Lake Bluff Village Board Approves Short-Term Rental Pilot Program

LAKE BLUFF, IL — A tiebreaking vote from Village President Kathy O'Hara granted passage to a two-year pilot program permitting certain Lake Bluff residents to offer up their property for rent though short-term rentals, such as Airbnb, Homeaway or other vacation rental by owner subletting services. The subject has provoked a year of contentious debates, editorials and lawn signs. Opponents warn of threats to safety, quality of life and property values from an influx of transients, while supporters point to property and privacy rights as they portray the practice as having existed for years without a record of problems or documented nuisance.

Under the amended ordinance, only six permits will be issued during the pilot program. All rental properties must be registered with village officials for an annual fee of $250 and pay village hotel taxes. Properties approved under the pilot program must be occupied by their primary residents for at least 275 days of the year, may not be rented for more than 45 days a year and may not have more than 10 guests per night. All rental properties must be the primary residence of the person looking to rent it out and must be separated by more than 5 feet from their neighbors' driveways, according to the ordinance.

Opponents to short-term rentals have sought a referendum to assess the public appetite for allowing short term rentals. Under state law, all referenda are non-binding and advisory. Lake County Clerk Carla Wyckoff told Daily North Shore she estimated it would take a little more than 200 signatures of Lake Bluff residents to get such an advisory question on the November ballot, and they would have to be submitted by Aug. 6.

Proponents of a ban on short-term rentals have organized a campaign with yard signs reading "No Hotels Next Door." In addition to worries about declining property values, they have warned of threats to safety and quality of life if homeowners are allowed to rent out their property in Lake Bluff to "unknown individuals."

The Lake Bluff Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals voted 4-3 in March against recommending the adoption of an earlier version of the pilot program.