[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Cornwall 10-15-2019 by L.L. No.
3-2019. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Registration and licensing of short-term rentals of residential
property is necessary to protect public health, preserve the character
of residential neighborhoods, and to regulate and minimize the impacts
of the increased traffic, noise, trash, and similar impacts which
are sometimes attendant on short-term rentals.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Property which the record owner maintains as his or her domicile.
Inviting in or otherwise hosting six or more nonoccupants
at short-term rental property, by, on behalf of, or for the benefit
of, a short-term rental tenant, for purposes of celebrating or commemorating
a particular person, occurrence or occasion or otherwise for socialization.
Offering any residential dwelling, or space therein, to persons
in exchange for a fee or compensation, whether monetary or otherwise,
for a period of less than 30 days, including, but not limited to,
rentals provided by such companies as AirBnB and VBRO. Month-to-month
tenancies are not considered short-term rental properties.
A permit granted by the Town Building Department for use
of property for short-term rentals.
Any real property which is offered and/or rented for short-term
rental.
A.
Only single-family
dwellings may be used as short-term rental property. Short-term rental
of two- or three-family dwellings or multiple dwellings is not permitted.
B.
Only owner-occupied
property may be used for short-term rentals.
C.
All short-term
rental property must be registered with the Town Building Department.
D.
A short-term
rental permit and a grant of site plan approval from the Planning
Board is required for short-term rental of any property that is being
offered or used as a venue for parties and events as defined in this
chapter.
E.
A short-term
rental permit shall be required for short-term rental of more than
one bedroom or of an entire dwelling for more than 14 days per calendar
year. Unless the property is being offered as a venue for parties
and events, a short-term rental permit shall not be required for short-term
rental of more than one bedroom or of an entire dwelling for 14 days
or less per calendar year.
F.
Unless
the property is being offered as a venue for parties and events, a
short-term rental permit is not required for short-term rental of
only one bedroom regardless of the number of days the room is rented.
G.
The following
terms and conditions shall apply to all short-term rentals:
(1)
No
more than three adult persons can occupy any one bedroom; provided,
however, that maximum occupancy under the State Building and Fire
Safety Code cannot be exceeded.
(2)
No
illegal conduct shall be carried on at the short-term rental property
by the property owner, any short-term rental tenants, guests or invitees.
(3)
The
short-term rental tenants and their guests or invitees shall not block
or otherwise impede ingress or egress over the street on which the
short-term rental property is located and/or to or from any driveways
of other property on the said street.
(4)
Trash,
refuse and recycling, and the bins or containers therefor, shall not
be left stored within the public view, except that covered bins or
containers may be left curbside for the purpose of scheduled collection.
No container shall be left on or near the curb or the edge of the
street for collection for more than 24 hours.
(5)
No
exterior lighting of the dwelling shall be permitted from 12:00 midnight
to 6:00 a.m., except for such lighting of driveways or walkways as
may be necessary for security and for safe ingress and egress of persons
entering or exiting the short-term rental property.
(6)
The
short-term rental tenants and their guests or invitees shall not engage
in any conduct which violates the Town's Noise Ordinance or which
would otherwise constitute disorderly conduct or creation of a public
nuisance.
A.
It shall
be a violation of this chapter to offer or engage in short-term rentals
unless the short-term rental property has been registered with the
Town Building Department as provided in this section within 60 days
of the effective date of this chapter.
B.
The registration
of short-term rental property shall be accomplished by submitting
for approval a completed registration application on a form promulgated
by the Town Building Department in accordance with the provisions
of this section. Such form shall contain a minimum the following information:
(1)
The
name, address, telephone number and e-mail address of the record owner
of the short-term rental property;
(2)
The
street address and Tax Map Number of the short-term rental property;
(3)
The
number of bedrooms in short-term rental property;
(4)
The
number of rooms in the short-term rental property that will be offered
for short-term rentals;
(5)
A notarized
statement that the short-term rental property is owner occupied.
C.
The Building
Inspector may deny an application for registration of short-term rental
property if the application is incomplete or contains erroneous information
or otherwise fails to meet the criteria for short-term rentals.
D.
In the
event that the Building Inspector denies an application to register
short-term rental property, the property owner may appeal the denial
to the Town Board within 30 days of issuance of notice of the denial
to the property owner.
E.
Registration
for short-term rentals shall remain in effect as long as there is
no change in the record owner of the short-term rental property. Upon
a change in ownership, the new owners of the short-term rental property
shall be required to once again register it before offering it for
short-term rentals.
A.
An application
for a short-term rental permit may be made at any time during the
calendar year for which it is sought and within 90 days prior to the
first day of the calendar year for which it is sought.
B.
Applications
for short-term rental property permits may be made simultaneously
with applications to register short-term rental property on a form
promulgated by the Town Building Department. The permit application
form shall, at a minimum, include:
(1)
A statement
of whether the entire dwelling or only individual rooms within the
dwelling are being offered for short-term rentals, or if both are
being offered.
(2)
The
proposed maximum overnight and daytime occupancy limits for the property;
(3)
A floor
plan indicating the placement and size of each bedroom, exit and fire-protection
system;
(4)
A statement
of the off-street parking provided on the short-term rental property
demonstrating that sufficient parking exists for at least one vehicle
per short-term rental;
(5)
Proof
that there are no open zoning or Building Code violations on the short-term
rental property, such as report letter from the Town Building Department.
C.
Upon submission
of an application for a short-term rental permit, the property owner
shall contact the Building Inspector to schedule an inspection of
the short-term rental property.
