ROCKLAND, Maine — City councilors put off until later in March any possible decision on whether to regulate unlicensed short-term room rentals after the divide displayed by those offering comments at Monday night’s meeting.
Rockland Code Officer John Root said at the meeting he was presenting a package of recommendations to councilors as a starting point for their debate. He said the ordinance changes are needed to clarify existing local laws to protect the safety of renters, maintain the fabric of Rockland’s residential neighborhoods and enforce fair competition among lodging businesses.
But some councilors saw no need for more regulations.
“This seems way overboard to me,” said Councilor Valli Geiger.
Geiger said there are many people who rent out a room on a short-term basis in order to be able to afford to live in their homes. She said when she used to vacation in Maine she would stay at cabins with outhouses, which shows that visitors don’t always need much to have a pleasurable visit to the area.
“This seems onerous to me,” Geiger said about the proposed regulations.
Councilor Louise MacLellan-Ruf said councilors have received a lot of comments. She said the council needs to come up with reasonable regulations that balance the need of homeowners to make some extra money but also to ensure the safety of visitors, such as ensuring there are working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and to protect residential neighborhoods from noise and parking problems.
The council agreed to hold another meeting to hash out proposals and hear from the public. That meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 23, at City Hall.
It is an issue that other communities around Maine and the country are struggling with as more travelers are turning to a growing number of rooms, apartments and houses that are rented for short-term stays through such websites as Airbnb.com.
Some lodging businesses have complained that some of the informal rentals violate state and local laws, including safety, tax and zoning regulations.
Portland officials decided not to tamper with existing regulations but to crack down on illegal rentals as the need arises.
Cape Elizabeth officials, however, took a stronger stance, adopting an ordinance in 2012 that requires property owners with fewer than nine tenants to go through a permitting process before renting out space for less than 30 days, according to The Forecaster news publication.
“Permits are only granted after a town inspection determines that the property has adequate fire protection, sanitary waste disposal, appropriate exits, parking and evacuation plans,” according to the publication.
On Monday night in Rockland, Justin Ford, co-owner of On the Water in Maine and a representative of Vacation Rental Professionals of Maine, urged the council to wait a year before passing regulations. He said legislation is in the works to develop statewide regulations regarding short-term rentals and that anything approved by Rockland might just end up being redundant.
He said in terms of safety, insurance companies conduct thorough inspections of homes when people decide to rent out rooms.
Cheryl Michaelsen, who operates the Berry Manor Inn bed-and-breakfast in Rockland, said the operators of the Historic Inns of Rockland support regulations to make sure everyone is being treated equally and that neighborhoods are protected.
A bed-and-breakfast business, for instance, might have to install a sprinkler system that might not be required of a short-term rental.
Joan Smith of Masonic Street said she loves her neighborhood and Rockland, but she needs the added income from renting a room in order to keep the house she purchased eight years ago.
Kathryn Fogg Hill said she has been renting out a room for two years, and it brings people and money into the city.
Nicole Fuller, who rents rooms at a her Holmes Street home, said she did not understand why the proposed regulations are inconsistent when applied to people who rent for less than a week and those who rent for more than a week.
Under Root’s proposal, single rooms would be inspected and approved by the code office. If a person is renting multiple rooms to different people for less than a week at a time, that property would fall under the bed-and-breakfast regulations and require planning board review and approval. Rentals of homes for no less than a week or up to 30 days at a time would be reviewed by the code office. The code officer added that his proposal also would mandate that the owner live in the house when renting a room or multiple rooms to different people.
Root said last week that he plans to offer an exception in the ordinance amendments to allow for a person to rent rooms or a house for up to two weeks, cumultatively, per year. This would allow rentals during particularly busy times when housing is in demand such as during the North Atlantic Blues Festival and the Maine Lobster Festival.