[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Charleston 9-19-2022 by Ord.
No. 161. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all residential dwelling
units, conversions of the nonresidential structures to residential
dwellings, and all existing premises within the Township of Charleston.
The owner of the subject property shall be responsible for compliance
with the provisions of this chapter, and failure of an owner, person
in charge, or renting occupants to comply with the provisions of this
chapter shall be deemed noncompliance by the owner.
B.
This chapter shall not apply to a hotel/motel/inn, bed-and-breakfast,
boardinghouse, campground or group home, when the property owner or
a representative, is present on site at the property on a twenty-four-hour-per-day
basis.
This chapter is not intended to, and does not, excuse any landowner from compliance with Chapter 300, Zoning, of the Code of Charleston Township, as amended from time to time. Whenever possible, this chapter and Chapter 300, Zoning, should be construed and interpreted as being consistent and not in conflict.
For the purposes of this chapter, words and terms used herein
shall be interpreted as follows:
A room or space designed to be used for sleeping purposes
with two means of egress (one of which may be a window acceptable
under the building code), a closet, and in close proximity to a bathroom.
Space used for eating, cooking, bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets,
halls, storage or utility rooms and similar uses are not considered
bedrooms. Space used or intended for general and informal everyday
use such as a living room, den, sitting room or similar is not to
be considered a bedroom.
A visitor to the short-term rental property (STR), but not
constituting an occupant.
Person staying at the STR overnight. A person located on
the STR premises shall be deemed an occupant unless established otherwise
by owner, person in charge or tenant.
Person having legal or equitable ownership of the STR property.
If there is more than one such person, then "owner" shall mean each
such person, individually and jointly.
A person or agent with actual authority to represent the
owner for purposes of contact and communication regarding the owner's
STR. A person in charge must reside or have an office within 30 minutes
of the STR property and be able to act as the legal agent for the
owner. The Township must be notified, in writing, within 14 days if
there is a change in the identity of the person in charge.
Any dwelling unit utilized as a single-family residence rented
for the purpose of overnight lodging for a period of 30 days or less,
and which meets the definition of hotel for the purpose of imposing
an excise tax by the County of Tioga,
The primary individual who signed an agreement with the owner
or owner's agent for the temporary use of the STR for 30 consecutive
calendar days or less.
No owner of any property in Charleston Township shall operate
a short-term rental in Charleston Township without first obtaining
a short-term rental permit from Charleston Township. Operation of
a short-term rental without such short-term rental permit is a violation
of this chapter.
A.
Short-term rental permit applications shall contain all of the following
information:
(1)
The name, address, email and twenty-four-hour telephone number of
the owner.
(2)
The name, address, email and twenty-four-hour telephone number of
the person in charge if different from the owner. A local person in
charge shall have written authorization to accept service for the
owner.
(3)
If not on a municipal sewage system, the owner of the property shall
contact the Township Sewage Enforcement Officer to complete a septic
inspection and provide to the Township satisfactory proof that the
septic system has been inspected and is in working condition. Cost
of this inspection will follow the Township fee schedule. The owner
shall maintain the STR property's septic system on a pumping schedule
of not more than every five years and provide the Township satisfactory
written proof of compliance upon its request.
(4)
Copies of current Tioga County Hotel Room Excise Tax Certificate
and current Pennsylvania Sales and Use Tax Permit.
(5)
Signatures of both the owner and the local person in charge.
(6)
Trespass waiver signed by the owner allowing access to the property
for the Enforcement Officer for the purpose on the inspection to verify
compliance with this chapter.
(7)
Copy of the current recorded deed for the property establishing ownership.
B.
A short-term rental permit shall be issued only to the owner of the
short-term rental property.
(1)
A short-term rental permit is effective until any of the conditions
of the short-term rental which are governed by this chapter are changed,
whichever shall first occur. A short-term permit must be renewed when
any of the conditions of the short-term rental which are governed
by this chapter are changed.
