11-27-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, November 13, 2017 7:00 o'clock p.m. 16. #17-3984 — CITY OF ORONO TEXT AMENDMENT: RENTAL LICENSING, VACATION RENTAL PROHIBITION — Continued they have not noticed any problems. Dankey stated she would hate to tell people they cannot do this because it is a very popular thing. Dankey stated in her view Orono is a destination area, and that when she got married, she wanted people to stay close by but there were no places to stay. As a result, she got married downtown instead and not in Orono. Dankey noted she has had problems with neighbors in the past that are not weekend renters. Dankey commented short-term rentals are in and out of the property, but if someone is an absentee owner, they need to have a manager that is within five minutes of the property so they can deal with the issue right away. In addition, the landlords need a management plan. Dankey stated in her view that is how you can get rid of 90 percent of the problems. Seals stated in her view the 30 days is kind of arbitrary, and while the Council is saying they are not shutting short-term rentals down, they in essence will by requiring a minimum 30 -day stay. Printup stated the City Council should look at what Orono wants, and that Orono is not a destination spot, not a transient community, but people come here to live, not to vacation. Orono does not have resorts in different areas on the lake. The City also has rules that require a principal structure in order to have a dock. Printup stated he wants to protect the residents, let them live their normal, everyday lives, and not have strangers come and go. Crosby stated Orono stands for great schools and quality lake water, and that he does not think Orono needs to have a lot of people coming in and renting and disserving the people who live here. Crosby noted the City Council works for the taxpayers and that it is unfortunate a small group has ruined it, but that is what has happened, and the Council needs to be responsible to the people who live here. Dankey commented 15 percent of Orono consists of rental properties. Crosby noted they are not short-term rentals. Seals asked what problem the City Council is trying to solve. Seals stated the only true problem that needs to be solved is how to deal with problem renters and a property owner that is not a good neighbor. Seals stated if those things were already in place, the City Council would not be aware of these issues, and that the City does not have to go that far to solve the problem. Seals stated the problem is not becoming a transient community or a surging use of Vrbos. Seals stated the City currently does not have a mechanism in place to know who is renting and that the only recourse is to send them nasty citations. Seals stated she is trying to identify the problem, which is when things go bad, the City has no way to fix it. Seals stated if somebody is going to have a rental, they need to have certain mechanisms in place, and if the City receives X number of phone calls about the property, they are going to lose their rental license. Seals stated in her view that would prompt the property owner to address the issues. Dankey stated she also has lived next to a long-term rental and it was a problem. Dankey stated long-term renters are harder to get rid of. Page 8 of 17