FLY CREEK - The Otsego town board last week reviewed a draft of proposed local legislation aimed at regulating short-term rentals in the town.

The town board had hoped to schedule a public hearing on the amendment to the town's land use law in January, but decided to wait to have time to refine some of the language, according to town supervisor Tom Breiten.

The supervisor told the town board that he believed the language in the law may be more involved or cumbersome than need be and could be pared down to further streamline the process.

In a letter to other town board members, Nancy Iversen, who helped draft the legislation, wrote that the intent of the amendment is to allow homeowners to augment their income with short-term rental units, which are currently not permitted by the town's land use law, and to protect the town, residents and guests from any potential adverse effects or abuses that may accompany short-term rentals.

"While the past complaints have been remarkably few, they (short-term rentals) do have the potential to negatively impact the quality of life in the town as has been demonstrated in neighboring communities," Breiten said.

There have been short-term rentals in the town for long time, primarily around Otsego and Canadarago Lakes, although there is no language in the town's land use law that permits them. The number has increased in recent years, especially with demand from Dreams Park visitors.

Breiten said there has not been an actual count of the short-term rentals in the town, but estimates range from 100 to 300 units.

Jane Berry, the town code enforcement officer, said this week that the regulations are not "complaint driven," but are "concern driven." The town board, she said, has concerns about how the community may be impacted by the influx of tourists into the town.

"For the most part, we have very conscientious property owners. I think most are doing a tremendous job and are reinvesting in their property," Berry said.

Breiten said the town looked at regulations from other towns and villages as it formulated the draft of its proposed amendment.

The amendment would require operators of short-term rentals to obtain a conditional use permit from the town's code enforcement officer.

Breiten said the conditional use permit falls between permits for home occupations and the more stringent special use permits, which require a site plan and public hearing as part of the process.

"They (short-term rentals) are more intense than home occupations, but not intense enough to require the conditions of special permits," he said.

He said the town wants to approach operators of short-term rentals with a "presumption of innocence."

"We assume they will run an operation that is not going to have a negative impact on their neighbors,", he explained.

Breiten said the idea was to allow the short-term rental use, but at the same time have a mechanism to address problems if they should arise with neighbors. The impacts of greatest concern are noise, traffic and parking.

Berry said the conditional use permit called for in the amendment requires the short-term rental to be owner-occupied or owner-operated. The conditional use permit runs with the owner and not the property the way a special use permit does. Bed and breakfasts in the town are required to be owner occupied and owner operated.

"We're willing to allow some additional flexibility," she said.

The proposed amendment would set an upper limit on the number of guests. The maximum allowed in a cabin or cottage would be six and in a dwelling unit the maximum is nine guests. The occupancy level will be set by the town code enforcement officer and may be less than the maximum based on the number, size, configuration and furnishing of the bedrooms or sleeping rooms.

The permits will be good for one year and require a fee of $100. Renewals are conditioned on a favorable inspection by the town and county code enforcement offices and a renewal fee of $100.

According to the proposed regulations, the zoning enforcement officer may deny a renewal if there has been a signed, written complaint and the town has determined that the short-term rental unit has had an adverse impact on the quality of life in the neighborhood. The zoning enforcement officer is also empowered to terminate a permit if the property is found to be out of compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit.

Breiten said it is now likely that February will be the earliest the board will be able to schedule a public hearing on the amendment.