“We want to permit it. We don’t want to take away anybody’s rights,” said Trustee Mark Welch.
“But we want to make sure it’s done properly so your neighbors aren’t faced with a revolving door of people short-term renting in the property next door. I know I wouldn’t want that (next door to me).”
Some complaints about parties and concerns about the practice have been registered with township officials, said Katy Kanelopoulos, the township’s director of community development.
West Chester Twp.’s zoning code currently doesn’t define short-term rentals. For the purpose of the moratorium, property cannot be rented wholly or in part for a fee for less than 30 days.
The updated zoning resolution, once completed, would include a definition for short-term rentals, along with areas they would be allowed in, and related regulations, Kanelopoulos said.
“We want to do our best to put in some regulations and address it in some way,’’ Kanelopoulos said.
“This is something that has become more prevalent and popular.”
Township zoning was last updated in 2018, and has been under review the last few years. Kanelopoulos said her staff is completing the final edits to a draft resolution now.
Once that’s completed there will be a public forum and the document would go to the township’s zoning commission for review and then to trustees for final approved. Kanelopoulos said the goal is to have the update completed during the first quarter of 2025.
West Chester is among a growing number of Butler County communities looking into the matter as the popularity of the practice skyrockets across the country and in Butler County.
Short-term rental listings in the county have grown 77 percent in the last two years, according to Tracy Kocher, executive director of Travel Butler County. There are about 817 listings county-wide.
Earlier this fall, Fairfield updated its zoning resolution to include definitions of short-term rentals, where they can be located and related rules.
Hamilton and Oxford both allow rentals. Butler County does not regulate vacation rentals. Fairfield Twp. bans short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods but conditionally allows bed and breakfast facilities and vacation rentals in business districts.
Contributing Writer Denise Callahan contributed to this story.
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