A draft bylaw that would regulate the operation of short-term rental (STR) properties throughout Bluewater is nearly complete.
A special meeting of council was held Jan. 26 overviewing a draft of the proposed bylaw to regulate STRs, which would introduce licencing, a demerit system, occupancy limits and more as the municipality works to address concerns about STRs from residents.
According to a report presented during the meeting, municipal staff estimated there are anywhere from 300-400 STRs in Bluewater. To regulate those properties, staff proposed an annual $750 fee to buy a licence for an STR, which is meant to cover the costs of licencing, enforcement, STR tracking and any other costs incurred from the program. If 300 STRs were paying a licencing fee of $750, the municipality would bring in about $225,000 in revenue through the program each year.
As part of the system’s establishment, municipal staff recommended the purchase of online software to help track and search for STRs within Bluewater, which would scan popular sites and apps including AirBnB and VRBO, as well as local rental sites. That software was estimated to have a cost of about $30,000.
Fines are also included as part of the bylaw for offences such as transferring licences ($500), obtaining a licence through false information ($500) and operating an STR without a licence ($750). However, a motion was passed directing staff to pursue potentially higher fines for operating without a license.
Complaints about STRs from residents have included concerns about noise, parking, pets, trespassing and fires. But the municipality only began tracking how many bylaw complaints involved STRs in 2021, meaning information about their impact is limited.
Noise complaints have been on the rise in Bluewater, going up from an annual average of 1.8 complaints from 2014-2019 to at least 25 in 2021. Of those 2021 complaints, four were reportedly related to STRs.
Applicants that apply for a license before the bylaw’s implementation will also be exempt from a potential limit on the number of STR properties within an area, though no specific limit was set during the meeting. A motion was passed directing staff to prepare a proposal limiting the number of new STRs based on a percentage of dwellings on each road, as opposed to a 150-metre radius.
The possibility of introducing a municipal accommodation tax was also discussed during the meeting, and a motion was passed directing staff to further investigate how one could be implemented.
While using Northern Bruce Peninsula as an example, Coun. Tyler Hessel said a municipal accommodation tax would further help Bluewater ensure the new licencing program won’t come at a cost to residents.
Mayor Paul Klopp, who opposed the idea of an accommodation tax, said he believed staff would already have enough on their plate with introducing the new system before exploring an additional tax.