Charlottetown public meeting debates affordable housing and short-term rentals
CBC
Charlottetown city council had one more go Tuesday at a public meeting on short-term rental regulations.
Council held a meeting on the issue in May. With regulations drafted following that meeting, council wanted to give residents another opportunity to comment.
On Tuesday evening, housing advocates said they feel the city council is "finally" hearing their concerns, while some short-term rental owners suggested the regulations being proposed go too far.
The proposed plan would only allow short-term rentals in the owner's primary residence. Apartments could not be used as short-term rentals.
Turnout was lower than at the public meeting in May, with about 150 people at Confederation Centre, and others tuning into a live stream on the city's website. About 25 people spoke, a majority of them in favour of the proposed regulations.
"City council and city staff, or at least some folks on city council and city staff, have finally started to appreciate and understand and really hear what has been said for years," said Jonathan Greenan, a renter in Charlottetown who spoke at the meeting.
"Commercial short term rentals, every single one of them, takes away a housing unit — being it an apartment unit, condo, full home — that could potentially be housing residents."
The rules being proposed strike a good balance, Greenan said.
Some short-term rental owners think the proposed regulations go too far.
"I recognize access to affordable housing is a challenge in Charlottetown, as it is in every city in Canada. However, any notion that over regulation, and in some cases, outright banning STRs is going to fix the affordability challenge is misguided and ridiculous," said Terrie Williams, a commercial short-term rental operator, speaking remotely through an audio link.
The onus is on the government to solve issues around affordable housing, she said.
"We are not some big commercial entities. We are residents of Charlottetown and we contribute heavily to the tax base in Charlottetown," Williams said.
Other short-term rental owners were hoping the city would consider grandfathering them under existing rules. Greenan spoke against that plan, saying too many operators are stretching or not following existing rules.
Under the current guidelines, short-term rental operators are supposed to register with the province under the Tourism Act, as well as with the city, which comes with some levees and fees.