(2)
The Township will prescribe forms and procedures for the processing
of permit applications under this chapter.
(3)
Permits are nontransferable. If ownership of an STR changes, the
new owner(s) must complete a new application form before renting out
any part of the dwelling unit for short-term rental.
(4)
The owner or person in charge shall respond to a Township representative
within one hour after being notified of the existence of a violation
of this chapter or any disturbance requiring immediate remedy or abatement.
If the person in charge is not the owner, they shall immediately advise
the owner of any notification of a violation.
B.
The maximum number of day guests allowed at any one time, in addition
to the occupants, shall be 75% for maximum permitted occupancy of
the short-term rental.
C.
The number of bedrooms permitted for a short-term rental shall not
exceed the number of bedrooms approved for the dwelling unit on the
sewage permit issued for such property. Where there is no sewage permit
on record, the short-term rental shall be limited to three bedrooms
unless proof is provided to the Sewage Authority Officer that the
septic system is adequate to handle additional flows. Any short-term
rental advertising more than five bedrooms shall provide proof that
the septic system is adequate to handle such flows by having a system
approved by the sewage Enforcement Officer, or by providing a septic
permit previously issued by a Sewage Enforcement Officer. If a sewage
system malfunction occurs, short-term rental of the dwelling unit
shall be discontinued until the malfunction is corrected in accordance
with Township and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
requirements.
D.
Outdoor parking for occupants and day guests shall be limited to
available parking areas on the short-term rental property. In no event
shall parking for short-term rental tenants include spaces in any
public street right-of-way.
E.
A short-term rental property shall not have any outside appearance
indicating a change of use from the surrounding residential uses.
F.
Neither short-term rental occupants nor guests shall engage in disorderly
conduct or disturb the peace and quiet of any nearby neighborhood
or person by loud, unusual or excessive noise, by tumultuous or offensive
conduct, public indecency, threatening, traducing, quarreling, challenging
to fight or fighting, or creating a dangerous or physically offensive
condition.
G.
The owner shall use best efforts to assure that the occupants or
guest of the short-term rental do not create unreasonable noise or
disturbances, engage in disorderly conduct, or otherwise violate provisions
of the Charleston Township Code or any state law pertaining to noise
or disorderly conduct, including but not limited to, notifying the
occupants of the rules regarding short-term rentals and responding
when notified that occupants are violating laws, ordinances, or regulations
regarding their occupancy.
H.
The owner shall, upon notification that occupants or guest of the
short-term rental have created unreasonable noise or disturbances,
engaged in disorderly conduct or otherwise violated provisions of
the Charleston Township Code or state law pertaining to noise or disorderly
conduct, promptly use best efforts to prevent a recurrence of such
conduct by those occupants or guest.
I.
Overnight occupancy of recreational vehicles and camper trailers
at the property where the short-term rental is located shall not be
allowed.
J.
All short-term rentals shall have a clearly visible and legible notice
posted within the dwelling unit on or adjacent to the front door containing
the following information:
(1)
The name of the owner or the owner unit or person in charge and a
telephone number at which that party can be reached on a twenty-four-hour
basis.
(2)
The 911 address of the property.
(3)
The maximum number of occupants permitted to stay in the dwelling
unit and the maximum number of day guest permitted at any one time.
(4)
Notification that trash and refuse is not permitted to be stored
outside of STR property unless stored in appropriate receptacle.
(5)
Notification that an occupant or guest may be cited and fined for
creating a disturbance or for violating other provisions of the Charleston
Township Code, including parking and occupancy limits.
(6)
Notification that short-term rental occupants and guests are to require
to make the dwelling unit available for inspection by a Charleston
Township representative upon request.
K.
The owner self-certifies the STR property meets Pennsylvania Uniform
Construction Code requirements.
Short-term rental fees, payable to Charleston Township upon
the filing of a short-term rental permit application, shall be in
such amount as may be established by resolution duly adopted by the
Board of Supervisors.
A.
