HomeMy WebLinkAboutLL 2 of 2023 Amending Chapter 270 Short Term Rentals Cooperatives etc
TOWN OF ITHACA
LOCAL LAW NO. 2 OF THE YEAR 2023
A LOCAL LAW AMENDING TOWN OF ITHACA CODE CHAPTER 270, ZONING,
ARTICLE XXVI, SPECIAL REGULATIONS, REGARDING SHORT-TERM RENTAL
USE REGULATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH COOPERATIVE CORPORATIONS,
TRUSTS AND OPERATING PERMITS
Be it enacted by the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca as follows:
Section 1. Chapter 270 (Zoning), Article XXVI (Special Regulations) of the Town of
Ithaca Code, Section 270-219.7, titled “Short-term rental uses” is amended as follows:
A. Subsection B is amended in its entirety to read as follows:
“B. Applicability. This section applies to all short-term rental uses except:
(1) Rentals of dwelling units that meet all of the following: the dwelling unit is owned by
a cooperative corporation and is subject to a proprietary lease under the Cooperative
Corporations Law, and the dwelling unit is the principal residence of the proprietary
lease holder.
(2) House sitting arrangements where a house sitter occupies a principal residence while
the owner or proprietary lease holder is away, the house sitter provides security,
maintenance and/or pet care, and the house sitter pays no money or other financial
consideration to the owner or proprietary lease holder in exchange for the occupancy.
(3) For short-term rental uses that were previously allowed by or exempt from this § 270-
219.7 and that are subject to termination on April 1, 2023 pursuant to amendments to
this § 270-219.7 that become effective on April 1, 2023, this section shall not apply to
any short-term rental use for which a written rental agreement exists as of April 1,
2023, provided that the rental concludes by September 30, 2023.
(4) For the purposes of this § 270-219.7, for a dwelling unit to be considered an owner’s
or proprietary lease holder’s principal residence, the owner or proprietary lease holder
must reside in the dwelling unit for a minimum of 185 days per year. For trusts,
principal residence requirements are met if all of the criteria in Subsection E(1)(B)(ii)
are met.”
B. Subsection D(1), last sentence, is amended by deleting the comma after “occupant(s)” and
deleting the word must, so that the last sentence reads as follows:
“No other owner(s), collectively or individually, shall own a larger percentage of the tax
parcel(s) than the owner-occupant(s) who reside in the principal residence for a minimum
of 185 days per year.”
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C. Subsection E(1) (Operating permit required) is amended by adding a new subparagraph b
reading as follows (and by re-lettering subsequent subparagraphs accordingly):
“(b) Owners eligible to receive short-term rental operating permits must be either:
(i) natural persons (defined for purposes of this § 270-219.7 as living human beings),
or
(ii) trusts that meet all of the following criteria: the dwelling unit is the principal
residence of at least one natural person who is a trust grantor, a trustee, or a
beneficiary of the trust that owns the dwelling unit, and said trust grantor, trustee
or beneficiary resides in the dwelling unit for a minimum of 185 days per year.”
D. Subsection E(2)(b), second sentence, is amended by adding the word “principal” before
“residence” so that the second sentence reads as follows:
“No unit except a principal residence with a hosted short- term rental shall be subject to
more than one short-term rental agreement at any one time.”
E. Subsection G (Termination of certain legal nonconforming uses after amortization) is
amended by adding to the beginning of subparagraph (1) the phrase “Except as provided in
Subsection G(3) below,”
F. Subsection G (Termination of certain legal nonconforming uses after amortization) is
amended by adding subparagraphs (3) through (5) reading as follows:
“(3) For a short-term rental use that was previously allowed by or exempt from this §
270-219.7 and that is subject to termination on April 1, 2023 pursuant to amendments
to this § 270-219.7 that become effective on April 1, 2023, the Zoning Board of
Appeals may grant special approval for such short-term rental use to continue for a
stated period of time after the termination takes effect, provided that the owner
applies to the Zoning Board of Appeals by May 15, 2023, for such special approval,
and further provided that the Zoning Board of Appeals finds that:
(a) The owner demonstrates that the short-term rental use is a legal nonconforming
use; and
(b) The owner demonstrates through competent dollars-and-cents proof that prior to
April 1, 2023, they made substantial financial expenditures unique to the short-
term rental use; and
(c) The owner provides documentation of their total receipts from short-term rentals
and expected revenue through the date of termination; and
(d) The owner demonstrates that they have not recovered substantially all of the
financial expenditures related to the short-term rental use; and
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(e) The owner demonstrates that they cannot obtain a reasonable return on their
investment unique to the short-term rental use if the property is used for any other
purpose permitted within the zoning district, and that the lack of a reasonable
return is due solely to the termination on short-term rental days and not other
market forces; and
(f) The extension period granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals is the minimum
extension period necessary to mitigate the demonstrated loss of a reasonable
return.
(4) The criteria for granting special approval pursuant to Subsection G(3) above shall be
as set forth in Subsection G(3) above rather than the normal criteria in Article XXIV
for granting a special approval.
(5) Owners of dwelling units that were previously exempt from this section and receive
special approval pursuant to Subsection G(3) above must apply for an operating
permit within five (5) days of the grant of special approval. Upon the grant of special
approval, all provisions of this § 270-219.7 apply during the duration of the special
approval, except the Town may grant an operating permit to such owner even though
it is not a natural person or trust.”
Section 2. Statement of Supersession. It is the intent of the Town Board, pursuant to
authority under New York State Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(d)(3), § 10(1)(ii)(a)(14),
and § 22 to supersede inconsistent provisions of the New York State Town Law. In particular, it
is the intent of the Town Board, pursuant to authority under sections 10 and 22 of the Municipal
Home Rule Law, to supersede inconsistent provisions of New York State Town Law relating to
uniformity. Without limitation, this local law hereby supersedes the New York State Town Law
§ 262, to the extent that the provisions of said section are inconsistent with any provision in this
local law.
Section 3. In the event that any portion of this law is declared invalid by a court of
competent jurisdiction, the validity of the remaining portions shall not be affected by such
declaration of invalidity.
Section 4. This local law shall take effect on April 1, 2023.
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