West Nipissing council has passed a new bylaw to govern how people can operate short-term rentals within the municipality. The law passed by just one vote. A petition was brought to council to ask them to postpone the vote, which council received, before deciding to enact the by-law as written.
Roch Pellerin traversed the municipality last week collecting signatures for the petition. In total, about 850 people signed, which Pellerin thought would be enough for council to reconsider.
Specifically, Pellerin, who operates a short-term rental himself, wants more public consultation regarding what goes into the by-law. The municipality did hold a public consultation in the fall and hosted a survey on its website to gather feedback from residents.
With the bylaw passed, Pellerin admitted feeling defeated, and disappointed his petition didn’t cause a bigger wave at council. However, he plans to continue to advocate for short-term rental operators and will offer suggestions to council over the coming months regarding revisions to the bylaw.