The administrator of this article shall be the Charleston Township
Supervisors, or their written designee, which shall include any appointed
representative and/or Township Solicitor. The Charleston Township
Representative shall have the responsibility and authority to administer
and enforce all provisions of this chapter.
B.
The issuance of a short-term rental permit is not a warranty that
the premises is lawful, safe, habitable, or in compliance with this
chapter.
C.
If there is reason to believe that any provision of this chapter
is being violated, the Board of Supervisors may enter or may cause,
through an authorized representative of the Township, entry onto premises
for the purposes of inspection of any and all premises, properties,
buildings and/or structures located within the Township for ascertaining
the existence of violations. In those matters where the nature of
an alleged violation is such that an inspection of the interior of
a building or structure is necessitated, prior arrangements must be
made with the owner or his agent to secure access thereof.
The marketing of a short-term rental in which the advertised
occupancy exceeds the maximum occupancy requirements permitted by
this chapter, or which promotes any other activity which is prohibited
by this chapter, shall be a violation of this chapter.
If it appears to an Enforcement Officer that a violation of
the chapter exists or have occurred, the Enforcement Officer shall
send a written notice of violation to the owner or person in charge
by personal delivery or to the owner by both United States first-class
and certified mail. The Enforcement Notice shall identify the premises,
which is the subject of the violation, enumerate the conditions which
constitute the violation, cite the specific sections of this chapter
which are violated, indicate the action required to correct the violation,
and provide a time frame (established by the Enforcement Officer based
upon the nature of the violation) to correct the violation.
In the interest of promoting the public health, safety, and
welfare, and minimizing the burden on Township and community services
and impacts on residential neighborhoods posed by short-term rentals,
a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter is declared to
be a public nuisance.
A.
This chapter shall be enforced by action brought before a Magisterial
District Judge in the same manner provided for the enforcement of
summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Any person, partnership, corporation or other entity who or which
violates or permits a violation of the provisions of this chapter
shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding, pay a fine of not
less than $100 nor more than $1,000 per violation, plus all court
costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by Charleston Township
in the enforcement proceedings, and/or be imprisoned to the extent
allowed by law for the punishment of summary offenses. Each day or
portion thereof that a violation exists or continues shall constitute
a separate violation. Further, the appropriate injunction to enforce
compliance with this chapter. All fines, penalties, costs and reasonable
attorney's fees collected for the violation of this chapter shall
be paid to Charleston Township for its general use.
B.
In addition to, but not in limitation of, the provisions of § 226-12A, the Charleston Township Representative may either revoke, or deny a short-term rental permit for three uncured or repeated violations of this chapter in any rolling twelve-calendar-month period. The revocation or denial to renew a short-term rental permit shall continue for six months for the first set of three uncured or repeated violations and continue for one year for any subsequent sets of violations.
If the premises are owned by more than one owner, each shall
severally be subjected to prosecution for a violation of this chapter.
Appeals of a determination of the Charleston Township Representative
under this chapter to deny any application or revoke a short-term
rental permit, shall be filed with the Board of Supervisors within
30 days of the date of denial of application or revocation of permit.
Appeal shall be processed as follows:
A.
All appeals shall be in writing and signed by the appellant on forms
prescribed by the Township and shall be accompanied by a fee, the
amount of which shall be established by resolution of the Township
Supervisors, which may include notice and advertising costs and necessary
administrative overhead in relation to the hearing.
B.
Each appeal shall fully set forth the determination appealed from,
a detailed reason or basis for the appeal, and the relief sought.
Every appeal shall refer to the specific provision of circumstances
of the case.
C.
The hearing shall be held by the Board of Supervisors within 60 days
from the date the appeal is filed, unless the appellant has agreed,
in writing, to an extension of time.
D.
Upon hearing the Board of Supervisors shall have 45 days to render
a determination in writing which shall be mailed to the owner.
E.
An aggrieved party may appeal the determination to the Tioga County
Court of Common Pleas within 30 days.
