The more than 30 speakers at a town of Preble public hearing Mionday had a range of opinions over whether the town should continue to allow, or decide to prohibit, short-term rentals of residential properties.
Probably no speaker, though, was as certain as town Supervisor James Doring when he answered a resident who asked who would bear the cost of lawsuits filed over the issue.
“There will be lawsuits from this,” Doring said. “And taxpayers will pay for it.”
If speakers were being honest about their beliefs, lawsuits indeed will be filed.
The hearing was to gather comment on extending a 90-day ban on short-term rentals, even as the town considers a total ban.
Speakers at the hearing, which the town had relocated to the Preble Fire Station, included attorneys representing both sides of the issue – and at least one with strong beliefs based on experience he’s had at property he owns on Song Lake. There were also people ranging from those who own and operate businesses, to speakers as diverse as a nurse, a county official, and a Marine Corps veteran.
“The people of this town have spoken,” said attorney Joe Heath. “You have a zoning code, and the board is giving you three years. People who live here in Preble spend more money (at local businesses) than people who come in for seven days.”
Town resident Melanie Vilardi, Cortland County’s deputy administrator, read a letter from the county’s convention and visitors’ bureau “urging the town to reconsider” regulating short-term rentals, in part because the county legislature is leaning toward reducing the percentage of sales tax revenue it will share with its towns and villages.
Heath spoke in response to several residents who said businesses realize significant income from money spent in restaurants and convenience stores, while the town and Cortland County receive significant money in the form of sales tax payments.
Not so, said Kate Bartleson, who commented several minutes later.
“Supporters of short-term rentals are not opposed to reasonable regulations,” Bartleson said. “The issue isn’t the proposed regulation, it’s the proposed ban. It will only deepen divisions in this community.”
Despite the crowded firehall, speakers were respectful. Interruptions were rare, and seldom did an audience member’s grumbling threaten to interrupt a speaker.
Marine Corps veteran Richard Holl, a Little York Lake Road resident who briefly admonished the board for not mentioning the Veterans’ Day holiday, said he rents his house via VRBO and has earned a 9.8 rating on a 10-point scale.
“I’ve collected $1,200 in sales tax this year alone, and my short-term rental (has generated) no police reports,” he said. “Your demand is that I comply with your codes, but this Marine veteran will defend my property.”
He received some applause from the audience.
One issue that left some people on both sides of the issue skeptical: whether a three- year time period to resolve the issue would work.
“If the board gives (residents) three years, they’re not going to challenge it immediately,” said resident Dan Clausen. “By the board saying three years, you’re really giving them five. If you want three, you really have to put in (a rule where a decision will be made) in a year or a year and a half.”
