700+ Sign AirBnB Bylaw Petition
Council set to discuss petition and vote on rushed final draft.
The local petition started by West Nipissing resident Roch Pellerin is turning out to be the biggest in town history.
In just one week, over 700 West Nipissing residents and taxpayers have added their name to the list of those opposing the uniquely restrictive AirBnB bylaw that is set to be rushed through Tuesday.
The petition was submitted to city hall and has been added to the agenda for discussion at tomorrow’s council meeting. A large crowd of those opposing this bylaw are also planning to be in attendance.
Also near the end of the agenda for the meeting is the latest draft of the AirBnB bylaw that staff have prepared after the last meeting’s discussions and debates. Although there still remains a lot of unanswered questions, staff are proposing that council vote on this bylaw immediately.
If the majority of councillors vote in favour, it will become official regardless of the confusion and mounting opposition.
Rushed Bylaw
Because this bylaw is being rushed, staff have made some notable errors on the final version of the policy which will have to be addressed on at the meeting.
At the last meeting, Councillor Jerome Courchesne proposed that the ridiculous restriction on singing be removed from the bylaw and most other councillors were in agreement. However staff have maintained this among dozens of restrictions in the document.
Council had also agreed that existing operators would be “grandfathered” when it comes to the various requirements needed to get a licence. However, in the final draft there is no mention of grandfathering. Other than given priority to existing operators to the 100 licences that will be available to buy for $750.
Inspections
From speaking with those opposing this new bylaw, the biggest concern is the various inspections that operators will be subject to. It appears that the latest building code requirements will be expected for anyone wanting a AirBnB licence. This will make the possibility of renting out an older cabin, cottage or off-grid hunt camp virtually impossible as most of these rustic establishments don’t conform to today’s building code.
In the final version of the bylaw, the city has also added an additional provision that will allow officers to inspect properties even after a licence has been granted. The new bylaw allows officers to inspect “at any reasonable time”.
City can revoke any licence at anytime based on “beliefs”
The final version of the bylaw also includes a provision that will allow the city to revoke or deny a licence to anyone simply based on reasonable grounds for a “belief” that the property is “adverse to the public interest”. This unprecedented legal line risks being abused by officials to target STR operators.
700+ vs. 37
The petition can still be signed today and tomorrow. All completed forms can be sent to Roch Pellerin who plans to deliver all signatures to elected officials ahead of Tuesday night.
As outlined by the organizer, the petition is not just opposing the STR bylaw. It is simply asking that the passing of it be delayed until a proper public consultation can occur. When the city undertook their supposed public consultation last fall, the online survey was only shared on social media for a single day. The survey only drew 57 respondents with only 37 people indicating that they would be in favour of a licencing program.
Pellerin told me that while canvassing, he met a few of these 37 respondents who boasted about completing the online survey at the personal request of the mayor who has been publicly opposed to AirBnBs well before being elected.
The reaction to this petition shows that a properly done consultation would likely generate multiple times more respondents and not just those hand picked to complete it.
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I was told this air bnb by law started since the mayor has a air bnb beside her place and some of her friends on cache lake are ramping up on her… a filthy few can destroy 14000+ population . It’s a funny world how 8-9 person can control 1400+ (which I’m the one taking care of the pétitions with the help of my entourage, against air bnb by laws / short term rentals !
OMG! Where are we? Communist China! I can't believe that this mayor and council would even think of adding such as clause as this: "...........reasonable grounds for the belief that the operation of a short term rental at a aspecic premises may be adverse to the public interest..." Whose 'belief' determines 'the public interest'? A neighbour who can't put up with a little summer noise? And since when is a belief, or an idea, a fact? This 'belief' will be based upon discrimination and, the complaining neighbour's idea of 'public interst'.