Darien Woman Upset With Airbnb In Neighborhood

DARIEN, IL – A Darien woman told the City Council on Monday that she was upset with an Airbnb in her neighborhood. She said the city should have fined the owner.

Angie DeYoung, who lives in the 500 block of Chestnut Lane, said the neighboring home has been a "revolving door." This is despite the council's ban last year on short-term rentals lasting less than a month.

She said she was informed the owner would be able to rent out the property through August.

"I'm a little upset," DeYoung said. "I don't understand why there are exceptions to the enforcement of this."

In response, Dan Gombac, Darien's municipal services director, said the owner seemed sincere in not knowing about the ban. The owner had contracts through August, he said.

The city could have gone to court to fine the owner, Gombac said, but the first hearing date would likely have been in mid-September.

"Our goal is to eliminate the violation, not to get people in court to start to fine them," Gombac said.

If the owner continues short-term rentals after Sept. 1, the city would take more action, Gombac said.

He also said that the city planned to start checking the Airbnb website and others for Darien properties.

At a March council meeting, Darien officials discussed a short-term rental in the 7800 block of Sawyer Road that violated the ban. The owner ignored the city's requests to stop, so the city took the owner to court and prevailed, officials said.

Darien banned short-term rentals after residents said they were becoming party houses.