[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Kennebunkport 6-8-2021. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to require the disclosure and
licensing of short-term rentals operated within the Town of Kennebunkport.
Furthermore, this chapter is intended to ensure that residential neighborhoods
are not unduly impacted by the operation of short-term rentals within
the Town. This will be accomplished by a licensing program that enables
the Town to monitor and track the proliferation of short-term rentals
within its borders, includes modest performance standards intended
to protect property owners, renters, and neighbors along with limits
to the numbers of short-term rentals within the community. Due to
the historic nature and long-standing tradition of short-term rentals
within the Goose Rocks Beach neighborhood, this limited area will
not be subject to licensing limits; it will, however, still be subject
to all other requirements in this chapter.
A.
Permitted short-term rentals. Legally existing residential dwelling
units may be used as short-term rentals upon the issuance of a short-term
rental license for the premises in accordance with the requirements
of this chapter.
B.
Prohibited short-term rentals. No person may offer for rent, operate,
or otherwise use any dwelling unit in the Town of Kennebunkport for
short-term rentals if:
C.
Lodging establishments exempt. The following lodging establishment
uses are exempt from the licensing requirements and standards of this
chapter: hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, inns, seasonal rental
accommodation complexes, and residential rental accommodations.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any form of communication for marketing that is used to encourage,
persuade or manipulate viewers, readers or listeners into contracting
for goods and/or services as may be viewed through various media,
including, but not limited to, newspapers, magazines, flyers, handbills,
television commercials, radio, signage, direct mail, websites or text
messages.
One or more rooms arranged for complete, independent housekeeping
purposes with space for living and sleeping; space or facilities for
eating or cooking; and provisions for sanitation. For purposes of
this chapter, recreational vehicles are not considered dwelling units.
A document prepared by the Town that summarizes the general
rules of conduct, consideration, and respect, including, without limitation,
provisions pertaining to the use and occupancy of a dwelling unit
used or occupied as a short-term rental.
See the area defined on Exhibit A.[1]
An individual person or persons or an entity that is the
owner of record of real property as documented by deed or other document
evidencing ownership recorded at the York County Registry of Deeds.
The permitted accessory use of no more than two bedrooms
in a legally existing dwelling or dwelling unit. This dwelling unit
shall be an owner-occupied dwelling. Rooms rented may be for either
short-term or long-term rental to a roomer who may be unrelated to
the owner or occupant of the unit. Individual rooms shall be rented
no more than once per week. For purposes of this definition, a "week"
shall be defined as Monday through Sunday.
A lodging business located on one parcel of land that makes
a room, a group of rooms, and/or cottages available for a tenancy
of less than 30 days on a seasonal basis.
The use, control, management or operation of a legally existing
residential dwelling unit offered for rent for transient occupancy
for dwelling, sleeping or lodging purposes by short-term rental guests
for a tenancy of less than 30 consecutive days, for compensation,
directly or indirectly, excluding motels, hotels, bed-and-breakfasts,
inns, seasonal rental accommodation complexes, and residential rental
accommodations.
Any person who rents, licenses, occupies or has the right
to occupy a dwelling unit for less than 30 consecutive days.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said map is on file in the Town offices.
A.
License required: No short-term rental shall be advertised, rented,
or operated without first obtaining a short-term rental license. A
short-term rental license shall be valid for the calendar year for
which the license is issued. The property must remain in compliance
with the short-term rental license for the calendar year in which
the license is issued.
(1)
Short-term rental license renewal. Short-term rental licenses shall
expire on December 31 of each calendar year, and short-term rental
license holders may renew such license by submitting a renewal application,
via a renewal process established by the Town. After the effective
date of this chapter, any duly licensed short-term rental may continue
operating as long as the license is current and renewed on or before
the annual renewal deadline established by the Town. If the license
is not renewed within the prescribed time frame, the license expires,
and this protection clause no longer applies. Any renewal application
received after the advertised deadline for submission shall be considered
late and deemed a new application.
B.
Nontransferability.
