City Hearing on STRs

Josiah0
Level 3
Fitchburg, MA

City Hearing on STRs

Next Tuesday, my city is hearing legislation on STRs, focusing in Airbnb. There are 7 hosts in my city with approx. 18 listings. The the fire dept. has come up with some very restrictive recommendations for all STRs, incl. single-family owner-occupied dwellings:
  • ADA accessibility
  • Annual fire inspection ($50)
  • Bldg. dept. license ($75)
  • Landline
  • License for temp. lodging ($20)
  • Maintain list of occupants
  • No interior door locks
  • No more than 4 unrelated occupants
  • Posted fire exit routes and meeting spot
  • Valid off-street parking (many homes don't have driveways)
Some of it's pretty common sense and borrows from existing state law, but some seems onerous and unrealistic, such as ADA accessibility and off-street parking.
Has anyone else dealt with their local gov't on this? Any good talking points or questions to ask them?
Here are some questions I have:
  • Are single family, homeowner-occupied homes of 3 units or fewer exempt from ADA requirements, such as the one and only B&B in our city?
  • How will the city track all STRs, even those not using conventional means to advertise (i.e., Airbnb, craigslist, Homeaway, newspaper, VRBO, etc.)?
  • What exemptions are being made for B&B home establishments, effectively creating a double-standard of STRs?
1 Reply 1
John47
Level 9
Chatham, MA

@Josiah0 
I have NO background on dealing with that specific type of situation BUT I have been the 2nd gen owner/operator of a six unit summer cottage colony on Cape so have to deal with town inspections and license, etc. so that's why i decided to answer.
I would find some of those requirements highly unlikely to be met by existing commercial B&B's in your town IF there are any, or all places that are available to rent on long term basis. Such as the ADA, landline, door locks, unrelated occupants, etc. 
So I'd maybe investigate that aspect - "as in why us, and not them?"
Your second point in 'how will they track STR" is something that i mentioned at public hearing on STR a while back. If it's casually rented by CraigsList, I don't know how they will find it or how DOR would either.
Paying those fees seems reasonable as I pay $120 (i think it is) yearly.