Meaford is looking into implementing a short-term accommodation (STA) licensing program.
Council approved directing staff to create a return on investment cost analysis of a licensing program after it was presented three choices on how to regulate STAs within the municipality during a meeting on Nov. 4.
In response to the rising number of STAs in the municipality, council was given the option to either maintain its current regulatory structure, keep the existing structure while incorporating compliance through rental platforms like Airbnb, or create a comprehensive STA licensing program.
Director of Economic Development Eric Baldwin says creating a licensing program would provide a more detailed and structured framework for managing short-term rentals and would involve increasing resources for development, management and enforcement.
This comes after Meaford adopted a project charter for the STA licensing project in June, 2023.
This further builds upon the charter to address the negative impacts of STAs on neighbouring properties, including on-site parking, occupancy limits, basic fire safety, and availability of municipal enforcement officers during evenings and weekends.
A report from Baldwin says using the average cost of first year licensing fees from Collingwood and Grey Highlands, Meaford would charge a $276 licensing fee during the first year of the program.
The number of STA complaints has risen in recent years, with 16 reported last year, and 11 reported to date in 2024. Recent reports also indicate about 232 STA properties operating within Meaford.
Coun. Rob Uhrig adds the current by-law, which dictates how many people and how many bedrooms can be in a unit is being broken.
“We are not doing anything about it. We are saying don’t do it, which has no teeth because it just happens repeatedly and it is the same people doing it over and over again,” says Uhrig.
Coun. Steven Bartley says, “what this councillor wants, is the bad actors stopped, and if it has to be a licensing thing, but I want it to pay for itself.”
Before Meaford counld implement a licensing program, it would also need to adopt a fees by-law, create a license registration and tracking system, recruit needed staff for enforcement, and create a licensing committee.
It is currently estimated the municipality would rake in over $64,000 in revenue from STA licenses and fines.