This story by Liz Sauchelli was first published in the Valley News on March 4
WEST WINDSOR — Residents overwhelmingly voted to uphold the town’s short-term rental ordinance during Town Meeting.
Voters rejected a proposed repeal, with 15 in support and 99 against. There are 1,104 voters on the town’s checklist, according to Town Clerk Amy Yates, and 120 voters signed in at Town Meeting.
The ordinance — which will go into effect in May — requires short-term rental owners to apply for a town license each year in order to operate, pay fees ranging from $150 to $300 per bedroom, and show that they are following all state tax and fire safety codes, among other requirements.
After the Selectboard approved the ordinance last September, short-term rental owner Anne Yates submitted a petition signed by at least 5% of West Windsor voters seeking to repeal it. As part of the petition, Yates asked that the repeal vote take place at the March Town Meeting.
“If there’s an issue, that’s our opportunity to discuss it,” said Selectboard Chairman Mark Higgins, who gave an overview of the ordinance.
Around a dozen residents shared their thoughts and asked questions about the new policy during a roughly 20-minute discussion.
“I struggle with this and I suspect a lot of people do too,” said Dan Freilich, who owns two short-term rentals. “We bring in hundreds of people into this state, into the town every year … who have a lot of income to expend here. They go to the store, they go to the festivals, they sign up for the races so I think, please, please whatever decision we make, make sure that we’re discussing the consequences of removing this or making it difficult versus keeping it the way it is.”
Jill Delaney, owner of Delaney Stables, said she was in favor of the ordinance because it would give town officials a way to identify visitors who cause problems. Over the years, short-term rental guests “think that they are welcome to walk through my property… to drink, to be on my property and take pictures, to tell me they are allowed to do this,” she said.
Deb Spackman, West Windsor’s lister clerk, said that recently a resident stopped by the town offices to find out who owned a neighboring short-term rental because guests staying there had caused damage to the resident’s property.
“We have no recourse and that’s the kind of stuff that happens to us that the rest of you don’t really see,” Spackman said. “We need some way to address some of this stuff.”
The vote was conducted by paper ballot.
Afterward, voters approved the rest of the articles — including a $2.6 million budget — by voice vote.
In elections from the floor, Higgins was re-elected to an uncontested, three-year term on the Selectboard.
Read the story on VTDigger here: West Windsor rejects effort to repeal short-term rental rules.