After months of heated debate, a standing-room only crowed packed Southold Town Hall this afternoon for a lengthy, almost three-hour public hearing on the short-term rental issue.
They came from every corner of Southold Town and Greenport Village, waiting for their turn to speak passionately at the podium on both sides of the contentious issue, with some imploring the board to consider a 30-night minimum and others urging a three-night option, predicting dire economic impacts should weekend renters be turned away.
The current draft proposed says short-term rentals can be no less than seven nights.
Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said the board has been “deluged” with correspondence from residents over past months.
Greenport resident John Kramer kicked off the hearing by explaining that he has rental homes in Riverhead, Southold and Greenport. “Short term tenants are some of the nicest, brightest and most accomplished, successful people,” he said. “I wish my kids would marry some of them.”
The problems, he said, center on landlord, not tenant issues, and said he believed rental permits would offer solutions; he also recommended a comprehensive rental law, that would require information including names and maximum number of tenants and require safety components such as smoke detectors and address noise and other quality of life concerns.
“Neighbors have a right to quiet enjoyment. That’s what we all look for,” he said.
Kramer added, “The sharing economy is here to stay. It’s not going away and it’s too big to micromanage. If there’s an asset, there’s an app to share it. Apps have one thing in common — they provide access, not ownership. This is the new economy. I would caution the board not to get on the wrong side of this economy. It’s permissionless.”
Katie Sepenoski of Heron Suites said as a hotel owner, her business must undergo inspections and pay not only property tax on a waterfront parcel but sales and occupancy tax. Also, someone must always be onsite to address guest needs, she said. Open year round, her business requires maintenance and acts as a “concierge” to the rest of the community, “so they are aware of who we are, and why are doing business in Southold’s 375th year. We’re educating them so they want to stay more than two night, and come back.”
To that end, she added, “This needs to be addressed so everyone is contributing fairly to the economy out here.”
Legislation prompted by “overwhelming community” response to short-term rental issue
Cutchogue resident and therapist MaryAnn Fleischman said her “trepidation” with speaking was that when she spoke the first time, she lost 50 percent of her business. As an airbnb host, she said she converted her basement to an apartment; she said many of her guests would not come for the seven nights. “I’ll miss out on the opportunity to pay my taxes because it’s expensive to live in the Town of Southold.”
Russell said what prompted the new legislation was “overwhelming community input to address” the situation. “It’s a mistaken notion that the town board is reacting to a few bad landlords or tenants. In most cases, we’re not getting complaints about noise. People are unnerved about seeing such a turnover on such a regular basis” in residential neighboroods.
Russell said based on advertisements, the board is estimating that approximately 300 homeowners in Southold are engaging in short-term rentals; he added that the number changes every day due to the growth of the industry.
Fleischman said hotels and B & Bs should be subject to the same proposed regulations as short-term rentals.
Councilman Jim Dinizio said those businesses have been approved by the town, are allowed in the code, have been to the zoning and planning boards and have committed to a number of conditions.
But, he told her, if she has an approved apartment in her basement, and she is living in the house, the proposed legislation would not affect her.
He added that a comprehensive rental law would come next. “Right now, we’re trying to put out a fire that’s been started.” Every person that’s been advertising for rentals less than seven nights “has been doing so against the code that exists today,” Dinizio said.
Lori Hollander suggested the board change the draft legislation to no less than two weeks, and regulate the number of times a person could rent their home per year. If a person is renting their home 52 weeks a year, “it’s a business, and it doesn’t belong in a residential neighborhood,” she said. “The residents of Southold are counting on the board to protect the quality of life in our communities.”
A balancing act
Peconic resident Peter Terranova said the board has a challenge in balancing private business transactions with community character. He said he used to rent his family’s beachfront home for a month at a time.
“But times have changed and airbnb is a real business. It’s not renting your home to someone you know,” he said.
Suffolk County, he added, recognizes home rentals as a business and stipulates that rentals of less than 30 days must be charged a three percent hospitality tax. “Anyone not collecting that tax is in violation of Suffolk County law,” he said. Terranova also advocated for a rental law and said the permit should be displayed in windows. “Currently, the town has more restrictions on conducting a yard sale” than on rentals, he said.
And, he added, the short-term rentals equal a catastrophic blow to year-round rentals, shutting out “folks who may actually wish to live here.”
Russell assured the town is considering a comprehensive rental permit law.
One woman, an Orient resident, said she is a member of a beach association and pays a yearly fee toward upkeep of the facilities; she finds it unfair that she and other homeowners must bear the expenses for someone renting out their home for a profit, when they are not receiving any benefit.
Financial impacts pondered
Cutchogue attorney Abigail Field, representing a number of homeowners who rent offer short-term rentals, said it was “very important to get a sense of who these people are. There’s a perception that they are just investors, with no ties to the community.”
Banning less than seven nights doesn’t actually address underlying concerns in a meaningful way, Field said; noise and parking concerns, as well as fears over strangers, would still exist.
Her clients, she said, support a rental permit fee that would level the playing field with B & Bs and hotels and also “want to get rid of any bad apples.”
Field read testimony from some of her clients, including Michael Hirschhorn, who lives with his wife and twins in Peconic and rents their home for seven week-long periods and five or six three-day weekends; the family participates in local community events. He said he hoped the town would approve a three-day minimum rental period.
Field said the board could garner the same benefits by allowing one three-day rental in a seven day period, with no higher turnover.
However, more than half of current visitors would be lost in weekend rentals were illegal and up to 90 percent, should a two-week minimum be imposed.
