Cook County commissioners got their first look at the final draft of the vacation rental ordinance at their Tuesday, March 12 meeting.
Tim Nelson, Cook County land services director, presented the five-page draft to the board.
With more vacation rentals coming on line each year, the county spent considerable time looking at the effects and impacts these new businesses were having.
In the draft, it states, “Private vacation rental homes do appear to provide a benefit to Cook County by expanding the numbers and types of lodging facilities available, and by providing additional jobs and revenues.
“However, the use of residential properties for short-term rental can have potential adverse impacts on neighboring properties, with traffic, parking, noise and trespass issues.”
What constitutes a vacation rental?
As written now, the ordinance states that a vacation rental is “any home, cabin, condominium or similar building that is advertised as, or held out to be, a place where sleeping quarters are furnished to the public on a nightly, weekly, or for less that a 30-day time period and is not a bed and breakfast; but excludes similarly described premises which are managed by and regulated as part of a hotel or resort.”
Spelled out in the document are annual license requirements, license application requirements, prohibitions, conditional use permits, permitted uses, license fees (which are still to be determined), enforcement actions, appeals and penalties.
The purpose of the ordinance is to continue to allow use of private vacation rental homes in the identified zone districts, “but also mitigate possible adverse impacts to the health, safety, and welfare of surrounding properties through the establishment of a licensing program for the review and approval of vacation rental home operations.”
A public hearing will be held to discuss the final draft of the Vacation Rental Ordinance on Wednesday, April 10, at 6 p.m. in the commissioner’s room at the courthouse.
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