LONDONDERRY, Vt. – At their Nov. 20 meeting, the Londonderry Selectboard discussed their short-term rental (STR) ordinance and acknowledged the road and bridge projects to repair the flood damages have mostly been completed. The board also accepted a bid from Alberti Landscaping for the winter maintenance of the transfer station, with the option to extend their contract for an additional two years at the same price if they are satisfied.
Board member Melissa Brown received an email from the town’s attorney Bob Fisher, who provided recommendations about the language of the current draft of the STR ordinance. Brown stated she also had many other emails from people who were both for and against STRs, as well as a lot of informative and educational pieces that are “insightful,” but a little overwhelming. “There’s a lot of information out there,” she said.
Brown continued, expressing the board needs to look at many neighboring towns to see what they are doing, noting that each community is unique in its needs – “there is no one size fits all” – while also assuring the attendees of the meeting that they are getting closer to finalizing the ordinance language. The board wants to make sure the verbiage is clear, noting that there was a lot of language that could make it more difficult to understand, but also makes the ordinance more definitive.
Bill Sinsigalli, local STR owner, offered that Montpelier’s language is quite simple, and if the intent was to be clearer, theirs would be a good example. However, they only allow homesteads to be used for STRs, so the language for Londonderry’s ordinance would become more, complicated adding provisions to allow second homes and determining how long you have to live in the dwelling, and other questionable factors.
Brown reassured, “Our mountain town has a long rich history of having second homes,” with families who have been here a long time. The board has no intention of eliminating or limiting STRs, or eliminating second homes from being STRs. Board Chair Tom Cavanagh added that the place to define an STR is in the zoning bylaws, noting they were only discussing the ordinance language. Brown moved on to state they are most curious about how many STRs they have, and where they are located.
Another attendee liked Killington’s ordinance, saying it is easy to read and understand, with a simplified registration, suggesting that Londonderry do something similar because people would be more likely to voluntarily comply with a simplified registry.
There was some talk about the number of STRs one person could own and other regulations. Brown noted that there are some possible nuances, and one bad night could cause concern among the community.
Steve Ankuda, attorney for Springfield, was in attendance with STR owner Ben Sargent sitting next to him. He cautioned the town not to confuse the ordinance with zoning bylaws. “This Ordinance that you’ve come together with is a mix up of zoning and nuisance law, and it doesn’t fit,” he told the board, using as an example the fact that, in the ordinance, an STR owner needs a conditional use permit, but the ordinance does not say what the conditions are. Cavanagh confirmed they are just working out the details of their draft. Ankuda continued, saying, “You’ve got Ben here who’s going to go out of business” with some of the regulations the town may put into place with the current ordinance. Ankuda suggested the board collect all the data they can, and then see what the problems are and regulate from there.
The board moved on to their attorney’s recommendations, line by line, making adjustments, deletions, and clarifications to the language.
Prouty then noted that the planning commission hadn’t tackled the STR zoning bylaws too deeply because they knew the selectboard was working on the ordinance. Ankuda clarified that the planning commission holds a hearing to get information and feedback from the community and selectboard on the ordinance. Town administrator Shane O’Keefe confirmed they did already hold a hearing.
The board completed other administrative business, including making the motion to participate in the Vermont 250th anniversary commission celebration of the American Revolution, expressing that they have time to find someone in town with ancestry, or from the historical society, that can help facilitate the event.
The board then appointed Sinsigalli to fill the vacancy for the Londonderry Housing Commission. Sinsigalli thanked the board, saying he’s in the process of becoming a full time resident and cares for the town. He apologized for being argumentative at some points, but said it was with good intensions and respect for the town. The board thanked him for serving.
The Londonderry Selectboard meets the first and third Monday of the month.