Thursday, January 30, 2003
Work together to address issues
The village lost another round in court last week when Judge Patrick Monserrate ruled in favor of Aida Ostapeck, opening the door for the continuation of her weekly rentals on Pine Boulevard.
She had been cited by the village zoning enforcement officer for operating a tourist accommodation without the required special permit - a decision upheld by the zoning board of appeals.
The judge determined not only that she should rightfully be considered a pre-existing, non-conforming entity, but that the ZBA had acted improperly by going beyond the scope of its authority in its review.
Judging from the village's track record in court so far, it may be time to take a different tack.
It's hard to know for sure how many other weekly rentals like Ostapeck's there are that could make a solid case for being grandfathered as pre-existing, non-conforming.
Village attorney John Lambert thinks there may be more, but cautioned that each circumstance is different. Ostapeck's attorney Lester Sittler hinted that there may be more, but didn't put a number on it. Zoning enforcement officer Al Keck doesn't think there are many that could qualify.
Rather than continuing what has been a losing battle in the courtroom, the village and its residents may be further ahead by allowing those weekly rental operators to come forward and demonstrate that they qualify for grandfathering.
While it would not be possible to make them adhere to all the provisions of the zoning law because of their pre-existing, non-conforming status, it would be a chance to work with the operators to address a number of issues plaguing the village.
This is not to suggest the village should open the door to everyone, but prolonging the fight will only consume resources that could be better used.
All tourist accommodations, whether the traditional B&B or a resort hotel, impact the village's infrastructure, but the quality of life complaints heard from residents recently during a public hearing were aimed at the weekly rentals catering to Dreams Park visitors.
According to mayor Carol Waller, the village receives more complaints about non-owner operated tourist accommodations that any other single nuisance.
By working with the operators of the weekly rentals, the village could begin to address some of those issues that the current adversarial attitude makes difficult.