BERLIN – Town officials are expected to discuss short-term rentals next week following issues with a Main Street property.
The Berlin Town Council is set to talk about short-term rentals during Monday’s meeting after citizens have reported issues with a short-term rental on Main Street. While the town implemented short-term rental regulations last year, the property at the source of the complaints has not received a license but continued to rent the property. The property owner has not been subject to any fines, which is listed in the town’s ordinance as recourse for a violation.
“We had an internal staff meeting last week to review complaints the town has received regarding short-term rentals and the enforcement mechanisms outlined in the approved ordinance,” Mayor Zack Tyndall said. “The town encourages citizens to file complaints with the town’s planning department and/or the Berlin Police Department. All complaints filed through those departments are tracked and acted on according to the ordinance.”
Despite the town’s new regulations, residents say they’re still having problems with short-term rentals in their neighborhoods.
Citizens attended a meeting of the Berlin Planning Commission last week to express their frustration with a Main Street property used as a short-term rental. Berlin Councilman Jay Knerr, who also lives near the property, referred to as the Brew House on Main on Airbnb, said it was not licensed and was creating issues for nearby property owners.
“It’s not fair to the neighbors,” he said. “It has been brought to the town’s attention multiple times.”
Commission member Ron Cascio asked Planning Director Dave Engelhart last week what enforcement was underway related to short-term rentals. He referenced the rental property owned by Bryan Brushmiller known as the Brew House.
“It looked like a frat house,” he said as he drove by two weekends ago. “Is that place licensed?”
Engelhart said it was not licensed. He said there had been some feedback related to it but said it hadn’t risen to the level of a complaint.
Engelhart said he believed there were about a dozen short-term rentals operating in Berlin. Six of them are licensed.
When asked why Brushmiller hadn’t been fined regarding the Brew House, Engelhart said the issue would be discussed at upcoming meetings.
Tyndall said this week he would not comment on a specific property but neighbors of the Brew House shared details of an incident that occurred Saturday night. They reported a fourth-degree burglary and trespassing to police when inebriated renters of the Brew House on Main entered their house. Adam Davis and Lauren Georgevich were upstairs at their Main Street home with their young son when they were alerted to people inside their home from downstairs. A video shows two individuals arguing and shouting profanities and walking straight into the couple’s home.
The Davis’ said the situation last weekend has rattled their family and called the lack of respect and understanding from neighboring property owner Brushmiller disturbing and appalling. The couple wants to know why the town is allowing its short-term rental ordinance – passed last September – to be ignored without repercussions. The Brew House has been denied a short-term rental license by the town. The Davis’ would like to see fines instituted immediately and retroactively to the ordinance implementation.
“There is a flagrant disregard going on for everyone by the property owner. Where is the human decency here?,” Georgevich said. “This is a real shame. This is a detriment to us as neighbors and it’s had a real impact on our son and our lives. It’s not what we ever thought living in Berlin would be like when we made it our forever home.”
The Davis’ have complained numerous times to police about the property but are disappointed to learn recently that the source of the calls have been listed as the address in the complaint.
“I understand it’s a complaint-driven system, but we have called police multiple times and somehow the complaints are not registered. The complaints are sourced to the house making the complaint, not the object of the complaint,” she said.
Davis said the couple has spent nearly $15,000 to secure their property as a result of the neighboring rental house.
“This is not going to stop, it’s all about the money to them,” Davis said of the property owner.
After the trespassing incident last Saturday night, Davis said he reached out to the Airbnb’s property manager, who informed him he goes to bed at 9 each night and that he’s not available after that to address concerns.
Complicating matters is the fact the house in question, which has been available for a nightly rent of $500-plus, is owned by Brushmiller, owner of Burley Oak Brewing Company.
Davis has worked at Burley Oak since 2016, including the last two years as chief of operations. After being told by Brushmiller he would be continuing to short-term rent the home without a license, Davis resigned this week from Burley Oak due to the numerous incidents related to the rental house and the impact it has had on his personal life. Davis said he has brought the concerns to Brushmiller’s attention on several occasions.
The couple is hoping to see the town enforce its short-term rental ordinance. The house in question does not have a valid license and was rejected last year by Engelhart. Nonetheless, the house has been actively rented on Airbnb. When it comes to violations, the town’s ordinance states, “Renting without a license. Rental of a property as defined by this section without a license will result in a reoccurring fine of $600.00 … A violation of any requirement of this section or other sections of the Town Code, excluding renting without a license as defined in section will result in a civil violation of $100.00. Repeat or continuing violations will result in a fine of $200.00 per day and may result in revocation of the short term rental license for the remainder of the licensing period plus one year.”
Brushmiller said Wednesday he’d removed the house from Airbnb on Tuesday and would be canceling stays as of June 1.
“It is only rented 70 days a year and this is all done by a third party that manages the property,” he said.
Brushmiller also provided a comment from property manager Todd Martinek.
“We were business as usual until we were denied (a license) in April,” the statement reads. “We haven’t accepted any more reservations since then and took the site down today while the town is looking over the request—Airbnb will fine us if we don’t provide property documentation … Now we just want the town to give the owners and guests to our town fair notice to find another place.”
