Toms River Council Delays Vote On Short-Term Rental Ordinance

TOMS RIVER, NJ — (Updated, 11:30 p.m.) The Toms River Township Council agreed to table a vote on an ordinance that would impose significant restrictions on short-term rentals in the township.

The Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce opposed the ordinance as written and asked the council to revise the ordinance before passing it.

In a letter released to the Patch, the chamber asks the council to send the ordinance back to committee for more revisions to make it more equitable for businesses.

"We agree that there is a need for reasonable regulation," the letter said. The chamber "is in support of positive but not prohibitive regulations."

"We would like to propose that the Town Council revisit the orginance in an effort to create a more equitable offering for businesses and residents," the letter said.

The ordinance bans short-term rentals of multiple rooms in a home or to multiple tenants. It also bans rentals of "amenities" of a property, such as swimming pools. The ordinance, as written, limits rentals in areas except for the barrier island during the summer season to a minimum of one month and to a maximum of one tenant.

The ordinance "aims to curtail, and in certain circumstances prohibit. the increasingly widespread practice of renting or leasing various types of dwellings or segments thereof located primarly in residential neighborhoods on a short-term basis to transient guests," the ordinance says. "This practice has been popularized and facilitated by various websites that advertise and broker these rentals. Left unregulated, this practice will transform many residential dwellings into flophouses to the detriment of the health, safety and quiet enjoyment of the affected neighborhoods."

Existing hotels, motels, rooming or boarding houses and estabilish bed-and-breakfast facilities are exempt under the ordinance.

The council first started looking at the issue early last year in response to the growth of the use of services like AirBnB, which allows people to advertise their homes for rent for short-term stays, part of the sharing economy. The use has gained popularity across the country and elsewhere.

Supporters of the practice say the rentals can help property owners meet mortgage payments. Opponents raise concerns about the practice being used to get around exising laws over property usage.

"As a pro-business organization, our aim is to work with the township to create an approach to the sharing economy that fosters creative developments while protecting the interests and safety of our residents," the chamber letter said. Chamber members urged the council to consider information from the Sustainable Economies Law Center on regulating short-term rentals, and the Los Angeles Planning Report, both of which the group says, "contain a wealth of possible compromises to ensure Toms River remains competitive in an innovative marketplace and preserves the quality of our neighborhoods."

The ordinance came about in part because of concerns in some neighborhoods over the use of homes as hotels.

Those issues can be addressed in other ways, the chamber said, including requiring registration, subjecting property owners using AirBnB to a 14 percent tax, limiting the season and assessing heavy fines on those who do not comply with the rules.

"Eliminating AirBnB, which is in essence what the proposed ordinance does, is bad for business and does not make for a welcoming tourist community," members of the chamber said.

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