Whitewater council says no to short-term rentals by-law

Cobden -- There will be no by-law to regulate short-term accommodations (STAs) in Whitewater Region (WWR) anytime soon.

The unanimous decision at the June 19 council meeting to drop that idea came after deliberations going back more than a year.

Township staff had presented a draft by-law to council in April 2023 with the intent it would be a discussion-starter which would culminate in a regulating by-law to be included in the municipality’s Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw (ZB) which was being reviewed at the time. The review has since been completed and the revised ZB has been adopted – minus STA legislation. Councillors felt they needed more time than was available as part of the ZB review to make an informed decision.

The discussion resumed after three residents made presentations to council in October of 2023 outlining various problems experienced by non-host residents due to activities of visitors staying in STAs, both in WWR and other localities.

Earlier this year, township staff conducted an extensive fact-finding exercise which included a survey of residents and four open houses over a span of two months. As well, staff obtained information about Granicus, a host compliance monitoring software program, and gathered input from neighbouring municipalities that were considering STA regulations. At its May 15 meeting, staff presented council with a 138-page report consisting of a summary of its findings. After more questions were raised in the discussion which followed, council directed staff to reply to questions regarding enforcement options, Granicus services, current and proposed by-laws in other municipalities, and by-laws to consider, and to report their findings to a subsequent meeting of council ASAP.

The resulting new report was on the agenda last Wednesday. In the absence of Mayor Neil Nicholson, the meeting was chaired by Deputy-Mayor Cathy Regier. However, she vacated the chair for agenda items related to STAs, declaring a conflict of interest because a member of her family, Chantelle Regier, is an STA owner in the township.

Councillor Mike Moore, who served as WWR mayor during the last term of council, took over the chair while agenda items relating to STAs were dealt with.

Before council discussed the issue, Ms. Regier (Chantelle), who had made a presentation at the May 15 meeting, returned to the podium to address council and reiterate her opposition to regulations.

She reminded council she and fellow STA owners are “not just corporations,” but people who have “put their heart, blood, sweat and tears” into the places they are offering for rent, and that they are providing a much-needed service.

“I think it’s important to remember that in Whitewater Township we do not have hotels,” she continued. “If we have the world’s best rafting, it's important to have nightly accommodation for people.”

She said the STA business is basically self-regulating in that both guests and hosts are subject to reviews.

“If my place is not up to standard, and you leave me a bad review, people that are looking for a place would not rent from me,” she said.

Referring to the draft by-law dealing only with STAs and not other rental properties, she said, “I just think it’s over the top. Where is the accountability for long-term rentals? It’s not fair to impose (these regulations), specifically a noise by-law, only on STAs.”

Another tourism business operator, Joe Kowalski of Wilderness Tours, spoke in support of the status quo for STAs in WWR.

“I don’t have a dog in this fight,” he said. “We don’t do Air B’n’B, but we have scores of accommodations. In some aspects, they (STAs) are our competition.

“I want Whitewater Region to be a dynamic, growing, prosperous, fun-to-be-in place for my children and grandchildren,” he continued. “You need these short-term accommodations. You get what you reward, and you don’t get what you punish. Too much regulation is punishment.”

As an example of good features of STAs, he noted that most of them have plumbing, unlike 80 per cent of the accommodations offered by Wilderness Tours.

“It’s not economical for seasonal businesses such as ours to provide plumbing in all their accommodations,” he said. “Most Air B’n’Bs also are winterized. They add vitality to the mix (of options), and they’re not a threat to our business.”

In the ensuing council discussion, all councillors supported abandoning the by-law idea.

Councillor Joe Trimm said he wants to go on record for supporting STAs.

“After reviewing this for a couple of months, there doesn’t seem to be enough evidence to support regulating (them) with a by-law,” he said. “I do appreciate the work Clerk (Carmen) Miller put into a draft by-law. It will not go to waste if, in future, some regulations are needed. That will be when we have this room filled with people demanding that the township take action, not people who are requesting that we take no regulatory action.”

Coun.Trimm suggested using Granicus to monitor complaints and help determine if and when the municipality does need to take action.

CAO Ivan Burton explained that Granicus is a software system specifically relating to STAs and requires some regulating or licensing system.

“But that does not appear to be your intention,” he said.

Coun. Trimm concurred that at this time he is not advocating for any licensing.

The CAO suggested using the township’s existing 24/7 emergency on-call system as an alternative.

Councillor Connie Tabbert admitted that earlier she had been in favour of a regulating by-law.

“After a meeting I attended – either AMO or ROMA – I thought ‘this thing is getting out of hand’,” she said. “But after I read the (staff) report I thought ‘let them live. Let people do what they want. It’s your own home – you’re not going to let people destroy it or give your neighbourhood a bad name.’ I’m not in favour of this regulation at all.”

Councillor Chris Olmstead said that after more than 10 years on council and over 40 years in businesses of various sizes, he is convinced “we do not need more regulations, period.”

“Whitewater’s identity is that it’s easygoing, touristy, fun, cottage country, with a great atmosphere,” he said. “I see putting that in jeopardy if we start overregulating everything. It’s like hitting a finish nail with a sledgehammer.”

Councillor Mark Bell acknowledged the complaint mechanism for reporting problems at STAs could be improved.

“Users (of STAs) don’t have the same incentive to fostering good relations with their neighbours,” he said. “That’s where the complaint process comes in. If five per cent of the time neighbours have negative experiences, they need to have that outlet.”

He recalled earlier comments by proponents of regulations suggesting that a complaint process is not good enough because people are sometimes hesitant to go on record with complaints.

“Some of the responsibility has to go on residents as well,” he said.

He said he would like to see a better strategy developed for residents to submit complaints, and to ensure they are followed up, as well as a system to track complaints.

“And that’s not just in relation to STAs,” he said.

Coun. Moore wrapped up the discussion by acknowledging it has taken “a lot of work by a lot of people” to get to this point in the consideration of a by-law.

“I think it’s a smart move to document the complaints for at least the next year,” he said. “The consensus I hear around the table is to proceed carefully but not to regulate.”

CAO Burton suggested staff investigate ways to improve the process of receiving and tracking complaints, and report back to council in August.

“I think certainly there’s a gap in receiving complaints and concerns, and we have to look at that,” he said.

He noted the motion before council was simply to receive the report for information purposes. The motion carried.

Marie Zettler, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eganville Leader