P&Z Votes for $150 Annual Permit Fee for ’Airbnb’ and Other Short-Term Rental Owners 

The Planning & Zoning Commission last week approved a measure whereby New Canaan property owners seeking to rent out their homes or rooms within them on a short-term basis, such as through the popular online service Airbnb, would need to pay an annual fee to the town. The $150 ‘Short Term Rental Permit Fee’ still requires approval by the Board of Selectmen, according to Town Planner Lynn Brooks Avni. Though not a revenue-generator, the fee would cover administrative costs such as application processing and filing, Brooks Avni told members of P&Z at their regular meeting, held Aug. 27 at Town Hall. Commissioner Bill Redman said, “It’s not a money maker but it puts them on notice they need to have the proper paperwork.

P&Z To Study Concerns Surrounding Airbnb Rentals, with An Eye on Updating Regulations

The chairman of the Planning & Zoning Commission said Monday night that the appointed body is to study problems associated with short-term home rentals through a popular online service, with an eye on possibly updating local regulations. Though initial concerns presented by Airbnb emerged in New Canaan several months ago, P&Z did not immediately address it because the town was in process of hiring a new planner, according to John Goodwin. But she’s now in place, a second Airbnb problem on New Norwalk Road has emerged “and I have concluded that I had to more aggressively deal with it,” he told members of the Town Council’s Bylaws and Ordinances Committee during their special meeting. Specifically, he said, P&Z Commissioner Krista Neilson and Town Planner Lynn Brooks Avni will study Airbnb in New Canaan, make an assessment and report back to the full Commission with recommendations. 

“There are already sections of the regulations that deal, we think, with Airbnb and the preliminary thought is it looks like they may already be in violation of the regulations without us even having regulations that are specific to Airbnb, so take that as an idea that is being talked about,” Goodwin said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. A guest at the meeting, Goodwin made his comments to a committee of the legislative body that’s looking at a number of possible new or updated ordinances.

Town Council Seeks To Control Increasingly Popular ‘Airbnb’ Rental-By-Owner Service

Members of the town’s legislative body said Monday that they want to control the rising use in New Canaan of popular online rental-by-owner service after seeing an uptick in activity. Airbnb has been a subject of wide discussion in town and with more properties being offered as short-term rentals through it, the Town Council should “get ahead of abuse of that app,” Steve Karl, a co-chair of the body’s Bylaws and Ordinances Subcommittee said during a meeting at Town Hall. “We have had issues. Folks that are using it on more frequent basis, neighbors that are complaining about some transient activity at homes. So we actually looked into a commercial use tax possibility.