Mark Matejka says he became an Airbnb operative by accident.
The east Wilmette resident discovered the online residential-space rental service during a 2014 summer vacation to Seattle, when a hotel shortage convinced him to take a friend’s advice to use Airbnb.
During the registration process, he decided to enroll as an Airbnb provider. Since then, the top floor of his home has hosted “really, really cool” guests from all over the world, people he described as intellectually curious travelers — a British retiree and two MIT professors among them — who want to stay someplace more interesting than a hotel room.
Matejka said he likes having the ability to turn potential short-term boarders down, like the group of fraternity brothers he called “an instant decline.”
He said he has no problem with the idea of Wilmette regulating or even taxing Airbnb-type businesses in the village.
“I think it’s reasonable; I think it’s smart. I’m a resident and neighbor and parent here first, and an Airbnb provider second,” he said, adding that the service will send him a 1099 tax form next January, “so I already pay taxes on it. It’s fair.”
Matejka’s attitude might be a welcome one for Wilmette officials, who have turned their eyes to the possibility of regulating short-term rentals in the village.
Airbnb-style services require municipalities to deal with a phenomenon that lets private owners and renters “essentially operate a business in what are usually residential areas,” village staff and members of the Village Board’s Land Use Committee reported in a July 14 memo to the board.
The memo came after the committee decided to explore short-term rentals more closely.
The committee hasn’t yet scheduled its next session, but members know they have a lot to consider, Committee Chairman Dan Sullivan said.
“Obviously, the popularity of this type of thing is picking up, which could be good news if people decide they want to visit Wilmette,” Sullivan said, “but what’s the potential impact to neighbors and neighborhoods?”
Committee member Ted McKenna shared Sullivan’s concerns.
“My personal view is that this is an interesting and good concept that a lot of people like worldwide. The pitfalls that we really want to focus on are, what kind of disruption does it cause?” McKenna said.
Short-term rentals are drawing the attention of municipal governments around the north and northwest suburbs.
Lincolnshire shut down its first known Airbnb operator earlier this summer, declaring it not a permitted use. Its zoning board is currently looking at an amendment to the village’s zoning ordinances that might regulate where and for how long listings might be offered.
“We feel it’s important to clarify the language,” said Stephen Robles, Lincolnshire’s village planner.
Airbnb caught Wilmette’s eye after residents in a west Wilmette neighborhood complained about what the committee report described as a constant stream of visitors to the Airbnb operator on their quiet street. Lincolnshire cracked down after hearing reports of “loud noise at night and things like that,” Robles said.
Paula Delehanty of Wilmette had already decided to stop renting through Airbnb, when she got a cease and desist order July 31 from the village, she said.
“I understand that there’s an impact on my neighbors, and I want to be a good neighbor,” she said.
But those initial complaints prompted Wilmette to look at the zoning and legal issues inherent in short-term rentals, Community Development Director John Adler said.
Airbnb’s services, which started in 2008 and grew significantly after 2011, moved from cities into suburbs like Wilmette before officials had a chance to decide how the rentals jibe with codes or zoning ordinances, Adler said.
“Something like this wouldn’t have been possible on the Internet 15 years ago,” he said, “but it’s moving fast now. We’re obviously not ahead of the curve, because people are already doing it here in town.”
Adler’s staff and Village Attorney Michael Zimmerman delineated one regulatory conundrum for the Land Use Committee’s consideration.
Renting one room or section of home for a short time could probably be covered under existing village codes as a commercial use, Zimmerman said in the July 14 memo. But renting an entire house might be harder to govern without new regulations, because it could arguably be legally no different than long-term house rentals.
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Those happen all the time in Wilmette and aren’t governed in the code, according to the memo.
Money will also be an issue when Sullivan, McKenna and Trustee Carol Ducommun next get together for a committee meeting.
Wilmette instituted a 9.75 percent hotel lodging tax in 2011, preparing for the construction of the Marriott Residence Hotel in west Wilmette. The committee will want to explore how or if short-term rentals could impact that revenue, McKenna said.
“Not that we looking for additional income, but we do want to investigate how (the lodging tax) might be affected. We want to be fair,” he said.
Glenview’s own 6 percent lodging tax, currently applied at the village’s multiple hotels, will be part of that village’s discussion about short-term rentals, Brady said
Evanston, which has a 7.5 percent hotel tax, is currently looking at the possibility of taxing one particular type of short-term rental venue — bed and breakfast operations, Muenzer said.
Adler said he and his staff will gather information on how other communities have handled short term rental regulations, but added, “most communities, I think, act on a complaint basis.”
That’s true in Glenview, where “it has started to pop up a little bit,” according to Jeff Brady, the village’s planning director. The village has no regulations of short-term rentals, he said. However, he expects staff and Glenview’s Village Board to begin taking their own look at the issue later this year.
“While it seems like it’s a very specific issue, it’s going to open a lot of doors,” Brady said. “When you start talking about short-term rentals, you’re talking about pretty much everything. Someone who rents their house out for a month could rent it to someone who needs a place to stay while their own home is being renovated, or they could be renting to tourists.
“Or we could be talking about someone simply renting out a single room in their house. There’s a lot to be considered.”
Winnetka has not had to deal with similar complaints, nor does the village allow Airbnb-style short-term rentals, said Mike D’Onofrio, the village’s community development director.
“It’s not a permitted use. If someone came in and asked about it, we’d tell them it wasn’t allowed,” he said.
Evanston has regulated the licensing of vacation rentals, defined as any rental of 30 days or fewer, since 2013, according to Mark Muenzer, the city’s community development director. Evanston has allowed bed and breakfasts under its zoning ordinance since 1993.
The Evanston ordinance requires providers of rentals shorter than 31 days to be licensed, Muenzer said. The petitioner must notify neighbors within 250 feet of his or her residence in order to apply for a license, he said.
The license can be issued after review by the City Council’s Planning and Development Committee, and can be renewed administratively thereafter, if the city has issued no citations against the provider in the previous year, Muenzer said. However, the city has seen little activity connected to the ordinance, he said.
Buffalo Grove officials said they are aware of the growing trend in room renting, but have yet to experience any problems. Community Development Director Chris Stilling said that if they start receiving reports, officials will need to see if the individual uses violate any zoning ordinances or Buffalo Grove’s current rental housing program.
“We would look at it on a case-by-case basis,” Stilling said.
In Buffalo Grove and Lincolnshire, Robles and Stilling said that families renting an entire house for a duration of months is common. Stilling said such Buffalo Grove properties must be licensed and inspected, which costs the owners $75 annually.
Back in Wilmette, committee members expect to sift through other communities’ rules and guidelines as they decide what regulatory route to recommend for Wilmette. But at least one member appeared wary of adding too much red tape for Wilmette short-term rental providers.
“I would prefer not to legislate, although we probably at least want to consider a set of rules making it clear how to proceed,” McKenna said. “But I have a favorable impression of the business overall.”
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