I wrote an email to the Town of Hempstead and was told this from one of the ToH's attorneys, William Muller:
"In a Township of over 800.000 people I have not received 400,001 complaints. But The Town Board has received dozens from the area surrounding the coliseum and along the south shore. The Town wouldn't be acting if that wasn't the case. As for getting copies of complaints I would refer you to the Town Clerk's office to fill out a FOIL request."
He also stated that he did not know if the ToH would reserve decision after the hearing on Tuesday. I am attempting to draft an opposition response and also attached the Airbnb Policy Tool Chest, as well as a compromise that was enacted through the Connecticut General Assembly to be submitted into the record.
They are jacking up the rental permit fees which were previously only $50-$150 (with inspection).
I printed and reviewed a copy of the resolution and it seems to have a slight loophole for homeowners. Here are the highlights.
If you look under Art. II, Rental Dwelling Units Section 99-11. Scope; applicability
-The last sentence under scrope states, "Any dwelling unit or any other premises subject to this article shall be presumed to be rented for a fee and a charge made IF SAID PREMISES ARE NOT OCCUPIED BY THE LEGAL OWNER THEREOF."
Under Art. II, Section 99-12. Definitions
-Transient Rental Property is defined as
(A) A rental dwelling or dwelling unit occupied by person other than the owner or a family member of the owner and for which rent is received by the owner, directly or indirectly, in exchange for such rental occupantion for a period of less than 28 nights. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "transient rental property" shall mean all non-owner-occupied dwelling units rented for a period of less than 28 nights and shall not include...."
(B) Outlines the Presumption of dwelling unit as transiet rental property. (See subsection 1-2) where they specifically mention Airbnb, Home Away, and VRBO.
https://toh.li/files/tbdocuments/20170620-resolutions.pdf (starting on page 164)
Will anyone be attending the meeting on July 11, 2017? I will be at work, but I'm going to try to use the weekend to draft up some sort of response.