LUDLOW, Vt. – The Ludlow Selectboard met on the first Monday in June, taking up their continued discussion of a rental registry in Ludlow.
Planning Commission Chair Terry Carter notified the board that changes had been made to the occupancy limits for short-term rentals (STRs), at the recommendation of Ludlow Fire Chief Ben Whalen. The occupancy limits now reflect those set out in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 101 Life Safety Code, and are based on “bed spaces” rather than bedrooms. As defined in the ordinance, a bed space is “the amount of persons who may reasonably sleep on one mattress” – one on a twin mattress or smaller, and two on a full size mattress or larger.
Carter also told the board that changes had been made to clarify the language surrounding an insurance requirement, and the town’s sovereign immunity limit.
Board member Scott Baitz questioned the inclusion of a 15-minute response time requirement for a “designated agent” who is available to respond to emergencies at the STR, believing that this was too restrictive of a time limit. Chief Whalen responded, saying that he felt the limit could be extended to a maximum of 30 minutes, but no more, as he would like to be able to turn a building over to an owner or their agent after the fire or ambulance department responds to an emergency.
Baitz also questioned the effective date of the registry, set for Sept. 1, feeling that this did not give enough time for owners to have their units inspected prior to when most rentals in town begin renting on Nov. 15. He suggested July 1, and Carter agreed that she would be open to this change.
Board member Noah Schmidt raised several issues he felt would lessen compliance and create potential enforcement difficulties, notably requirements that septic capacity match STR occupancy capacity. “It puts a lot more work on the town, and it doesn’t make registering an easy process,” Schmidt said, adding that he felt the requirement was out of step with the selectboard’s stated goal of increasing public safety.
Board member George Tucker countered that he felt that septic capacity should not be discounted as a potential public safety issue, but felt that the board needed more information on the capability of any software chosen to automatically detect STR listings to make comparisons with municipal wastewater certifications.
The board also discussed the fact that the ordinance remained focused on short-term rentals, while at their previous meeting they had directed the planning commission to focus on long-term rentals as well. Carter told the board that, while the selectboard wanted the ordinance to address both short- and long-term rentals, the village trustees had preferred that these were separate ordinances. Carter also felt that the addition of provisions for long-term rentals would be unpopular with residents and result in the ordinance’s failure to pass. “If you do all rentals,” Carter said, “I don’t think it’s going to go with the public…it’s going to bomb.” Explaining that long-term housing is already difficult to find in Ludlow, Carter said she felt that the town did not need to increase the difficulty for landlords who do opt to rent their units long term.
Nonetheless, most board members appeared to prefer that the ordinance apply to all rentals in Ludlow, short and long term. Carter urged the selectboard to move forward with the STR ordinance as drafted and present it for public comment, rather than delay the process further by trying to add long-term rental provisions. She felt that, given the fire at Trailside Condominiums last October, the town should not enter into another winter without a STR ordinance, and the board could pursue a long-term rental ordinance later. However, the board tabled their discussion, and set a second monthly meeting for June 16, with the intent of gathering information on the capabilities of online rental platform-scraping software such as Granicus in the interim.
The board then discussed with Carter the planning commission’s draft of a vendor/food truck ordinance. There has been recent concern that the presence of several food trucks in Ludlow could be detrimental to the town’s brick-and-mortar downtown restaurants. Ludlow’s current bylaws allow food trucks to park for 150 days per year, with fees maxing out at $250. The draft ordinance would be significantly more restrictive, allowing only 30 days per year, with a fee of $100 per day.
Town manager Brendan McNamara noted that, currently, the ordinance is ultimately up to the village trustees. However, given the looming merger of the town and village, the selectboard wanted to be included in the discussion. The board elected to continue the discussion at their meeting on June 16.
The board then also moved to put the merged town and village charter to a public vote, with the date and time to be determined.
The Ludlow Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Monday, June 16, at 6 p.m., at the Ludlow Town Hall.