NORWICH — Residents will have a chance to weigh in on a proposal that would regulate short-term rentals in Norwich during a public hearing next Wednesday.
If approved by the Selectboard, the so-named “Interim Bylaws for Short Term Rental Regulations” would be in place for two years.
The bylaws would require short-term rental operators to get a $250 permit from the town; the town’s Zoning Administrator “may inspect” the property to make sure it’s meeting town and state regulations, including fire safety codes. Short-term rental operators would be required to renew their permits each year.
“The main reason to do it was because we had an existing land use in town … that was not addressed in the current zoning regulations,” Norwich Planning Commission Chair Jaan Laaspere said in a phone interview earlier this month, adding that people already operate short-term rentals in town. “You can’t regulate it, and technically it’s not an allowable use.”
“To be current and to help our zoning administrator do his job, we need to be specific and say ‘here’s what you can and can’t do’,” Laaspere said.
The Vermont Municipal and Regional Planning and Development Act, 24 V.S.A. Chapter 117, §4415, gives towns the authority to adopt interim zoning bylaws, said Kevin Geiger, chief planner for the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, which covers Norwich.
Under that statute, if a zoning administrator discovers an unpermitted short-term rental, they can issue the short-term rental operator a notice of an alleged bylaw violation and the operator would have up to seven days to fix it.
If the operator does not do so, the Selectboard can take the operator to the Vermont Superior Court Environmental Division, which could issue a fine of up to $200 per offense, according to the law.
The Norwich Planning Commission began discussing regulating short-term rentals more than six months ago after residents expressed concerns about people purchasing property “with intent of serial Airbnb-ing it,” Laaspere said, referring to a website people use to advertise short-term rental listings. “That is something right now we’re saying we want to put the brakes on.”
The number of short-term rentals in Norwich is “not really knowable, but most estimates place it in the low 10’s,” Norwich Planning Director and Zoning Administrator Steven True wrote in an email. True said that he has not had to “formally investigate” any complaints about short-term rentals in town.
The draft bylaws define a short-term rental as a house, condo, room or “self-contained dwelling unit” that is rented out “for a period of fewer than 30 consecutive days and for more than 14 days per calendar year.”
“If somebody leaves for a week and rents (their home for) a week for Dartmouth graduation that doesn’t hit the 14-day limit,” Laaspere said. Conversely, if someone wanted to rent out their home for six months while leaving town for a sabbatical, the short-term regulations would not apply. “That doesn’t count.”
Under the proposed interim bylaws, people can operate owner-occupied short-term rentals in any part of town. They cannot operate non-owner occupied short-term rentals, Laaspere said.
If the Selectboard passes the interim bylaws, short-term rentals currently in operation — including non-owner occupied short-term rentals — will become “a pre-existing, non-conforming use,” True wrote, and their owners wouldn’t have to apply for a permit, though they would be encouraged to do so. “Any subsequent permit applications will have to adhere to the provisions laid out in the bylaw.”
The Norwich Selectboard could vote to adopt the interim bylaws during the hearing. If they do so, the bylaws would go into effect immediately, True said.
The Norwich Selectboard hearing will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Tracy Hall and call be streamed via Zoom. Visit norwich.vt.us/notice-of-public-hearing-of-the-norwich-selectboard for more information.
