A group of concerned property owners is calling for “caution and common sense” in the face of looming short-term rental regulations in Saratoga Springs.
Standing in front of city hall Monday, members of the Saratoga Springs Rental Rights Alliance voiced some of their complaints with Democratic Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran’s forthcoming legislation that would change the city’s short-term rental markets.
Among their demands, the group is asking the city to study the potential economic impact, create a “cross-sectional” working group to help arbitrate the final regulations, and rethink the $1,000 permit fee.
One possible change Moran says he’s willing to make is a sliding scale for the permitting fee. Sean Connors owns a short-term rental on the East Side.
“We don’t want a sliding scale, we want a significantly less cost to do this. $1,000 is way too much. There are other vacation rental spots that charge $100 or less per year. And then when you have additional regulations, you’re asking for other issues too,” said Connors.
Moran says in order to run the registry of rental homes, the permitting fees are necessarily higher than other tourism-reliant communities.
“They plead about the plight of the single mom, yet they reject the notion that I’ll make it free for the single mom. So, as I’ve said, our sliding scale is going to go from free, to ‘it’s going to cost you.’ The state budget currently is not authorizing the collection of short-term rental sales tax. A lot of people think we do that already, the city of Saratoga Springs currently collects zero revenue associated with short-term rental,” said Moran.
The group also wants the city to reconsider the “owner-occupied” definition on which Moran is centering the first pass of his regulations. Anna Smith is a local mortgage broker and agrees that mass corporate ownership of residential properties is a negative, but thinks Moran’s proposal hurts individuals looking to own multiple rental properties.
“As an individual, I currently own two properties. Who is going to tell me I can’t own three or four, and do what I’d like to do with that property, assuming I’m adhering to the other current laws and rules that are in place for noise trash and other ordinances? And also, who is to say that my long-term renter, that I could potentially put in, might not be worse than someone who comes for the weekend? So, how do you define how many homes a person could own?” asked Smith.
Moran’s legislation is based in the language of similar bills at the state level. As is, it would require that rental properties be occupied for a majority of the year apart from the weeks or months that they are rented.
Moran says it is well within the city’s laws to regulate how residential homes are used.
“You want to build something in this city, you’ve got to go before a lot of people before you get the ability to do that. So, the idea that we can’t regulate property use is just silly. Of, course we can. You want to build a home you’ve got to go through a process. You want to amend a home and put an addition on it, you have to go through a process. Depending on where you are in the city of Saratoga Springs, we can tell you what color to paint your building,” said Moran.
While opponents argue the legislation could harm renters’ revenue, Moran says his concerns lie elsewhere.
“I care about the next seven generations of people who will have the right and opportunity to live here. I care about somebody like myself who grew up in an apartment who can’t see how my life could progress given the economic circumstances surrounding this city right now. That’s troubling to me, because everybody deserves a right to live, housing is a right,” said Moran.
Moran expects further action on the proposal after the state budget is approved. In the meantime, the Saratoga Springs Rental Rights Alliance plans to attend Tuesday’s city council meeting.
