On Sept. 11, short-term rentals will be on the agenda in both Springwater and Oro-Medonte townships.
The meeting in Springwater, which will be held at the township’s Administration Centre starting at 6:30 p.m., and also broadcast live on YouTube, is to update the township’s Official Plan and zoning bylaw to permit and regulate STR accommodations throughout the municipality.
A year and a half ago, Springwater council, through a motion introduced by Coun. Anita Moore, directed staff to draft a short-term rental bylaw for consideration.
Six months later, council included a number of requirements it wanted to see as part of the bylaw.
On July 3, council approved a report from Brittany Kellington, manager of municipal law enforcement, that included the draft of a short-term rental bylaw, a recommendation to implement the bylaw on Jan. 1, 2025, direction that staff move forward with the necessary Official Plan and zoning-bylaw amendments, and a request for additional staff.
According to Kellington’s report, Springwater staff spent the past year conducting extensive research into various forms of bylaws that are in use across the province, as well as options to administer and enforce the program.
She also noted staff met with a legal team to review the draft bylaw being presented to ensure compliance with relevant legislation, and to consider precedent court cases on the matter.
“Planning staff and legal counsel determined that neither the current Official Plan nor the current comprehensive zoning bylaw specifically permit short-term rentals as a permitted use," Kellington wrote. "Planning staff will need to proceed right away with an update to the township’s Official Plan and to the comprehensive zoning bylaw to specifically permit short-term rentals.
“These amendments would need to be in force and in effect before the short-term rental bylaw came into effect, which is proposed as Jan. 1, 2025," she added.
The proposed amendments will provide a definition of a "short-term rental accommodation" and permit them as a secondary use within all zones that permit a residential dwelling unit, a seasonal dwelling unit or an additional residential unit (ARU).
The bylaw amendment provides minimum parking requirements and limits short-term rental accommodations to no more than 28 consecutive calendar days.
There was no opposition to Kellington’s report.
Meanwhile, in Oro-Medonte, an information report on STRs prepared by township staff will be presented to council during the Sept. 11 council meeting.
“We’re not rolling over or standing down on this, but we need to get it right and we need to get it right without throwing unlimited resources at it,” Oro-Medonte Mayor Randy Greenlaw said during the township’s Aug. 14 council meeting. “We are trying, and I know it doesn't always seem that way because we can’t go public with our strategy, but we are trying to make sure we have something sustainable and practical moving forward.”
The township has spent more than $1 million on this issue, according to Greenlaw.
At the Aug. 14 meeting, Oro-Medonte staff were directed to prepare an information report for the Sept. 11 meeting updating council on what has been done by the municipality since 2018 to address STRs operating in the municipality.
Staff was also directed to prepare an options report with a recommendation reflecting best practices in the province, a request that was chastised by resident Dean Blaine, who was incredulous at the suggestion.
“I look at all of you and say ‘really?’ You don’t know what needs to be done yet? You want staff to go out and do a survey of other municipalities in the province of Ontario, which we know take vastly different approaches to the issue," Blaine said.
“I don’t think you’re going to find anything that could be considered best practice,” he added. “You’ll find many different practices, but in Oro-Medonte we already know what needs to be done.”
