Protect tenant health and safety and minimize neighbourhood nuisances.
That’s the goal of the short-term rental accommodation (STRAs) and bed-and-breakfast (B&B) licensing bylaw that was approved by Oro-Medonte council Wednesday afternoon during the township’s council meeting.
“I think what we want to stress to the public is we’re not going just down one road — we’re taking a multi-forked approach to this, hopefully, solution,” Mayor Randy Greenlaw said during council’s discussion of the proposed bylaw. “One will be licensing in the areas that they’re already permitted in, the other is potentially 440 prosecutions.
“What we’re here for is the safety of our neighbourhoods and communities,” he added.
A public information/consultation session on the bylaw is planned for Monday, March 24 at the Oro-Medonte Arena Banquet Hall. The township says it is also putting together a communication/engagement plan so residents will be informed.
Staff will report back to council after comments are received and will provide recommended next steps.
According to a report submitted by George Vadeboncoeur, the township’s manager of planning special projects, council and staff have tried multiple avenues since 2018 to regulate short-term rental accommodations in the municipality, with little success.
“Over the last two years, decisions of the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) and Divisional Court have provided several takeaways for staff, including confirmation that the existing definition of dwelling unit in the zoning bylaw does not include commercial accommodation as a permitted use, which should be sufficient for the municipality to enforce its zoning bylaw,” Vadeboncoeur wrote in his report.
“The same OLT and Divisional Court decisions also suggested the need for the creation of a supplementary licensing bylaw to effectively deal with disruptive uses that can be associated with problematic STRAs," he added.
At an Oct. 16, 2024, education session — the challenges of using a zoning bylaw to enforce illegal STRAs and options council could consider to address the issue — township council heard that a comprehensive licensing bylaw that provides clear violations that can easily be identified and proven is an effective method in dealing with illegal STRAs and can be complementary to enforcing zoning bylaws.
Through benchmarking, Vadeboncoeur said in the report, staff have determined that licensing is a common tool used to enforce STRAs.
“The draft licensing bylaw has been drafted using various authorities under the Municipal Act that enable a municipality to prohibit a business from operating without a licence, refuse to grant or revoke a licence, and impose conditions on a licence holder,” Vadeboncoeur wrote.
“The format is very similar to licensing bylaws from other municipalities," he added.
According to Vadeboncoeur’s report, STRAs are only permitted within the Village One (V1) and Residential Two Exception 123 (R2*123) zones — the Horseshoe Resort Condos and the Carriage Hills and Carriage Ridge developments.
B&B uses are only permitted in the agricultural/rural one (A/RU) or private recreation (PR) zone under the zoning bylaw. They are permitted elsewhere by exception through an approved site-specific zoning bylaw amendment that individual property owners must apply for.
Some of the key points of the bylaw include:
- Only a principal residence is eligible to be licensed. Accessory dwellings are not eligible
- A “responsible person” is required for the operation of the STRA in accordance with the license and responding to complaints. The “responsible person” must respond within 30 minutes of being contacted and attend on site within one hour of being contacted to address any issues
- Prohibits advertising or operating an STRA or B&B without a licence
- Requires applicant to provide sewage system approval issued by the appropriate authority
- Sets out the terms for revoking a licence or refusing licenses, including counting of demerit points when a violation of the licence has occurred. (If seven strikes are recorded in a 12-month period a licence may be refused or revoked and the owner is ineligible for a new licence for two years)
- Allows the licence issuer to suspend or revoke a licence for reasons outlined in the bylaw
- Establishes the property standards committee as the Licensing Appeal Tribunal to hear and make decisions on a refusal, revocation, suspension of a licence, conditions of a licence, or orders issued by municipal law enforcement. Its decisions are final and binding.
The bylaw also outlines the requirements to obtain a license for a STRA or a B&B as well a schedule of penalties under the township’s AMPS bylaw that range from $500 to $2,250 per occurrence for various infractions.
The license fee for a B&B will be $400 ($150 renewal) and the licensing fee for a STRA will be $1,500 ($1,250 renewal).
Licensing is expected to come into effect on July 1.