ESSEX

Following multiple public hearings since July 2023, the Essex Board of Selectmen (BOS) formally adopted an ordinance governing short-term rental properties and ownership at a special meeting on April 17. The ordinance will affect 26 properties in Essex that already operate as short-term rentals.

The ordinance announces that Essex is taking action on regulating a “disruptive technology,” said First Selectman Norm Needleman, particularly the online Airbnb market, which can serve as an investment in the town, but only with necessary regulations for that to be the case.

“I believe that short-term rentals, Airbnbs, serve a real valuable purpose, but it is a disruption into the marketplace, and it requires some oversight,” said Needleman. “I think that Essex got to a good place.”

Needleman told the Valley Courier that while the public hearings were an “exhaustive process,” he believes that the BOS “got to a point where people felt heard.”

“We tried to take everybody’s position into account,” Needleman said.

The significant elements of the ordinance are the regulations meant to be considerate toward Essex residents and small businesses.

One of the laws reads, “No one shall offer to rent or operate a short-term rental in the Town of Essex for a period of less than two consecutive days.” The minimum number initially proposed in the first draft ordinance was 28 days, but the town heard from residents that “when there's a lot of turnover, there was concern about just not knowing who's in your neighborhood,” said land use official Carey Duques.

“Neighborhoods typically are interested in knowing who their neighbors are and, if there was a lot of frequent turnover, there would be concern around that,” Duques said.

The two-day minimum makes it clear to tourists in Essex that short-term rentals are meant for vacation spots, as opposed to permanent residences which experience high turnover rates, for which a 28-day minimum could have provided. Duques said the two-day minimum amounts to a compromise between neighbors, short-term property owners, and visitors to Essex as an attempt to “accommodate the property owners who have people who are interested in coming into town for a weekend,” but also by “limiting the total number of days that have house can be rented, so that neighborhoods aren’t seeing a ton of turnover.”

Short-term rental owners cannot rent their property “for more than 180 days during any one-year period of their short-term rental license,” according to the ordinance.

The eligibility for a license to own and operate a short-term rental requires owners to live in Essex as their primary residence, and they are not permitted to own more than one property in town. These laws are intended to avoid a situation where an individual or group who lives out of town could swoop in and buy up properties as part of a self-serving business venture, rather than having properties ultimately acting as an investment in the town, Duques confirmed to the Valley Courier.

“The discussion during the public hearing was that the town was trying to support residents who have these properties as investments,” Duques explained. “Also, fulfilling the need of a property owner to maybe have a source of income to again provide an opportunity for people to come visit the town.”

“We don't want to have developers buying up a bunch of these and managing them remotely,” added Needleman.

The limiting of the the number of rental properties owned even by Essex residents can also prevent the eating up of too much of the town’s housing stock, said Duques.

As far as the layout and operation of properties go, they may either be an accessory dwelling unit detached from a building that is the owner’s primary residence while within the property lines of that residence or “within a legal dwelling on a separate parcel so long as the owner’s primary residence is within the town limits of Essex (defined as including villages of Essex, Centerbrook, and Ivoryton),” reads the ordinance.

Owners must also provide common living facilities for renters, which, according to the ordinance, include “separate bedrooms established for occupants; at least shared access to a minimum of one full bathroom for occupants; and facilities for cooking for occupants.”

According to the ordinance, an application for a rental property “shall include a parking plan to demonstrate adequate permanent off-street parking,” while “on-street parking is not allowed unless otherwise authorized by the Essex Traffic Authority.”

A maximum number of 16 people are allowed within a rental property who “are subject to all relevant town codes and ordinances,” including those relating to building, fire, and noise.

According to the ordinance’s conduct laws, owners are not allowed to advertise their properties with physical signage. A number of current short-term rental properties are situated in residential zones, said Duques, and advertisements may blur the lines between a space carved out for homeowners and a space intended for commercial purposes.

Owners are also not allowed to serve meals to occupants since that would essentially mean their rental property is a bed and breakfast. This is something the town wanted to avoid for reasons of occupancy time and also as another example of considering local businesses, such as the Copper Beech Inn or Griswold Inn, who provide that kind of service for tourists in Essex.

Enforcement of the ordinance by the town can see a license to operate a rental property revolved “if safety violations are present,” reads the regulations. A suspension may also be enforced if there is found to be an “alleged violation,” such as inadequate parking space, after which an owner has 30 days to correct that matter.

While the ordinance is now officially a part of Essex town laws, it also acts as a “test balloon” with language that can be amended in the future,” said Needleman.

“If something is not working, we can tweak it,” he said.

A copy of the ordinance is viewable on the town’s website at www.essexct.gov/.