Tiny council has disbanded the temporary short-term-rental (STR) accommodation task force, established last year amidst mounting concerns over definitions, allowances and regulations for the contentious issue facing municipalities.
Following an in-camera session at a special meeting of council, a motion to disband the committee was approved.
Mayor George Cornell read the contents, noting correspondence received the previous week “representing numerous property owners in the Township of Tiny including a member of the short-term-rental accommodation task force” in regards to STR task force draft regulations for public review, and the new draft zoning bylaw being constructed by the municipality.
Short-term-rental accommodations have become a discussion for many municipalities that are struggling to regulate their licensing and zoning bylaws, in an attempt to handle the legality of STR operations while calming residents affected by the temporary visitor locations.
CAO Robert Lamb, chair of the STR task force, shared with MidlandToday the challenges faced by the committee as well as their achievements as a group.
“This is a very complex and emotional issue on many levels,” stated Lamb. “I believe the task force members did a great job of addressing the mandate provided to them by council over the last six months.
“We had very in-depth discussions on the impact of STR’s, positive and negative, on the township. The committee did a comprehensive line by line review of all the material and provided valuable input to both staff and our planning consultant on the draft Short Term Rental Licensing Bylaw and Renter’s Code of Conduct.
“As a result of that input,” Lamb continued, “I believe both the proposed Licensing By-law and Codes of Conduct are much better products.”
According to Lamb, all work by the STR task force, including changes which could be incorporated into the zoning and official plans, will be brought forward to council at an upcoming special committee of the whole meeting tentatively scheduled for early April.
Recently, Lamb had requested that members of the public, both rental operators and residents alike, withdraw in “sabre rattling” their influences onto the committee.
Agendas, minutes, and motions from the STR task force meetings can be found in the documents section of the Tiny Township website.
Further information on STR accommodations can be viewed within the short term rental page located on the Tiny Township website.
Archives of council meetings, including short term rental task force meetings, are available to view on Tiny township’s YouTube channel.