(1)
Short-term rental licenses issued under this chapter shall not be
transferable to a new owner or location. Any change of ownership shall
require a new license, except transfers of the real estate and related
license in a permitted transfer. A "permitted transfer" is a transfer
of the subject real estate and the related license to a permitted
transferee. A "permitted transferee" includes 1) another current owner
of the subject real estate; 2) the spouse, child(ren) and/or grandchild(ren)
of a current owner; 3) a trust for the benefit of a current owner,
a current owner's spouse, a current owner's child(ren) and/or grandchild(ren)
of a current owner; or 4) for estate planning purposes, a trust, limited-liability
company (LLC), corporation or other entity, as long as the beneficiaries
of the trust or owners of the entity, as applicable, are a current
owner, a current owner's spouse, a current owner's child(ren) and/or
grandchild(ren) of a current owner. In the case of a transfer to a
permitted transferee, the permitted transferee shall become a "licensee"
and an "owner," and the definition of "permitted transferee" shall
apply to the new licensee/owner.
(2)
Licensees/owners shall be required to certify that they comply with the provisions of this section annually and that they have not engaged in any transfers, or been transferees in any transfers, that are not permitted transfers. See § 129-6C herein.
(3)
Licenses are limited to the dwelling unit for which they are issued
and shall not be transferable to a different dwelling unit.
C.
Advertising. It shall be unlawful to advertise occupancy or use of
a short-term rental that has not been licensed. Licensed short-term
rentals in good standing may advertise for beyond the current licensing
year. For the purposes of this section, the term "advertise" shall
mean any form of communication for marketing that is used to encourage,
persuade, or manipulate viewers, readers or listeners into contracting
for goods and/or services as may be viewed through various media included,
but not limited to, newspapers, magazines, flyers, handbills, television
commercials, radio, signage, direct mail, websites or text messages.
The short-term rental advertising must be consistent with the terms
of the short-term rental license, and all advertisements of the short-term
rental must include the current short-term rental license number.
D.
Registration record. The short-term rental owner must a) maintain
accurate, up-to-date records of all rental transactions involving
the short-term rental, including the number of tenants and the length
of their stays, and upcoming reservations; and b) present said information
to Town inspection officials upon request. Failure of the short-term
rental owner to provide this information within five business days
of a Town request for the same shall be considered a violation of
this section.
E.
Notice. The short-term rental license holder must post in plain sight
near the entrance to the short-term rental a notice that identifies
the short-term rental license number, and the name, address, phone
number(s), and email address of the owner of the short-term rental,
and/or the owner's local contact person. Such notice may be posted
in plain sight in the interior of the short-term rental. The short-term
rental license holder shall also post the license provided by the
Town.
Issuance procedure:
A.
Application submission; completeness. Short-term rental license applications
shall be submitted to the Town Clerk. Applications for licenses for
the upcoming calendar year may be submitted beginning in October of
the previous license year. The Town Clerk, or the Town Clerk's designee,
shall review all applications for completeness and accuracy and in
the order that they were received.
B.
Application, license fee. The Town Clerk shall provide a short-term
rental application to be completed by the applicant and submitted
to the Town Clerk accompanied by the short-term rental license fee
as established by the Board of Selectmen. The short-term rental application
shall include a nonexclusive checklist of code requirements that the
property owner shall demonstrate compliance with.
C.
Town Clerk authority. The Town Clerk shall have the authority to
issue a short-term rental license. The Town Clerk, or the Town Clerk's
designee, shall determine if the application has been properly completed
before any license is issued.
D.
Inspection.
(1)
Anytime that a short-term rental application is submitted for a property, the short-term rental applicant shall certify on the short-term rental application that the proposed short-term rental property complies with the short-term rental standards in § 129-7, and with Building Code requirements.
E.
Transitional provisions for licensing of preexisting short-term rentals.
