At its June 25 meeting, Innisfil council directed staff to draft a STA licensing bylaw and host a public meeting later in the summer to gather feedback on its contents. Staff will also need to show how much enforcing the new standards will set the town back.
First put before council in 2022, the issue of licensing STAs was deferred to the following term, as the council of the day opted to amend two zoning bylaws that reinforce the prohibitions on ghost hotels in residential zones and non-waterfront properties without eliminating the cottage rentals in the Our Shore Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) area.
The amendments also featured “refinements” to the definition of what a bed and breakfast is in Innisfil that maintained “the requirement that the owner resides on the premises,” specifically enshrining that “ghost hotel type STAs are not permitted,” staff reported to council at the time.
Those definitions have been further refined in the nearly three years since that council decision, and the bylaws on the books have largely been successful in reducing the behaviour that was causing significant stress on neighbouring properties, especially along the Lake Simcoe shoreline.
In the report to council at the June 25 meeting, staff noted there had only been seven calls recorded to date in 2025 regarding STAs. Last year saw 37 calls, with 53 being identified in over an 18-month time span of 2022 and 2023.
Deputy Mayor Kenneth Fowler — who voted against licensing in 2022 — was impressed by what staff had been able to accomplish with the parameters he and his colleagues had set out, and had a clear vision for what he wanted to see happen next.
“They’ve used the right tools already: they’ve been setting fines and talking to people (and) they’ve got it down by a factor of seven,” Fowler said. “If this is going to come through and we want a licence, I want an (administrative monetary penalty — or AMP) process in play … Let’s give it some teeth. Let’s make people understand that it’s not just a demerit point or we’re going to take away a listing — we’re going to hit you in the pocketbook.”
Tiny also has a 700-metre buffer built into its bylaw, a move applauded by Coun. Jennifer Richardson as a way to ensure property owners — and their guests — follow the rules.
What the new bylaw could do, says planning and growth director Andria Leigh, is to set out the parameters all STA operators must abide by in order to lawfully conduct business in the town.
“We will be defining what an (STA) is,” she said. “If the property owner was looking to run as a ghost hotel, there still has to be a responsible person who’s acting within an immediate period of time to address any compliance issues.”
“We’ve had extensive consultation with municipalities all across Canada, and we haven’t found one successful deterrent other than licensing,” the mayor said. “If you give something to somebody, you can take it away. If they’re given a licence (and) they misbehave, the licence is pulled away and they can no longer operate.”
Dollin and Coun. Kevin Eisses questioned the timing of the next steps. Dollin shared concerns from a resident who thought it was wise to wait until any appeals in the Tiny case were resolved and for Oro-Medonte to pass their bylaw. Eisses wanted to maximize public participation and suggested holding the information session in the fall.
Leigh said staff concerns were not responsible for dictating the timing of the session, but rather to ensure seasonal residents and year-round community members were able to properly provide their feedback.
The date of the session and its format should be announced in the coming weeks.