To fee or not to fee, that is the question facing Greater Napanee and short term accommodations (STA).
In theory, a properly run STA shouldn’t require a license with a fee. If the owner is renting out to responsible people who don’t annoy the neighbours, everyone can live in harmony. Property owners can generate a little extra income and the town can even score a bit of an economic boost from more visitors to the area. If no by-law enforcement is required, there’s no cost to the town.
Not every renter is responsible however-and that’s where the problems begin. It seems unfair to require those who aren’t part of the problem to have to pay a licensing fee. But if extra by-law enforcement is required, someone’s got to foot the bill.
Though easier said than done, the idea of only charging those who are part of the problem makes the most sense. Some sort of system where a hefty fine is levied against the owner of a property that is deemed to be a nuisance could be a great way to start. Requiring anyone who wishes to rent their property to pay for an inspection from the local fire department would help to ensure safety without being a huge financial burden on the town. But that also requires somewhat of an honour system as renters would have to volunteer the fact that they operate an STA. If there’s no license needed outside of a fire inspection,
compliance may not be a huge obstacle.
On the other hand, if the upfront fees become too high all that’s likely to happen is the responsible owners will cease to operate their STA while those who aren’t interested in following the rules will try to fly under the radar and forgo registering their business. That’s not really solving any of the issues. Making by-laws that can’t actually be enforced isn’t going to deter anyone from bending the rules, either. There needs to be some teeth to any guidelines put in place if there’s any hope of compliance across the board.
Short term accommodations discussions have long overstayed their welcome on Greater Napanee council’s agenda.
As far back as October 2021 councillor John McCormack-a member of the previous term of council-stated his desire to see the town come up with some sort of regulations for STAs before too long. He noted the town was already starting to fall behind the issue and trying to play catch up would be a daunting, if not impossible task. Indeed then deputy mayor Max Kaiser directed staff to come up with a draft by-law as soon as possible, preferably ahead of the spring rental season. The spring rental season in question was for the 2022 calendar.
Fast forward to 2024 and council is still grappling with the matter, having discussed the matter at the most recent council meeting, only to once again kick it down the road for another day. Taking a slow approach and making sure the right decision is made is commendable. That said the longer it goes unregulated, the more difficult it will be to ever get the situation under control.
-Adam Prudhomme