“There will be real consequences,” Field said, with the economy suffering a blow. On average, Field said, based on a survey she conducted, visitors come in groups of four to six, more than half come for a weekend, and about a third came for a week. On average, she said, the groups spent $1,850 during their visits, or a little more than $100 per person on restaurants, farmstands, shops and other experiences.
Seeking answers nationwide
Some audience members brought up new legislation dealing with the issue in Santa Monica, California.
Last month in Santa Monica, according to NPR, the city council adopted a new ordinance banning the rental of an entire unit for less than 30 days and requiring those who participate in home-sharing to obtain a business license from the city and pay a 14 percent hotel tax. The law takes effect June 15, NPR said; the article also states that proceeds from the hotel tax will help fund enforcement efforts and an analyst to find illegal rentals online.
“The events in Santa Monica show that this is not a challenge facing only Southold but, part of a larger trend as communities throughout the country try to address it,” Russell told SoutholdLOCAL last month. “While Santa Monica’s legislation is rather stringent, clearly short-term rentals impact the community there in a negative way. Similar to Santa Monica, Southold relies on tourism as an economic driver. However, we can’t let our goals of promoting tourism eclipse our need to protect the character of our community. That balance is what we are trying to accomplish with our pending code.”
Some audience members at the hearing suggested Southold look to Santa Monica and other communities to see how they are grappling with the short-term rental debate.
A community divided
Other B & B owners said the proposed legislation could drive away potential tourists by limiting options; they might bring their business to other communities or just come to Southold on day trips, clogging already heavily congested roads.
Some of Field’s clients urged the board to embark upon an economic impact study.
Resident Nancy Miller said she was concerned that if the board adopted a minimum of seven nights, the town could see a flock of guests converging on Southold, since neighboring towns, including Riverhead and Southampton, as well as New York City, have 30-day or two week minimums.
Russell said Riverhead might soon be revisiting its legislation, with a 30-day minimum possibly “too resrictive.”
Conrad Flower of Cutchogue said the legislation as presented did not address penalties, parking, or other critical issues.
“Everyone is crying about second home hardship. Why is that my problem? I’m not in the salvation business here,” he said, urging the board to adopt either a 30 or 14-night minimum.
Poet Vivian Eyre, meanwhile, said she began coming to the North Fork as a renter and has lived in Southold since 2003, volunteering to host poetry groups and readings.
She said she and others are awed by the beauty of the North Fork. “There’s strong evidence that awe is a collective emotion that binds us to others and allows us to act in collaborative ways,” she said.
Caroline Greer said the “big takeaway” was not a question about “good guys and bad guys, heroes and villains,” or about people enjoying community chicken dinners or writing beautiful poetry.
“That’s off topic,” she said. “This is about defining the difference between residential and commercial.”
If a person is renting their home for the entire calendar year, that constitutes a business, she said.
“Is it a residence, or is it a business?” she asked. “If it’s for rent all year long, it’s a business and it should be in a business district and regulated like a business.”
Southold resident Ted Hoyle said the board needed to give the community “something with real teeth” and said the short-term rentals are “a travesty. You need to nip this in the bud.”
Another couple said they live in Brooklyn but fell in love with their 800-foot cabin and are passionate about preserving the wetlands. A minimum of seven nights might mean they could keep their cabin but a two week minimum would mean they’d have to sell, and they’d never realize their dream of living on the North Fork full-time and becoming a permanent part of the community fabric.
They added that they agreed they should be taxed, inspected, and regulated.
Maureen Mazza of Southold said she had year-round renters that stopped paying rent; she had to go through eviction procedures. She advocated for the three-day minimum in a seven night period; that number would allow for off-season rentals that contribute to the economy, she said. Many come from out of state or from other countries and want to have a taste of both New York City and the North Fork, she said.
Mary Eisenstein, president of the Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association, said the group believed the town should enforce Chapter 280 of its code and impose a seven night minimum for rentals, pursuing violators. She also said the group believed permits for short-term rentals were critical. After Labor Day, MLCA members said the town board should report enforcement results to the public and if necessary, take steps to change the code or impose higher fines.
Also, a limit on the number of short-term rentals per year allowed should be defined, she said.
“One of the most unique factors of Southold Town is having that sense of place,” she said. “We don’t want to lose sight of what makes this a small town.” Sense of place, she said, “is an emotional and psychological belonging to where you live.”
Others urged the board to adopt a minimum of 30 days and said short-term rentals should have to comply with the same rules as other hotels and B & Bs.
Benja Schwartz said some incentives could be offered to those in compliance, such as a listing on the town’s website.
Mary Beth Edmonds of Mattituck, who rents her home on a short-term rental site, asked if there would be a distinction between home sharing and people renting out non-owner occupied homes.
Russell said Santa Monica’s new legislation made an exception for home shares.
Greenport ZBA chair Doug Moore, speaking as a resident, said a seven-night restriction “is really no restriction” and said a longer period should be considered, as well as a comprehensive code.
Realtor Tom McCarthy, who sits on the National Association of Realtors, on the resort and second homes committee, said the problem is nationwide. He suggested a registry and said the board needed to look at what was affecting neighbors’ quiet enjoyment, not just a minimum number of nights.
Others said property managers could help handle complaints and concerns. Kerry Varra said locals are being priced out of the market.
No decisions yet
Based on the outpouring from all sides, Russell said, “Like Solomon, we have produced a result that pleases no one. The next step,” the supervisor said, is “for the board is to consider the public input then decide if the law, as currently drafted, is sufficient for adoption. If not, the board can elect to change it then re-notice it or simply take no action.”
Of the hearing, he said, “The meeting was civil and all of the speakers raised compelling issues and profound insight that we, as a board, need to carefully consider before making a decision.”
