MONTGOMERY: Township OKs ordinance to ban short-term residential rentals

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Some residents on Kildee Road have come to dread the weekends.
That’s because one house on the street has become a weekend rental for groups that hold parties and social events in the sprawling, brick-veneer house.
To clamp down on such rentals and prevent their spread throughout the township, Montgomery Township Committee has introduced an ordinance that would ban short-term rentals of residential properties.
The ordinance, which was introduced at Township Committee’s July 20 meeting, prohibits property owners or their agents from advertising and renting out residential properties for less than 30 consecutive days.
The issue was brought to Montgomery Township officials’ attention by Kildee Road residents. Several residents appeared before Township Committee last week in support of the ordinance.
Sarah Kocinski, who lives next door to the property, told Township Committee that the house is listed on Airbnb as a rental. Practically every Friday, a new group of renters “rolls in,” she said. It can be as few as 20 people or as many as 150 people, she said.
The noise from the parties and social events can be heard throughout the neighborhood, and there is trash and parking “all over,” she said. It happens on a consistent basis, she added.
And while the renters usually leave by Sunday afternoon, on one recent Sunday a very large party “descended” on the neighborhood, Kocinski said.
“There was extreme loudness and it was just frightening for all of us. We are concerned not only for the disturbance of the neighborhood, but frankly now it has become a personal safety issue,” Kocinski said.
Kocinski said the neighbors have frequently called the Police Department, and the officers have always been responsive.
Emad Youssef, who also lives near the house, said the neighborhood residents dread the weekends because of the “incredible noise” and large parties that gather on the front lawn and the back lawn.
Youssef agreed with Kocinski that it has become a personal safety issue for the residents because of the crowds that gather for parties at the house. It amounts to a “total disturbance” for the neighborhood, he said.
Mayor Ed Trzaska said the house has become an event rental, and the renters do not care because they stay for a short time and leave in a day or two. There is no accountability, he said.
A single-family house is not an event facility, and it appears that the property owner is “trying to run a business out of their house,” the mayor said.
Township Administrator Donato Nieman said he had spoken to the property owner, who lives in Tennessee, and made him aware of the issue. The owner’s response was “minimal,” he said.
Municipal Attorney Kris Hadinger said the ordinance, which is slated for a public hearing and final action at Township Committee’s Aug. 3 meeting, will take effect immediately upon its adoption.