Wawa Municipal Council's considering how to address short-term rentals in the community.
In their Committee of the Whole meeting last night, Council received a presentation from Robert Lehman of Lehman and Associates - who'd previously written Wawa's Official Plan - discussing short-term rentals and how the municipality could deal with them - Lehman noted that they are not currently recognized by the zoning by-law, but found about 25 listed on AirBnB or social media, emphasizing that scope's "not large" and no local problems have been reported, though there are public safety concerns.
Claiming some benefits for tourism and homeowners from short-term rentals, Lehman suggested a licensing system that would carry a fee to cover the Municipality's related costs and could require an inspection to ensure the property meets the Fire and Building Codes, a change that would require amendments to the Official Plan and zoning by-law to recognize short-term rentals - and amend the definition of bed and breakfasts - and he further suggested amending the business license by-law to include both B&Bs and short-term rentals.
Lehman recommended against applying the 4 percent Municipal Accommodation Tax allowed under provincial legislation, and - while he noted there is the possibility of restricting short-term rentals to places where the owner lives or limiting the number of days of consecutive or total use or the maximum number of rooms allowed, or requiring insurance - he did not recommend those.
The issue's set to come back up in Council's next Committee of the Whole meeting, on November 7th.
