The East Haven Town Council is determined to finally craft regulations governing the ownership and operation of short-term and vacation rentals in town, intending to release a draft ordinance in a few months.

Such an ordinance is necessary for a town like East Haven, as its beachfront community makes it a destination for visitors to the New Haven area, a good sign, according to Town Council Chairman Joseph Deko.

“There’s a lot of activity going here, and people are attracted to come here. We have a beautiful shoreline, a lot of activities, a lot of things going on in town. So people want to come here, which is what we want.”

Deko said that conversations surrounding short-term rentals precede the current administration under Mayor Joseph Carfora, although they were minimal. It was not until the coronavirus pandemic that purchases of short-term rental properties, most of them in the beach area, started to drastically increase.

“When we took over in 2019, there was a little conversation about it, but not really a lot,” he said. “And then COVID happened, and the short-term rental idea really skyrocketed.”

Since then, short-term rentals have been commonly raised at multiple town-hosted informational sessions and public hearings. A group called the Momauguin/Cosey Beach Neighborhoods Group also began to host ongoing conversations on the issue at the main beach house on Cosey Beach Avenue.

After getting input from residents, town officials have taken next steps to draft an ordinance. Deko acknowledged that the town was met with “a lot of resistance” from the Momauguin/Cosey Beach Neighborhoods Group on allowing for short-term rental properties. However, completely outlawing them would not be an optimal option.

“Our outlook is that we don’t want to outlaw them because in Connecticut, towns have been sued for...prohibiting short-term rentals. We don’t want to get involved in that,” he said. “So we decided to go the route of regulating.”

The regulation process will begin with ensuring that legal language governing short-term rentals is part of a town ordinance approved by the council rather than integrated into current zoning laws, according to Town Attorney Michael Luzzi.

“The ability for us to enforce… stands on stronger legal ground as well if it’s ordinance-based. If someone’s coming out on a Thursday through a Sunday morning and it’s a, you know, a bachelor or bachelorette party or whatever, you know, you could have significant issues with quality of life. That’s one of the things the Mayor when he started us on this track, was very, very concerned about,” said Luzzi. “What an ordinance does for us, it creates an enforceability, from fire [safety], we would have permitting, we would make sure that landlords have local presence.”

Deko also commented on the more optimal approach of having a town ordinance that would give “some teeth” to enforcement compared to its part of zoning laws.

“Saturday afternoon when the zoning office isn’t working. How are we going to enforce this,” asked Deko rhetorically. “This is a 24/7 issue. It’s not a Monday through Friday issue.”

While assuaging concerns about the quality of life remains a general priority, the high turnover rate of temporary residents at currently operating rental properties remains another.

Collectively, these properties can bring in many people at a time, with there being close to 60 in total across East Haven, with most of them both in the beach area and owned by non-residents, according to Deko. Such high turnover in a concentrated area can create a sense of confusion for community members who live in the beach area.

“When you have a house in the middle of this cluster of homes, and you have people who you don’t recognize, it’s a safety concern,” said Deko. “You don’t know what they’re doing and what their businesses and neighbors feel uneasy that there’s unfamiliar faces.”

To meet this concern, the Town Council will look to implement regulations on both the minimum and maximum numbers of renters that can stay at a property in a year. This includes a minimum number of nights renters must stay at a property and the maximum number of nights that a house can host renters, all of which must be reported to the town.

“If it’s a week or two rental, you know, that ‘Hey, these people are going to be here [for some time],” said Deko.

Making sure that public health and safety measures, such as rental properties being in accordance with fire codes, is also a necessary standard to outline in an ordinance. Other regulations should meet ADA standards and determine the appropriate authority to call in the case of an emergency.

“One of our stipulations in the permitting process is that…the owner will have to register the house on an annual basis with the town with emergency contacts,” said Deko.

Despite some resistance in the past, one pro that could come out of maintaining regulated rentals in town is mainly “economic-based,” said Deko. With up to two weeks of required stay, visitors to East Haven will then have the opportunity to explore the town’s offerings in shopping and support local business, enjoy the recreation in the beach area, and maybe even consider the town as a permanent residence.

“They’re seeing the town, and they may say, ‘Hey, this is a really nice town. Let’s move there and buy a house here and move here,” said Deko. “The town has a lot to offer.”

Deko said the Mayor’s Office and the rest of the administration have “done their due diligence” on short-term rentals and hope to have a draft ordinance from the legal team “by the end of summer or early fall.”

Luzzi said East Haven has considered the work of other towns in the state, including on the shoreline, who have looked to create their own regulations on short-term properties, and assessed what has worked or not worked in crafting its own ordinance.

He concluded that the town has been taking a “very methodical approach” to developing its ordinance and credited all involved, including Land Use Attorney Jennifer Coppola, for their efforts in this development.

“We’re not going to rush. We’re really moving towards the end of this now, but it’s been a very methodical approach, and a great deal of that is due to Jennifer’s hard work, making sure that we’re dotting our I’s and crossing our T’s.”