use a bailiff service to do so.
"You could do a bailiff service," said Kennedy, "but the charging officer has to serve a part one summons personally. For a part three summons, we can contact the Toronto bylaw department to serve it on our behalf."
Walker was also concerned about the strain a new bylaw could put on the township's enforcement resources.
"We're only got two bylaw officers," he said. "There may be some implications with cost depending on how heavy we want to go with enforcement. This council was unhappy a while ago that we were enforcing too much."
Coun. Jeff Bumstead said he agreed with a lot that had been said.
"The onus is on the owners," he added. "And (they) needs to be onsite. They should be nearby or be quickly available or have an agent acting on their behalf."
Bumstead asked staff what kind of timeframe would they be looking at for coming up with a regulation policy or bylaw through public consultation.
"It all depends on what process we go through," said Farquharson. "If we end up going through a rezoning process, that will be in the new year. I don't think we can get the appropriate public information in a month. This is slower time for STRs. We can utilize this time decide on what documents we're going to update and have something place by next summer. (The Township of) Lake of Bays is further ahead than us and they have some policies coming to their council this month."
The matter will be ratified by council at a later meeting.
