Planning Commission discusses ordinance for short term rentals

BESSEMER – The Bessemer Planning Commission went over a draft ordinance to regulate short-term rentals during its regular meeting on Tuesday night.

“It’s very thorough, there’s no question about it,” said councilman and committee member Terry Kryshak.

The ordinance will require all short-term rental companies provide the city with a local agent. City manager Charly Loper said this person would have to be available to accept phone calls on a 24-hour basis, have a key for the property and be able to get there within 60 minutes. The ordinance will also require that the contact person’s information be placed on a sticker on the outside of the home.

She said this will allow the neighbors to be able to contact the property owner if they have a concern.

All committee members agreed that having a contact was really important. Loper said that they do have people from other states operating the short-term rental properties, so that it is really important to have contact information in the event of any issues that may arise.

The ordinance also states that the property must be connected to a public sewer system. Loper said it has been an issue with some short-term rentals in other places so she thinks it is a good idea to put that in the ordinance.

A short-term rental property is only allowed to host one short-term rental at a time. The ordinance forbids a property from renting to several renters at the same time, as if they were apartments. All short-term rentals have to comply with local city codes. The ordinance states that trash and recycling must be removed from the property within 36 hours of pick-up and the properties must have off-street parking.

Short-term rental properties may not be used for special events, unless it doesn’t exceed the number of occupants permitted in the rental home. The ordinance defines occupancy as four people per room, which Loper said is “really generous.” No person can camp in the backyard of the property.

The property owners will be expected to pay a small fee to the city, to cover the costs of regulating the homes. The amount of the fee will be determined by the city council. Loper indicated that the short-term rental regulations will be handled by a city employee.

“Wouldn’t we be better off coordinating countywide with the townships, with Ironwood, and with Wakefield, so that it’s a consistent message out of Gogebic County?” asked Kryshak. “I think it’s well done, but I think it’s premature.”

Loper said that she has been looking at surrounding communities, communities that are similar to Bessemer, and that they are starting to have issues with short-term rentals. She said that by implementing this ordinance the city would be able to get ahead on this issue. She said the ordinance will allow the city to track how many short-term rentals they have and their growth. Those who violate the ordinance can be fined with civil infractions or have their right to operate a short-term rental property within the city revoked.

“So we can kind of get ahead of it before this becomes a battle between short-term rentals and their neighbors,” said Loper. “So that these relationships don’t sour.”

“Personally, I like it,” said committee member Dave Olsen. “I’d rather have the ability to pull back on some of it than to have to try to hunt people down and add more burden on them. They see up front this is how we’re doing it, and if they still decide they want to come in and do it, we’re covered. We can always pull back if we do a countywide thing down the road.”

Loper said the state has been talking about doing something about the issue for years and it has never gotten passed. Eric Longhini, who co-owns Longhini property management, with his wife, Helena, which maintains several properties for short-term rental owners, said the community is basically hosting these people without getting any financial return. He said that people often bring their own food, and only purchase some gas at the cheapest place. He said the licensing for short-term rentals should have the option to provide revenue for the city.