Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton Warren County Deputy Planning Director Michael Lyon, right, speaks about a draft short-term rental ordinance during a Tuesday night meeting.

County officials have been working on a draft of regulations for short-term rentals like Aribnbs and VRBOs.

Those regulations received a very frosty reaction during Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting.

Ultimately, the Planning Commission declined to move ahead with the proposal and, instead, formed an ad hoc committee to review the ordinance.

Deputy Planning Director Michael Lyon said at the outset that the ordinance “wasn’t taken lightly” and is “only applicable to the 13 municipalities” covered by the zoning ordinance, which, among others, excludes the City of Warren and Youngsville Borough.

He said that the regulations were prompted “through several concerns called into our office.” The goal is to find a “happy medium” from a regulatory perspective. Many of the regulations, he stressed, are “actually directly in line with the building code.”

The one exception is a requirement for signage detailing a 24-hour contact.

“That is one of the things that was highly suggested from a lot of the legal review that we’ve done,” he said.

Commission Chair Paul Pascuzzi said it is “in the best interest of the commission” to get additional feedback from the commission and community.

“We’re not in a position to make the changes tonight,” he said. “We’re not voting tonight. We’re not sending anything forward.”

Public feedback was decidedly against the proposal.

Arthur Stewart called the regulations “draconian” and said that a building code requirement for all short-term rentals “would stop virtually all of the structures in Warren County from being used as a short-term rental.”

He was critical of several elements of the regulation, arguing that “no exit signs trash the interior” of short-term rentals where he has stayed. “They operated on the principle we’ll exit the same way we got in.”

A permit to authorize a short-term rental is “another layer of difficulty in doing business,” Stewart added.

Ed Sekerak was critical of the regulation prohibiting an RV as a short-term rental, calling it an “overstep because it’s a vehicle.”

“Many of the members of this Commission haven’t had an opportunity to absorb it,” Pascuzzi stressed.

Stewart was particularly critical that nothing had been shared with the public about the nature of complaints. Lyon said many of the complaints have to do with the transient nature and potential for loud parties. Stewart noted that zoning “doesn’t address that one little bit.”

Lyon said that a review of ordinances from around the state included some counties that prohibit short-term rentals entirely.

“We tried to draft this… as a compromise,” he said, including criteria that are “best practices, if you will.”

Commission member Jeff Zariczny noted that Lakewood, NY currently doesn’t allow any short-term rentals.

“That makes no sense,” Pascuzzi said.

Lyon said anyone with thoughts or questions can call or email him. He added that part of the review was also looking into what Airbnb requires for a property to be listed.

“Some of that is actually in that ordinance the way it is written presently,” he said.

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