Obituaries: LeBrecht, Blauuw, Ohl

By EMILIA TEASDALE

KINDERHOOK—The Village Board passed new regulations on short term rentals (STRs) at a special board meeting on July 31. According to Mayor Michael Abrams, this meeting was the 8th public hearing on the proposed regulations and the board heard from several residents before voting to pass local law Number 3 of 2023, to amend the code of the village to add Chapter 130-22 in regarding STRs like the ones offered on the Airbnb website.

Mayor Abrams started the standing room only meeting in the Village Hall with a brief review of the history of the regulations. He said that looking on the Airbnb website, he found about 10 rentals advertised in the village. He pointed out that is 10 properties out of over 600 properties in the village. He stressed that the Village Board had tried to make the process transparent. The proposed regulations started with the Planning Board and then were reviewed by the Village Board for several months.

Mayor Abram said the regulations differentiate between hosted and non-hosted rentals. According to a draft of the new regulations, a hosted STR “is a single-family or two-family dwelling, or an accessory dwelling unit” where the host occupies the STR property “and remains on-site and resides in a habitable dwelling unit or portion thereof throughout the guest’s stay.”

A non-hosted STR is a dwelling or accessory dwelling unit where “the host does not remain on-site throughout the guest’s stay.”

For both hosted and non-hosted STRs, “a qualifying property must be the owner’s primary residence.”

Mayor Abrams said there is no limit on hosted STRs but there is a cap of 12 permits available for non-hosted STRs and they can be rented out 60 days a year. Any STR must get a permit from the village to host.

He stressed several times during the meeting that this is not a “100% solution” for everyone but that it sets needed protection to stop the proliferation of STRs in the community.

A few residents spoke about how the process could affect their ability to rent out their STR as they wait for the permit. Some said the process has been rushed through and pointed to the need for places to stay in the area and the economic value of having STRs. But other residents talked about living next to STRs and how it’s like living next to a business. The board and the residents confirmed that there have been complaints against short term renters in the village. “Wouldn’t you want to know your neighbors?” said one village resident and business owner.

Under the new law, a permit can be suspended and revoked if there are complaints.

“This is not being rushed through. It’s been carefully considered,” Kristina Lang, chair of the Village Planning Board, said of the process.

After the public hearing was closed, the board discussed the issues. Mayor Abrams pointed out the law still needs to be reviewed by the state before it will go into effect, saying, “Nothing is set in stone until the state approves it.” And he said that current STR hosts can go to the Planning Board and ask for more time to get the permit. There is a section in the law about the permitting process and what needs to be presented to the code enforcement officer (CEO).

Board member Susan Patterson said, “We’ve been really listening” to changes suggested to the proposed law over the public hearing process. She also described the law as conservative and said the law “can always be amended.”

Board member Mark Browne also talked about the process and said that the board has budgeted funds to the CEO to handle the applications and inspections. There is a permit fee which was not stated in the draft law posted earlier this month.

The board also talked about the fact that the state Assembly and State have discussed STR regulations. Trustee Browne said they needed to implement a law before the state imposes one.

In the state Senate, Senator Michelle Hinchey (D-41st) sponsored a bill called the Short-Term Rental Registry Act that “amends the multiple residence law by adding a new article 2-a to establish the definitions, regulation, registration, exception, penalties, enforcement, and data sharing of short-term residential rental units.”

According to a draft of the local law on the village’s website at www.villageofkinderhook.org the purpose of the regulations includes preserving the supply of dwellings available for long-term rentals and home ownership by maintaining and protecting Kinderhook’s residential market; supporting property owners to stay in their homes by preventing real estate speculation and safeguarding long-term housing affordability; maintaining the safety of current and future residents as well as those traveling to or visiting in the village by ensuring that STR operators participating in the tourism economy are subject to comparable or similar restrictions governing other lodging establishments; preventing, to the greatest extent practicable, public safety risks, including, but not limited to, increased noise, trash, traffic, and parking impacts associated with the STR of residential dwellings; and preserving the traditional character of the village.

To contact reporter Emilia Teasdale email eteasdale@columbiapaper.com