BERLIN – The town’s planning department has approved just four short-term rental applications in Berlin.
A year after initially approving a short-term rental program, Berlin is about to issue its first short-term licenses. Planning Director Dave Engelhart said he received 14 applications but that 10 were not approved.
“They’re not primary residences,” he said.
Last year, Berlin officials approved a short-term rental ordinance in an effort to protect the quality of life for town residents. The ordinance, approved in March and amended in September, allows short-term rentals in the B-1, B-2 and B-3 districts as well as in permanent residences in the R-1 and R-2 zoning districts. Many residents were adamant as the ordinance was being considered last year that a residency requirement be included. As a result, the council approved the ordinance with the requirement that in the R-1 and R-2 districts, the short-term rental property has to be an owner’s primary residence per state records.
Since then, the town’s planning department has been working to develop short-term rental license applications and implement the program. The application fee of $350 allows for the cost of short-term rental inspections. Short-term rentals are also required to have a responsible agent available for contact 24 hours a day. That agent has to be located with a 30-mile radius of town. As for parking, the ordinance requires one additional space for each bedroom rented.
Engelhart, who estimated early on the town had slightly more than a dozen properties being marketed as short-term rentals, said this week he’d received 14 short-term rental license applications. His department inspected and approved four of them. The other 10 were not approved because they weren’t primary residences.
Engelhart said he’d be mailing licenses to the four approved properties and would be reaching out directly to property owners whose applications weren’t approved. As far as enforcement, Engelhart said that could be challenging.
“If people are checking in on a Friday evening, I’m already gone for the day,” he said. “We’ll have to develop how we’re going to enforce it.”
According to town code, rental of a property without a license will result in a reoccurring fine of $600. Other violations of the code will result in a civil violation of $100. Repeat or continuing violations will result in a fine of $200 a day and can result in the revocation of the short-term rental license.
Engelhart noted that enforcement would be complaint driven.
