Ocean City drops changes for short-term rentals like Airbnb — for now at least

Jeremy Cox
The Daily Times
A lengthy debate looms on what to do with short-term rentals in certain Ocean City districts like this home located at 156 Channel Bouy Rd. Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017.

In Ocean City this summer, patrons of Airbnb and other short-term rental services won't have to contend with any new restrictions on their stays.

Another way of looking at the issue: Permanent residents of homes and mobile homes won't get the relief many have been pleading for.

Town officials who have been working toward legislative fixes to the problem acknowledged Wednesday they need much more time to sort out the legal concerns. 

“I’m just trying to avoid certain constitutional challenges," town attorney Jon Bulkeley told the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The board is expected to continue studying and debating the issue at least into this fall.

But Bulkeley offered two key findings Wednesday from his preliminary research that are likely to shape the contours of that discussion.

He said short-term rentals don't constitute a commercial use, an interpretation that contradicts what Planning Director Bill Neville told the board earlier in the month. If those stays could be deemed illegal, building inspectors would be empowered to shut them down.

Bulkeley also suggested that borrowing Worcester County's definition of a short-term stay — anything less than four months and one day — could land the town in legal jeopardy. Other resort communities appear to have found success posting limits of 30 or 60 days, he added.

Ocean City's 3,800 single-family homes account for less than 13 percent of all housing units, but many of the town's voters hail from those freestanding residences. 

Complaints about noise and loud parties have been growing in those neighborhoods in the wake of the rise in popularity of Airbnb and other internet-based rental services, officials say.

The town distributed 7,500 rental licenses in 2017. Of those, 350 went to homes in single-family neighborhoods, town records show. 

The conflict underscores that Ocean City's zoning laws are "really old, and the world is changing," Bulkeley said. 

“If all of our rules were followed, we would be in a great spot," said Pamela Greer Buckley, the commission's chairwoman, "but unfortunately that’s not happening right now.” 

As the board debates how to go forward, the rental industry is working to improve its relationship with town decision-makers.

Sarah Rayne, public affairs director for the Coastal Association of Realtors, said she plans to ask the Town Council at its next meeting what property owners can do this summer to keep problems at a minimum.

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On Twitter@Jeremy_Cox

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