Multiple councillors questioned the bylaw as written, while some proposed significant and serious changes that could potentially weaken the ability the city has to deal with uncaring property owners and their disrespectful renters who make life very uncomfortable for their neighbours.
The bylaw, introduced by Aaron Sloan, manager of bylaw and licensing for Kawartha Lakes, proposes a licensing and inspection regime for the city’s 600-800 STRs that will ensure the property is safe, renters are mindful of their neighbours and that landlords are responsive to bylaw when there are incidents reported at their rentals.
Ward Two Councillor Pat Warren was very supportive of all STRs having their septics inspected, but wondered why all properties in Kawartha Lakes are not having their septics municipally inspected as has just happened in Haliburton County.
She believed the city would need more new bylaw hires than the document calls for “because a lot of people don’t complain because no (bylaw) people are working on the weekends.”
“Employees are available on the weekend,” Sloan said. “We are proposing three additional enforcement staff and it may take a while to get there. We need to better educate cottagers about what we do and that staff is available on weekends.”
Warren also wanted to know what the new bylaw would do about “villas.” Warren defined a villa as a large cottage that has been cut up into as many as eight bedrooms and are able to host over 20 people at any given time.
Sloan made it clear that the number of bedrooms, and therefore the number of allowable renters, would be determined by what the septic was designed and licensed for.
Ward Six councillor Ron Ashmore wondered if the “rules that are on the books right now and established by council are not being enforced because of a shortage of bylaw staff.”
Sloan responded that the city dealt with 138 STR complaints last year and that the additional nuisance by-laws passed by the city previously “impact all staff, the work gets blended in with other duties and the increased workload results in delays.”
Ward Four councillor Doug Joyce wanted to know from Samantha White, whose company has been hired by the city to assist in creating and implementing their STR program, how long it has taken other municipalities she has worked with to get compliance from STR owners.
Ward One councillor Emmett Yeo wondered about the multi-level fee structure that charges $300 for a STR license if the owner lives onsite and $1,200 if the owner lives offsite.
“People should only be paying $300,” Yeo said, “if they are paying a neighbourhood person to take care of it in their absence…these people shouldn’t be charged $1,200 when someone close by is there to take care of the property.”
“We should be more concerned with shorter rentals,” Ward Four Councillor Mike Perry said. “I think rentals of 14 days or less, and particularly weekend rentals are the ones that create problems,” Perry said.