The Town of Red Hook’s public hearing on Tuesday evening regarding its proposed short-term rental regulations resulted in a lively two-hour comment period both for and against potential limitations to renting one’s home on Airbnb and other sites.
Under a recently filed proposed law, all short-term rentals in Red Hook would need to register with the town to receive a permit to operate. Permits, which will cost an as-yet undetermined fee, will only be given to homeowners who use their home as their primary residence. Once this residency is determined, they can rent out an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), like a studio or renovated barn, or their home when they are away.
Town Supervisor Robert McKeon said the proposed law was necessary to regulate a new shared economy and ensure short-term rentals do not negatively impact surrounding neighbors. But the Red Hook Hosts Alliance, a coalition of short-term rental operators, expressed concern that the law speaks to an issue that doesn’t exist, while exacerbating a real problem: the lack of short-term stays for visitors.
Others in opposition at Tuesday’s meeting echoed similar thoughts — that short-term rentals are beneficial to Red Hook businesses and that there are not enough other lodging options.
“While there may be larger conversations about the ways in which short-term rentals can affect certain communities,” said Adrienne Truscott, Director of Public Outreach for Red Hook Hosts Alliance, “it feels a more nuanced conversation is needed for ours.”
Punitive law or community preservation?
Red Hook’s proposal differs from surrounding towns’ approaches to regulating Airbnbs and other short-term rentals. In Woodstock, permits are required but only a limited number are in circulation. In the Village of Rhinebeck, only 15 properties in a given year, chosen through a lottery system, can operate as short-term rentals for a maximum of 16 days. The Town of Milan, meanwhile, also requires short-term rentals to be the host’s primary residence and has imposed a 90-day maximum limit for stays, with a two-day break between rentals. In Red Hook, there is currently no set limit to the number of permits that can be issued.
“It feels like there is a vague fear about some future possibility that is punitive and short-sighted for the people who are actually operating them and how they’re functioning in the area,” said Truscott, who is based in Brooklyn right now and owns a property in the Red Hook area.
Truscott said nearby Bard College depends on short-term rentals to house families and prospective students and said Airbnbs also serve other visitors she sees who are in the area exploring nature.
As the Red Hook law is proposed now, short-term rentals would be allowed throughout the year for up to 30 days at a time in residential areas, which constitutes 20 percent of the housing stock there, according to McKeon.
Properties in more rural areas, which comprise the other 80 percent of the town, will be allowed to serve as a short-term rental with no limit on how many days a short-term renter can stay — a clarification made in the second draft of the proposed law that once outlined a 120-day stay cap.
In either case, the permitted properties must be the primary residence for the homeowners.
For now, Red Hook Hosts Alliance is encouraging the town to slow the process down and to not rush into regulations.
“We’d like to think the town is open to the possibility of grandfathering in people who have been operating responsibly and successfully without any complaints or problems,” said Truscott. “Then, we could think about what types of regulations would be appropriate and of service moving forward.”
However, McKeon said this is not something he could see happening.
“In order to be equitable in all of our zoning, we can’t ask most people to comply,” said McKeon. “We have to ensure that everyone is treated equally and fairly.”
Primary residents vs. second-home owners
Requiring primary residency for homeowners seeking to rent their properties would eliminate out-of-towners from buying a property, turning it into a short-term rental and then leaving the community, says McKeon.
Some second homeowners disagree. “I think for those folks who have invested time and money into their properties in order to make them attractive and rely on this as a piece of the pie to make ends meet at a time where it’s really precarious financially for a lot of working adults, I think there’s a lot of disagreement,” said Truscott.
Kristina Dousharm, chair of the Economic Development Committee and a member of the Town of Red Hook Planning Board, also expressed concern that the law would prohibit second homeowners, which comprise a healthy portion of the population here and across the Hudson Valley, from hosting short-term rentals.
“It’s unclear what exactly prompted the need to pass a law with what feels like a lot of restrictions to a lot of people,” said Truscott. “While maybe no one wants Red Hook to be a mecca of tourism, the fact [is] it’s in the Hudson Valley, there are lots and lots of businesses and farms who do depend on people visiting from [the] surrounding area to contribute to the local economy.”
As outlined in Red Hook’s local law, the use of short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs, as an alternative to traditional lodging has increased in the region in recent years, which allows for more options for tourists and an alternative means of income for property owners. At the same time, critics say that such rentals can potentially adversely impact community character if there are not limits or town approvals in place.
A survey conducted by the Economic Development Committee over the summer found that farms and businesses within the town heavily rely on tourism for economic growth. Similarly, it found that the town — which has only one commercial lodging business with the Hearthstone Motel, which is closed for renovations, Dousharm said —relies on the existence of short-term rentals to support overnight visitors.
“We haven’t found any evidence that short-term rentals are eroding the neighborhoods,” said Dousharm. “They’re actually providing people an option of affordability.”
Dousharm said she is also in favor of grandfathering in those short-term rental hosts who have already been operating in Red Hook.
Some residents submitted written comments in opposition to short-term rentals in Red Hook, saying they do not want the town to be made for weekenders. Christine Gummere of Barrytown, a hamlet within Red Hook, wrote that she thinks that homeowners should always be on site or nearby for short-term rentals; she added that they’ve had “unpleasant experiences” with short-term rentals there.
The public hearing period will continue into the Dec. 14 town board meeting. There is no date set for when the Town of Red Hook will vote on the proposed measure. Public comments can also be submitted.
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