D.
Upon payment
by the property owner of such inspection and permit fees as the Town
Board shall prescribe in the Town's schedule of fees, the Building
Inspector shall conduct an inspection of the short-term rental property
to determine whether it complies with the Town Code and all applicable
state codes and to verify the occupancy limits and available off-street
parking.
E.
Upon completion
of an inspection of the short-term rental property and ascertaining
that the property meets the Town Code's requirements, the Building
Inspector shall issue a short-term rental permit.
F.
The Building
Inspector may deny an application for short-term rental permit if
the application is incomplete or the property otherwise fails to meet
the criteria for grant of a short-term rental permit.
G.
In the
event that the Building Inspector denies an application for a short-term
rental permit, the property owner may appeal the denial to the Town
Board within 30 days of issuance of notice of the denial to the property
owner.
H.
Short-term
rental permits shall have a term of no more than two years and shall
expire on December 31 of the calendar year following the year in which
they were issued.
I.
Short-term
rental permits may not be transferred or assigned to any person or
used by anyone other than the person to whom it was issued.
J.
In the
event that there is any change in the information provided by a property
owner in his application for a short-term rental permit, he or she
shall advise the Town Building Department in writing of such change
no later than 48 hours after such occurrence. Failure to timely advise
the Town Building Department of a change in the information provided
by the property owner in his application shall constitute a violation
of this chapter.
K.
If the
Building Inspector determines that a property owner has falsified
or otherwise failed to provide accurate information on his registration
or permit application, he shall refer the matter to the Town Board
as a violation of this chapter for further proceedings under this
chapter.
A.
It is the
responsibility of the property owner to comply with all terms and
provisions of this chapter and to ensure that his short-term rental
tenants, guests and invitees comply with this chapter and the terms
and conditions of the short-term rental permit. Any failure of short-term
rental tenants, guests and invitees to comply with this chapter and
the terms and conditions of a short-term rental permit shall be attributed
to the failure of the property owner to discharge his or her responsibility
to ensure such compliance.
B.
Upon receipt
of a complaint or upon his own initiative, the Building Inspector
may investigate any property for failure to comply with the terms
of this chapter.
C.
If, upon
investigation, the Building Inspector determines that a violation
of this chapter and/or of the terms and conditions of a short-term
rental permit has occurred on short-term rental property, he shall
issue a written notice of the violation to the property owner and
shall provide a copy of the same to the Town Board.
D.
Upon receipt
of such notice, the Town Board shall set a date at which the property
owner shall be heard in regard to the Building Inspector's findings
of a violation. Notice of such hearing date shall be mailed to the
property owner by certified mail return receipt requested at the address(es)
provided in the application for the short-term rental application.
E.
If, after
affording such an opportunity to be heard, the Town Board confirms
the existence of the violation of this chapter, the Town Board shall
act as follows:
(1)
For
a first violation, the Town Board may, in its discretion, merely issue
a warning to the property owner or may suspend the right to conduct
short-term rentals at the subject property for a period of up to six
months from the date of the Town Board's determination, depending
on the circumstances, severity and nature of the violation, taking
into consideration whether the violation was committed knowingly or
intentionally and/ or presented a risk to public safety.
(2)
For
an additional violation within one year of a prior violation, the
Town Board shall suspend the right to conduct short-term rentals at
the subject property for a period of six months.
(3)
For
more than two violations within a twenty-four-month period of the
first violation, the Town Board shall suspend the right to conduct
short-term rentals at the subject property for a period of one year.
(4)
Provided,
however, that if the Town Board finds that any violations of this
chapter also involved violation of any provision of the Penal Code
of the State of New York, then the Town Board may, in its discretion,
revoke the right to conduct short-term rentals at the subject property
for up to two years and, further, if multiple violations of the Penal
Code occur may, in its discretion, bar the property owner from short-term
rentals of the subject property for a period of up to three years.
The Town Board shall set such application and permit fees as
it may find appropriate for short-term rentals by resolution and such
fees shall be listed in the Town's Schedule of Fees.
A.
It shall
be a violation of this chapter to offer or use property for short-term
rental unless it has been registered with the Town Building Department
and, where required by this chapter, a short-term rental permit has
been obtained from the Town Building Department and site plan approval
has been granted by the Planning Board.
B.
In addition
suspension or revocation of the right to conduct short-term rentals
as provided in this chapter, any person, whether property owner or
tenant, who violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty
of an offense. Each day that the violation continues shall be deemed
a separate violation.
C.
Conviction
of violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be punished by
a fine of not more than $250 per violation or by imprisonment for
not more than 15 days, or both.
D.
The penalties
for violation of this chapter shall be in addition to any penalties
imposed for violation of other provisions of the Town Code and the
New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, the State
Energy Conservation Construction Code.
E.
The imposition
of penalties herein prescribed shall not preclude the Town or any
person from instituting appropriate legal action or proceeding to
prevent unlawful short-term rental of property in violation of this
chapter, including, without limitation, civil actions for injunctive
relief to immediately terminate any existing short-term rental occupancy
of buildings, land or premises.
F.
Any person
who violates the terms of this chapter shall be subject to a civil
penalty of $250 per day for each day that the violation continues.
Further, in the event that the Town successfully pursues civil proceedings
to abate a violation of this chapter, the person or persons against
whom the Town recovers a judgment shall be liable for the reasonable
attorney's fees incurred by the Town in the litigation.
