Main obstacle to ordinance regulating short-term units

By Greg Ellison

(Dec. 16, 2021) Concerns about limiting property rights were a key point during a discussion of regulating short-term rentals during the mayor and council meeting on Monday.

Mayor Zach Tyndall said the intent was reviving earlier talks to ascertain what points council members feel should be included in a short-term rental ordinance.

“Before we get [Planning Director] Dave Engelhart and [Attorney] Dave Gaskill sharpening their pencils,” he said.

Tyndall suggested the ordinance should provide for an appeals process before the Housing Board of Review for short-term rental license violations or suspensions.

Councilman Jack Orris noted an earlier point regarding an emergency contact for rentals.

“We talked about a contact person within 30 minutes of the location,” he said.

Police Chief Arnold Downing said a better approach would be requiring an emergency contact person to respond in a timely manner if problems arose.

“The big thing is upon notification they give us a response with a proper time of arrival,” he said. “Sometimes the situation can be handled by phone.”

Councilwoman Shaneka Nichols asked if rental licenses could be displayed both inside and outside of properties.

Engelhart said rental licenses could be numbered to ease tracking for violations of town code.

“If there are issues, it could be reported based on the license number,” he said.

Tyndall agreed that rental licenses should be posted inside the home with a number that correlates to an outside display for cross-reference.

An earlier talking point about limiting short-term rentals to an owner’s primary residence opened a prolonged exchange with a pair of Berlin homeowners in attendance.

Engelhart said the initial discussions for a rental ordinance included an annual 180-day residency requirement.

“The idea for that was that we didn’t have an investor or group of investors buy six or seven homes all in a row on one street,” he said.

The goal is to protect the character of neighborhoods, Engelhart said.

Questioning the wisdom of the primary residency requirement was resident John Watson.

Watson said short-term rentals help promote the town, regardless of the precise amount of time owners reside on site.

“They’re still paying taxes [and] it’s still their property,” he said. “They still have a vested interest in making sure that it’s being maintained properly.”

Watson failed to see an issue if short-term renters are respectful to the town.

Watson suggested restricting homeowners to marketing a single short-term rental as opposed to a primary residency rule.

“Maybe let people own one home but drop the 180 days,” he said. “You might be excluding some people you don’t intend.”

Also taking issue with the 180-day rule was resident Gabriel Sergeant.

Sergeant, whose primary residence is in Baltimore County, recently purchased a second home in Berlin with her husband.

“We’re not in a position to own two homes,” she said.

Renting their Berlin property for short-term uses enables the family to cover mortgage costs, Sergeant said.

Prior to investing in property, the Sergeants conducted extensive research online, specifically on Airbnb.

“One thing stood out …the reviews are absolutely outstanding,” she said. “They’re not young people coming to party.”

Councilman Dean Burrell said an alternative approach would be to limit property owners to a single short-term rental.

Tyndall asked Engelhart if Berlin has areas with a proliferation of short-term rentals.

Despite Engelhart stating Berlin currently has few short-term rentals within town limits, Burrell advocated taking a proactive stance.

“That maybe the case today, but what about tomorrow … if we don’t put regulations in place to prohibit just that,” he said.

Englehart said although a larger number of short-term rentals are advertised online, the bulk are in the Berlin area, with only about a dozen in town limits.

Tyndall asked if the town could limit the number of rental licenses issued.

Gaskill questioned the legality of such an approach.

“You’re getting on shaky ground,” he said. “People have property rights.”

Colin Zimmerman, with the Coastal Association of Realtors, suggested the council start small in terms of rental regulations.

“If the problems are noise, health and safety, solve those problems,” he said.

Zimmerman recommended assuring occupancy limits are adhered to and that renters are respectful to the surrounding community.

“That’s going to solve 99 percent of your problems,” he said. “Don’t start by limiting private property rights for people that live in your town.”

Burrell doubled down on the need for proactive measures to address potential complaints tied to short-term rentals.

“We maybe at this point [are] looking for a solution to a problem we don’t have, but somewhere down the road there will be a property owner that comes to us and complains,” he said.

Burrell said residents had sent texts that evening to share concerns.

“I just got a text … saying the biggest issue is we will lose our neighborhoods,” he said.

Nichols concurred, also noting receiving texts that evening from residents worried about short-term rentals introducing a steady stream of unknown visitors to their neighborhood.

Nichols said some property owners view short-term rentals as an infringement on their rights.

Nichols said second-home owners should not be allowed to negatively affect the character of the community.

“Until you can live here, this is not your home, you’re visiting and allowing people to pay your mortgage for you,” she said. “People are saying this is not what we want for Berlin.”

Watson argued short-term rentals would help promote Berlin to a wider demographic.

“We’ve identified that we don’t have a current problem,” he said. “I do look at my neighborhood like Mayberry [and] don’t want the whole community to be a bunch of Airbnbs.”

Watson expressed doubts that short-term rentals would proliferate in Berlin as the majority of single-family home owners are not interested in renting out their digs.

Watson said a balance should be struck to permit a limited number of short-term rentals in Berlin.

“It’s another family that comes to our town and says, ‘I love it here, I might want to live here one day,’” he said.

Nichols said boundaries need to be established.

“If you keep flipping it enough, the problems that we don’t have will arise,” she said.

Watson said Berlin is a resort destination town.

“That’s Ocean City,” Nichols replied. “Many people move here because they don’t want to be in a tourist area.”

Tyndall, who noted differing opinions, said that evening’s discussion points would be incorporated into a draft ordinance for council review and a public hearing early next year.

“I think we’ve got a good idea of the main components that need to be in a short-term rental ordinance,” he said.