Persons or entities who operated a legally existing residential dwelling
unit as a short-term rental and who received reservations for short-term
rentals at the same premises prior to the effective date of this chapter
shall be required to obtain a short-term rental license for said premises
by submitting an application to the Town Clerk by the advertised date,
which application must contain an affidavit or other sworn statement
by the owner, along with documented evidence, certifying that the
premises were previously used for short-term rental use by one or
more tenants for a period of less than 30 consecutive days per tenancy
and for at least 14 total days in a calendar year in any one of the
following years: 2019, 2020, or 2021.
(1)
Upon review and approval of a timely application submitted for a license containing sufficient evidence of previous short-term rental use as required above, the Town Clerk shall issue a license for each such premises, without the need for a prior inspection of said premises by the Code Enforcement Officer or designee as is otherwise required in § 129-5D.
F.
Issuance. If the Town Clerk, or the Town Clerk's designee, in consultation with the Code Enforcement Officer, determines that the proposed short-term rental application complies with the short-term rental standards, the Town Clerk shall issue the applicant a short-term rental license in accordance with the limits established in § 129-9 below.
The short-term rental license application shall include the
following information:
A.
Location. The street address and map/block/lot number of the short-term
rental property.
B.
Contact person/owner responsibility. The name of the owner of the
short-term rental property and contact information, including address
and telephone number. If the owner is anything other than a natural
person, then the following information must also be included: the
name of each individual person who has an ownership interest in any
entity that is the record owner, including, without limitation, all
beneficiaries of any trust, and all members and shareholders of a
limited-liability company, corporation or other entity. In addition,
if someone other than the owner is acting as the local contact person,
contact information for that person shall also be provided. Regardless
of who enters the short-term rental agreement, or who may be designated
as the owner's contact person, the property owner shall be responsible
for compliance with chapter provisions.
C.
For renewal applications, licensees/owners shall be required to certify annually that they have not engaged in any transfers of the licensed premises, or been transferees in any transfers, that are not permitted transfers under § 129-4B of this chapter.
D.
All information needed to demonstrate compliance with the standards
listed below.
The Town Clerk shall issue a short-term rental license upon
the applicant satisfying the above requirements if the following standards
are met:
A.
Code compliance. An applicant's property, without limitation, shall
comply with the following building safety requirements.
(2)
Carbon monoxide alarms. If a house has an attached garage or a fuel-fired
appliance, a carbon monoxide alarm shall be installed outside each
bedroom in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms.
(3)
Portable fire extinguishers. At least one portable fire extinguisher
shall be mounted in a prominent location. One size/type 2/A is required
or two size/type 1/A extinguishers.
B.
The applicant shall provide floor plans of the dwelling unit that
shows the location of the alarms and fire extinguisher(s).
C.
Sanitary waste disposal. The applicant shall submit information demonstrating
that adequate sanitary waste disposal is available in compliance with
the Maine Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rules or that the property
is served by public sewer. This shall include the total number of
bedrooms included in the property, any additional sleeping space,
and the total number of tenants that the property accommodates. The
total number of tenants used to determine adequacy of sanitary waste
disposal shall not be less than the total number of tenants that the
property is advertised to accommodate. For the purpose of evaluating
the adequacy of a subsurface disposal system, every two tenants shall
be equivalent to one bedroom.
D.
Parking. The applicant shall include a depiction designating parking
spaces that will be provided for tenants and guests on the same lot
where the short-term rental is located. Guest parking at the short-term
rental shall occur in parking spaces designated by the applicant,
and the number of guest vehicles allowed at the short-term rental
shall be limited to the number of on-site parking spaces designated
by the applicant. Garage parking spaces not allowed for tenant use
shall not be used to meet the short-term rental parking requirement.
Tenants and guests of short-term rentals are prohibited from parking
in a manner that impedes access by emergency vehicles to the property
or any other dwelling in the neighborhood.
E.
Good neighbor guidelines.
F.
Occupancy limits. The maximum tenant occupancy of a short-term rental
shall be limited to no more than two tenants per bedroom, plus two
additional tenants total for the entire dwelling unit. By way of example,
the maximum tenant capacity for a three-bedroom dwelling short-term
rental is eight tenants (i.e., three bedrooms multiplied by two tenants,
plus an additional two tenants, for a total of eight).
