Oro-Medonte Mayor Randy Greenlaw says he feels the frustration township residents are facing when it comes to short-term rentals (STRs) in the municipality.
But, at the same time, he implores citizens to be patient and to understand township council is doing everything it can to solve the issue.
“We’ve had some decisions that haven’t been favourable on how we move forward,” Greenlaw said following two deputations from concerned residents on STRs at the township’s last council meeting on Aug. 14.
“You can’t always predict what the courts will decide or how the OLT (Ontario Land Tribunal) leans on certain matters. We haven’t given up," the mayor added. "We’re still looking for a solution that is sustainable and protects our communities and neighbourhoods."
On March 22, Oro-Medonte Township and the Oro-Medonte Good Neighbours Alliance’s appeal of an OLT decision regarding short-term rental accommodations in the municipality was dismissed.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice said it dismissed the appeal because there was no procedural unfairness, and the OLT was correct in its interpretation of the existing zoning bylaw and made no error in law in finding the 2020 bylaw did not represent good planning.
Oro-Medonte Township Deputy Mayor Peter Lavoie says that decision opened the floodgates for STRs in the township.
“We currently have 530 short-term rental operators in the township,” he said during a July 16 community meeting at the Bayview Memorial Park pavilion. “Before the OLT decision, we had 70.”
Greenlaw says the township is working on another strategy regarding STRs, but he wouldn’t share it.
“I’m not being disrespectful, but we don't want to let it out,” the mayor said at the pavilion meeting. “We want to get it tested and proven it works before we present it.”
According to Greenlaw, the township has spent more than $1 million dealing with the short-term rental issue.
Diana Wells can’t wait to see the township’s new strategy. She organized the community meeting at the pavilion in July. She also appeared before council on Aug. 14 to reiterate her concerns and to ensure all of council was aware of what was happening on Tudhope Boulevard.
Wells told council the same thing she said to Greenlaw and Lavoie at that meeting.
“Like so many others, their situation is Kafka-esque,” she said of the folks who live on Tudhope Boulevard, near a suspected short-term rental, while also referring to the 20th-century author's bleak and unpleasant story lines.
“They report a disruption to their respective councillors and are told that not much can be done as the complaint was made after the fact. So they report a disruption at 2 a.m. to the OPP and are told that the police do not respond to bylaw matters," Wells added.
“They call municipal bylaw enforcement and leave a voicemail message or email a complaint, and receive little response and no further help or action."
Eventually, she said, many of the residents simply give up out of frustration and stop reporting.
Wells says this scenario plays out regularly across the township.
She’s disappointed with township council because she says they haven’t lived up to the promises they made that got them elected.
“The residents of Oro-Medonte spoke to this issue in 2019 when over 1,500 people throughout the township signed a similar petition asking council to enforce their zoning bylaw,” Wells said.
“The people spoke loud and clear once again when we mobilized and came out to the polls in force to elect a new council, most of whom ran on a platform, which included stopping the ongoing operation and proliferation of illegal STRs throughout the township.”
Kim Pressnail also appeared before council. He says the township can defend the rights of residents, or it can do nothing and watch the problem grow.
“Some say the township can’t possibly afford to protect our neighbourhoods by enforcing the zoning bylaw,” Pressnail told council. “And I’ll say to you, ‘How can we afford not to?’"
