Ivan Radic / CC
Georgian Bluffs is stepping up by-law enforcement at short-term accommodations like Airbnbs in the township.
Councillors received a progress update on some actions being taken to handle short-term accommodations and passed several recommendations during Wednesday’s committee of the whole meeting.
CAO Niall Lobley says the township now has the capacity to conduct a more proactive by-law enforcement approach for up to 100 short-term rentals.
He says it’s believed there are slightly fewer than 100 properties operating as Airbnbs in the township, and by-law officers will be monitoring all of them on weekends between the hours of 9 p.m. and 1 a.m.
“We’re particularly monitoring for parking concerns, garbage concerns, noise concerns, fire concerns and those sorts of things,” Lobley explains. “And the key target is that time of night. That’s the time where if you’re up here on a Friday night, you’ve had enough time to unpack and crack open a 24 (of beer). So, we’re going to have staff on the ground driving past all of those properties to make sure that we’re recording issues.”
Georgian Bluffs is also proceeding with a voluntary registration program for short-term accommodation providers. Bayshore Broadcasting News reached out to the township for more information about this initiative, but didn’t receive a response prior to publication deadline.
A working group will be struck as well, and a public engagement process launched on overnight and short-term accommodations in Georgian Bluffs.
A report is expected to come back to council before the end of 2023, when further recommendations and decisions will be made about short-term accommodations regulations.