When: Paradise Township Board of Supervisors meeting, Aug. 18.
What happened: Supervisors reported on progress made on a short-term rental ordinance.
Details: Board Chair Dylan Coleman reported on the supervisors’ progress on a draft short-term rental ordinance, discussed at an Aug. 11 work session. The draft ordinance applies to short-term rentals such as those offered by Airbnb and would have no impact on traditional bed-and-breakfasts. About 40 such rentals operate in the township, Zoning Officer Walter Hockensmith said.
Current state: Currently, short-term rentals are treated as a “use not provided for” and need approval from the zoning board before the owners may begin operating.
What’s changing: The draft ordinance specifies requirements for approval of short-term rentals, including zones where they are allowed and under what conditions. The rental must be in the agricultural, residential, rural residential, open space, railroad heritage or village/mixed-use zones, and not the commercial/industrial zone, Coleman said. A special exception from the zoning board is required for rentals in the residential and rural residential zones, but in all the other zones short-term rentals will be permitted by use, Coleman said.
More: The reason for the different treatment is to try to “protect housing for young couples who want to try to buy a house,” Coleman said, but added the board would welcome public input on how strict the rules should be for each zone. A short-term rental will need to be in an already existing single-family home in which no one else resides, with only one rental per lot.
Draft rules: The draft ordinance specifies that any new outdoor amenities must be kept 25 feet away from any neighbor’s dwelling. The owner will need yearly permitting and the unit may be subject to inspection by the zoning officer. The ordinance outlines information that an applicant must provide relating to items such as water, sewer, trash disposal, exit plans, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
Resident concern: Responding to a question from resident Sam Petersheim, Coleman clarified that there must be contact information available to neighbors of the short-term rental property. The ordinance as drafted specifies that a local 24-hour contact must be available and must respond to the property within 30 minutes of notification of any disturbance. The contact information must be posted at the rental.
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Next steps: Coleman said supervisors will likely be able to vote to advertise the short-term rental ordinance at the September meeting.
Community yard sale: Supervisors voted to allow the Paradise Township Lions Club to use the lower gravel parking lot at the township building for a community yard sale fundraiser on Sept. 25 and 26. Details are still being worked out, club representative Pat Kelley said, but the club hopes to have the parking lot divided up into 100-square-foot sections for people to rent and “sell whatever they have to sell,” Kelley said.
Park spending: Supervisors voted to authorize Hanover Engineering, the township’s designated engineering firm, to solicit bids for electrical and paving work at the township park. The work is being financed by a state Local Share Account grant.
Road closure: Public Works Director Adryan Yothers reported that Black Horse Road will be closed for two weeks from Aug. 24 to Sept. 4, from Quarry Road to Strasburg Road, for stormwater pipe replacements.
What’s next: The board will meet again at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at the township building, 2 Township Drive, Paradise.