A comprehensive municipal short-term-rental licencing bylaw in Tiny Township could soon require the 300 or so such rental property owners to pay up to $600 in fees.
A staff report coming up at this Wednesday's committee of the whole meeting will present to council with the details of an STR licencing bylaw that requires registration, completion of all safety codes, insurance, code of conduct and signage among other features. The bylaw also proposes a demerit point system to penalize offenders.
The staff report also proposes the hiring of a full-time municipal bylaw enforcement officer for eight months this year at a cost of $51,000. Further, to help with the implementation of the STR licencing program, staff are proposing sourcing out the role to Granicus – Host Compliance, a company that provides digital solutions for short-term rental monitoring, compliance, and enforcement. The cost to do so is almost $36,000. A representative from the company will also make a presentation about its services at the same meeting.
The proposed STR licencing program is being presented at the regular meeting of council the same evening. If ratified, staff will begin the hiring process and start drafting the bylaw, as well as launch an online survey to gather resident feedback.
Among other deputations and presentations that same day is one by Tiny resident Joel Rubinovich.
His letter to council is shedding light on three matters. Rubinovich is concerned about traffic-related signage, specifically the lack of uniformity in sizes and placement.
The second issue in his letter concerns debris on roads.
"There has been debris, mainly consisting of loose stones at (Green Point and Marchildon Roads) for at least the five years that I have been aware of," writes Rubinovich.
The third point in his letter is around installation of street lights at the corner of County Road 6 and Green Point Road.
"I think that most inspections are carried out during daylight hours," writes Rubinovich. "The problem mainly exists at night when there is no light except for headlights. As a result, it is easy to miss the turn."
As well, council will receive a presentation from MHBC Planning outlining the process the consultant will follow to update the township's zoning bylaw. The review will look at zoning around second units, bunkies and accessory structures, home occupations, home industries, backyard chickens, outdoor residential lighting, on-farm diversified uses, cannabis cultivation, and short-term rentals, etc. The entire process will involve two public consultation sessions and other opportunities for residents to provide feedback.
Council will also look at approving a draft budget that proposes a 1% blended (municipal, county, and education) tax rate increase.
The meeting begins at 10 a.m. on Feb. 24 and will be streamed live via the township's YouTube channel.
