A short-term rental bylaw will be a living document that will be followed and evaluated by Haliburton County council.
Based on the amount of correspondence received over the last month or so about the proposed STR bylaw, Warden Liz Danielsen said during council’s Jan. 10 meeting that a discussion was in order to ensure councillors are all on the same page on the issue.
Councillor Bob Carter, the mayor of Minden Hills, said there are as many as 20,000 residents in the county and there’s been about 100 pieces of correspondence about the proposed bylaw.
Residents and STR stakeholders have had ample opportunity to speak on the issue, he said.
Coun. Cecil Ryall, deputy mayor of Highlands East said it isn’t as if council is going to pass the bylaw and then forget about it. It’s a dynamic issue that should be followed.
It was said by a STR operator that property owners make as little as $9,000 annually. But Coun. Murray Fearrey, the mayor of Dysart, said he’s aware of operators who rent their properties for $10,000 a week and others who get $20,000 a month.
Coun. Lisa Schell, who is also deputy mayor of Minden Hills, said the safest thing the county can do is take steps toward regulating the industry.
Carter said the STR bylaw and the proposed municipal accommodation tax (MAT) are separate issues that happen to be developing concurrently.
Further, Carter said the MAT isn’t going to be used to pay for the STR program.