SOUTHWICK – This week, both the Select Board and the Planning Board have discussed the topic of Airbnb and other short-term property rentals in Southwick.
A privately held global company, Airbnb is an online marketplace and hospitality service that can be used through an app on a mobile device. The hospitality service allows people to offer their home or owned property as a place to stay for someone else who may be in need of it. While Airbnb doesn’t own any of the real estate, they serve as a broker and receive a commission from each of the places that are booked.
Currently, Airbnb and other short-term rentals like bed and breakfasts are prohibited in town. Despite that, this discussion has arisen due to some residents complaining that their abutting neighbor has had someone living in their home for a number of days while the owner isn’t home and causing too much noise and other issues.
Town officials are discussing possible regulations in town with short-term rentals. (WNG File Photo)
As a result, the Planning Board has received some counsel from their attorneys, Bacon and Wilson, on what the town can do moving forward with this issue. A municipality is able to regulate the number of licenses given in town for short-term rentals as well as the number of days a person can rent out an establishment. The state has the authority of issuing all of the necessary permits that are sent to the town for short-term rentals.
If short-term rentals like a bed and breakfast happened to be allowed in Southwick at some point in time, the Planning Board said this week that they would want it to be owner-occupied and the owner should be living in the house at the time.
“This way, the owners could regulate noise, control,” said Town Planner Alan Slessler.
Slessler noted that the Planning Board needs to have correspondence with Bacon and Wilson regarding this issue. Since these are early discussions, this issue will not be made as a warrant article this year and brought to an upcoming town meeting. The option of creating a warrant article is maybe a year away from a possibility.
“It’s just something we’re trying to get ahead on,” said Slessler.
Slessler added that in the future the town could write a new bylaw that would go to the Select Board and then to the Planning Board to hold a public hearing to get community input. Preceding that, a warrant article would be drafted and brought to annual town meeting.
