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THOU SHALT NOT!
Short Term Rentals are utilizing beach passes and renters of these properties are being issued the passes as a perk for renting. Short-term rentals are an issue in the city and more and more residents are feeling the effects and are not happy with the way things are heading. Lake Geneva residents are currently fighting to get more regulations and enforcement in place to combat these vacation rentals. Residency use of beach passes is close to 15,000 with an estimated 60/40 split with residents being the larger. Children under 7 are not counted in these numbers.
Thirty percent of all sales of residential property, according to the realtor’s association, were made last year to short term rental owners. The city is losing out on revenue, as most of this new ‘tsunami’ of short-term rentals are not registering or paying the necessary fees. The Piers, Harbor, and Lakefront Committee has started a dialogue on what could potentially be done about it. The committee members are well aware of the public’s frustration with the growing number of short-term rental properties in the area, and the many negative consequences of them, especially to residential neighborhoods. While free beach access is a nice perk for a renter of one of these vacation rentals, city officials are wondering why allow them to have a benefit that was never intended for them. This benefit was extended so that the owners and residents of Lake Geneva property could use the beach without cost or trouble. It was never designed for a rotating mix of tourists coming in at all times and everywhere and staying for only a few days at a time.
The beach in Lake Geneva also has a maximum capacity that was several times met this last season. Why should the residents, owners and business people in Lake Geneva subsidize this additional benefit? New York City announced yesterday that it is severely limiting the number of short-term rentals it will allow and 15,000 owners were informed, as well as VRBO, that they would no longer be allowing them short term rentals. New York has a similar problem to many communities in having hidden pain from short term rentals. The practice, if extended and unlimited, denies the area long term rentals. If the numbers are accurate and 4,100 beach pass users coming from short term rental properties, the city could be looking at an increase in beach revenue by about $41,000.
Madison, Wisconsin has decided that short term rentals will only be allowed where the owner of the property attends the residence for the time of the rental. That is cutting way down on short-term rentals and the practice appears to be perfectly legal. Hawaii has all but priced short-term rentals out of the state with huge taxes on both renters and owners, as well as near draconian fines for any violations. It’s time for Lake Geneva and the communities around Geneva Lake to get together and provide the area with protection from these new predators disguising themselves as wonderfully clean and serving members of anything but their own interests, and those are almost all financial.
‘Thou Shalt Not’ is the name of the organization being formed by the GSR staff to support local Lake Geneva residential communities.
Short-term rentals have become a big problem in Wisconsin, thanks to a law change by then-Governor Scott Walker and Republican state representative Taylor August. In Lake Geneva, in particular, short-term rentals are “spreading like cancer” and destroying quiet residential neighborhoods.
I understand that the city of Lake Geneva cannot outlaw short-term rentals, but there are a number of steps that it can take to limit the problems they cause. The two that you mentioned are a good start:
• Prohibiting rentals for less than 7 consecutive days: This would help to reduce the number of short-term renters coming and going from a property, and would give neighbors a break from the noise and disruption that can be associated with short-term rentals.
• Requiring the owner of the property to be his primary permanent residence and to stay on site through the night of each rental night while multiple reservation parties are present: This would help to ensure that the owner is responsible for the property and is able to respond to any problems that may arise.
In addition to these two steps, the city could also consider the following:
• Limiting the number of short-term rentals in a given neighborhood: This would help to prevent short-term rentals from becoming too concentrated in any one area.
• Requiring short-term rental owners to obtain a special license and to pay a fee: This would help to offset the costs of regulating short-term rentals and would also provide a revenue stream for the city.
• Creating a complaint hotline for residents to report problems with short-term rentals: This would make it easier for residents to report problems and would help the city to identify and address the most problematic properties.
I am aware that the city hall staff and city attorney Dan “Mad Man” Draper have been slow to act on this issue. I am not sure why this is the case, but it is possible that they are protecting some short-term rental owners. However, I believe that the city has a strong case for taking steps to regulate short-term rentals, and I hope that they will move forward with doing so soon.
I would also encourage the outraged residents of Lake Geneva to continue to put pressure on the city to act. They can do this by attending city council meetings, contacting their elected officials, and organizing protests and rallies. The more noise that the residents make, the more likely it is that the city will take their concerns seriously.
The city has many current ordinances dealing with a lot of the problems created. There are requirements on the licenses that have to be followed. The lack of enforcement by the city has a lot to do with the problems these places create. We need code enforcement; The city needs to hire an outside code enforcement company not a person employed by the city. Code enforcement by city employees is not working now and has not worked in the pas 10 years in Lake Geneva .
Interesting suggestions, Casey.
Thank you for your input