Maplewood planning and zoning sends B&B (Airbnb) ordinance to city council

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Maplewood Planning and Zoning on Monday refined and passed a draft of an ordinance that would allow residents to rent out rooms in their home for overnight guests. About half a dozen Maplewood residents had used the online bed and breakfast site, Airbnb, until a couple months ago when the city discovered it and shut them all down. Short term rentals are currently not allowed in the city.

Residents Nick Deccio and Adelina Mart were among those renting out a room in their home through Airbnb, and have pushed for the city to allow it. There were at the meeting on Monday.

See also: Couple pushes for, council considers online B&Bs, Maplewood plan and zoning: B&B ban applies to Airbnb too

Members of the commission pointed out that the draft didn’t stipulate the owner needs to be in the house when the tenant is staying the night — that was added. Commission member Kevin Sullivan said there is more of a  possibility that a house could be “trashed” if the owner isn’t there.

The rule for parking will stay the same as was originally proposed: paying guests can’t park on the street. Chairman, Dan Noonan explained this means that if a guest is there the owner can’t park on the street so the guest can take the drive. He said there are several streets in Maplewood where there is often not room to park on the street, and they need to look at the street and the city as a whole.

Mart said it’s punitive to say she can’t park on the street while a guest takes the drive. She asked, what if it’s a friend that’s visiting? Who is to determine who can and can’t park on the street? Assistant City Manager Anthony Traxler said occupancy issues are often decided in court, and a judge would decide that.

“It’s kind of odd to me, that if I was there and I had family (visiting) I could park in the street, but if they’re paying me I can’t park my car in the street, but my neighbors are allowed to park their cars in the street,” Mart said after the meeting. “But I’m a home owner, so my taxes go to paying for that street just as much as anybody else’s. I’m not asking for ten parking spots, I’m just asking for one.”

Both she and Deccio said after the meeting that in spite of the parking issue they’re happy the ordinance is going through to city council.

The restriction for loud noises is 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. Assistant City Manager Anthony Traxler said the normal restriction is 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. He said it was City Manager Marty Corcoran’s intent to be more restrictive. Noonan said a noise rule is academic, though, because enforcement is complaint-driven, like many ordinances.

The draft of the ordinance passed the commission 6-0. Traxler said the city council would consider it at its next meeting.

Two other questions were asked and answered at the end of the meeting:

What’s happening on the southeast corner of Flora and Sutton? It’s being used as a staging area for Laclede Gas. The lot will be remediated after the use, and the owner still plans to build a single family home there.

What’s happening with the old QuikTrip? The company has 18 months from the date it moved out to lease the building (the ordinance gave them one year, with an extension to 18 months at the city’s OK) or it needs to be torn down and turned into green space.

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