As Bluewater continues to develop a regulating bylaw for short-term rentals, a 15% limit on the number of properties allowed to operate on a single street is being considered.
The limit would restrict the number of short-term rentals on a street, but existing short-term rentals would be grandfathered into the bylaw if they apply for a licence before April 27, 2023.
The limit was one of several points discussed during a Feb. 23 special meeting of council where municipal staff updated councillors on the development of a bylaw to regulate short-term rentals within Bluewater.
In addition to the 15% limit per street, short-term rentals will not be allowed to operate next to another short-term rental, although existing short-term rentals would be exempt from that limit as well.
Councillors also unanimously passed a set of motions during the meeting that hike several fines included in the draft bylaw, bumping the $1,500 fine for operating a short-term rental with a suspended licence to $5,000, as well as doubling the $1,000 fine for marketing a short-term rentals without a licence to $2,000.
Following discussions during a Jan. 26 meeting about these rentals, staff investigated the possibility of creating a municipal accommodation tax for the properties but were unable to find examples of that tax in other municipalities that applied only to short-term rentals.
According to a report from staff, the implementation of a 4% municipal accommodation tax could generate more than $176,000 in revenue to be split between a local tourism association and the municipality.
Though staff wrote they believe that a municipal accommodation tax wouldn’t be beneficial to the process since the proposed licensing system would fully recover the costs of the new bylaw if fees were set at $750, some on council voiced support for the tax, noting its potential to support the economy.
While the short-term rentals bylaw hadn’t received final approval from council as of its February meeting, the draft bylaw lists July 1, 2023, as the first day it comes into effect.