Fort Ann passes law regulating short-term rentals

By Zander Frost, Chronicle Staff Writer

The Town of Fort Ann has passed a short-term rental law “to protect against adverse effects of this use while allowing it under appropriate circumstances.”

“I feel good about it. I feel good that it’s in place,” Supervisor Sam Hall said.

The law reads, “The Town Board has determined that short-term, transient rentals can be incompatible with the sense of privacy, community and ambience currently enjoyed in residential areas of the Town and have the potential to create a threat to the public health, safety and well-being within the Town.”

“The Board also recognizes that Short-Term Rentals can attract visitors to the Town and can provide an additional source of income to Town residents.”

The law limits maximum occupancy to two people per bedroom, plus two.

Vehicles are limited to 1.5 per bedroom, rounded up to the nearest whole number. “So if you have three bedrooms, you get six cars there,” Mr. Hall said.

Owners must “establish written rules and regulations” the renter must sign.

The law sets quiet hours for STRs from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.

It also requires STR owners to obtain a license from the Town of Fort Ann.

The annual license fee, set by the Town board, will be “a neutral budget item” Mr. Hall says. “We’re not looking to make money off it.”

“It appears we’ve got over 75 [STRs] in the town,” Mr. Hall said. “And they’re not just in Hadlock Pond.” He mentions Pilot Knob and Lake Nebo Road.

“We’ve got houses all over the town that are utilized for short term rentals….It’s good for the area, it’s good for the community.”

Mr. Hall estimated 75 people attended the meeting at which the law passed.

“I’m not going to say they all approved, but they went out of there with a much better feeling about it,” he said.

“Some of those people are never going to be happy, because it’s not a family that’s there the whole time, the people are coming in and out. And they just don’t like the fact that they’ve got other people next door.”

The town’s next step is to get applications in and sort out enforcement and administration of the law. “How do we track the complaints about one of these places?” Mr. Hall asks rhetorically.

He said there’s a balance. “At what point does it become that the neighbor is just complaining because he doesn’t want them there to begin with and he just wants to keep the pressure on them, make their life miserable?”

“And that’s not fair either,” he said. “…but I think those are going to be far and in between.”

Was a ban ever considered?

“No,” Mr. Hall said. “People buy their property — should be able to do what they want to do within the limit of it.”

He said many people on Pilot Knob and Hadlock Pond operate STRS “to supplement their income so that they can pay the taxes on it and maintain their home.”

Short-term rentals owner: ‘I think it’s overreaching’

Chronicle staff writer Zander Frost writes: Katelyn Moskos said her Northern Living business operates seven STRs (short-term rentals) in Fort Ann and “a little under 80 in the Lake George region.”

Of Fort Ann’s new STR law, she says, “I still think it’s overreaching.”

Ms. Moskos calls it “unfair” to apply rules specifically to short term renters.

“I’m a firm believer in what’s good for one is good for all,” she said. For instance, “Renters have quiet hours, but the rest of the community does not.”

“Myself, owning several short term rentals, if I had my family come and stay there, and they didn’t pay, they’re excluded from all these rules. So they can have 30 people in the house,” she said.

Ms. Moskos said she is “in favor of the safety. I’m in favor of the septic. However, again, why are we only inspecting short term rental septics and not worrying about the septics that aren’t on a county record?”

Ms. Moskos voices concern about what she calls enforcement “gray areas.” She says, “It doesn’t give you specifications as to even why your rental permit will be revoked. What justifies as a violation of it?”

“I have a neighbor that just likes to keep calling, keep calling,” she said. “At what point, do we say, okay, this is a validated complaint that we have to look into. How are these complaints determined to be justifiable versus not?”

Fort Ann Supervisor Sam Hall acknowledges validating complaints is an issue and told The Chronicle the Town will hire a service with an 800 number. “They will track it down to see if there’s any validity,” he said.

Ms. Moskos said, “Some of the articles in the law do help protect all neighbors and the town. But I think it’s very unfair that it doesn’t cover everyone. It’s singling out hosts or short term rental guests.”

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