A license for a short-term rental may be conditioned, suspended,
or revoked by the Board of Selectmen after a public hearing if the
Board of Selectmen determine that a violation of this chapter, any
applicable statute, ordinance, or regulation, or short-term rental
license certification, condition, or criteria has occurred.
A.
Violations of this chapter. Violations of this chapter include, but
are not limited to, the following:
(1)
Providing false or misleading information on an application, or renewal
application, for a short-term rental license;
(2)
Failure to provide the registration records as provided in § 129-4D within five business days of a Town request for such records;
(5)
Failure to acquire and/or display the required short-term rental
license number or include the license number in any advertising of
the licensed premises;
(6)
Violation of any short-term rental license certification, condition,
or criteria;
(7)
Violation of any statute, ordinance, or regulation applicable to
the short-term rental property.
B.
Complaints concerning short-term rentals. The Code Enforcement Officer
shall establish and maintain a log of all complaints for each short-term
rental received and substantiated by the Town. The Code Enforcement
Officer shall seek the correction of all substantiated complaints
by the short-term rental license holder.
C.
Suspension or revocation of license. When, in the judgement of the
Code Enforcement Officer, the nature and/or number of complaints warrants
further review of the short-term rental license, the Code Enforcement
Officer shall provide a report of the same to the Board of Selectmen
for its consideration. The Board of Selectmen may condition, suspend,
or revoke a short-term rental license, following a public hearing,
on the basis of the licensee's noncompliance with this chapter, any
applicable law, ordinance, or regulation, or short-term rental license
certification, condition, or criteria.
D.
Appeal. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Board of Selectmen
to suspend or revoke a short-term rental license may appeal the decision
of the Board of Selectmen to Superior Court, pursuant to Maine Rule
of Civil Procedure 80B, within 30 days of the Board of Selectmen's
decision.
The Town Clerk shall issue short-term rental licenses on an
annual basis. The total number of licenses issued in each calendar
year shall be set annually by the Board of Selectmen. The limitation
on the total number of licenses set by the Board of Selectmen shall
first go into effect on January 1, 2023.
A.
Formula. The total number of licenses issued in each calendar year
shall be set by the Board of Selectmen annually according to a formula
based in part upon a percentage of the total number of residential
dwelling units in the Town of Kennebunkport.
B.
Goose Rocks Beach Neighborhood. No short-term rental located in the
Goose Rocks Beach Neighborhood (as depicted on the attached map[1]) shall be advertised, rented, or operated as a short-term rental without first obtaining a short-term rental license. Licensed short-term rentals located in the Goose Rocks Beach Neighborhood (as depicted on the attached map) shall not be counted towards the total number of short-term rental licenses to be set annually by the Board of Selectmen under § 129-9A herein, and to be issued on an annual basis thereafter by the Town.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said map is on file in the Town offices.
C.
Effective date. This chapter and all the licensing standards contained
herein shall go into effect on January 1, 2022.
A.
In the event the owner or owner's short-term rental guests violate this chapter or the terms and conditions of the license, the Town, in addition to the suspension or revocation of the then-current license pursuant to § 129-8 above, may also prohibit the owner from licensing the dwelling unit for 12 months following the current licensing expiration date, after which the owner may submit a new application for licensure.
B.
Violations shall also be subject to fines and penalties as set forth
in this section and in a penalty schedule established by the Board
of Selectmen.
C.
Any such fines or penalties may be in addition to any suspension or revocation imposed in accordance with the provisions of § 129-8 of this chapter.
D.
The Town may institute or cause to be instituted any and all actions,
legal or equitable, that may be appropriate or necessary for the enforcement
of the provisions of this chapter. In any court action, the Town may
seek injunctive relief in addition to or instead of fines/penalties.
The Town shall be entitled to recover its costs of enforcement, including
its reasonable attorneys' fees.
The Board of Selectmen may adopt regulations implementing the
provisions of this chapter.
