Wilmette village officials have delayed making a decision about how to govern short-term rentals like Airbnb, saying they want more input from residents before deciding how to proceed.
At a Feb. 11 meeting – the second held to discuss the issue — the village’s land use committee heard a range of opinions from residents, including those who want to highly regulate or outright ban Airbnb rentals, and those who say the rentals are good for housing values and the village’s economy.
“I wish this room were more full,” Trustee Ted McKenna said at the start of the meeting. He, along with the other two trustees on the committee, asked for more residents to contact him with their opinions.
Community Development Director John Adler said at the meeting the village has three options: to prohibit short-term rentals, to allow them, or to allow them with restrictions, as do some communities like Evanston.
The committee also delayed making a decision in September after hearing from residents, including many from the 3100 block of Walden Lane, a small cul-de-sac neighborhood in west Wilmette.
Short-term rentals caught Wilmette’s institutional eye after residents on that block complained about what they described as a constant stream of visitors to the Airbnb operator on their street. Wilmette sent a cease-and-desist order to the operator, who said at the time she had already decided to stop her operation when the village contacted her because she did not want to further impact her neighbors.
Shortly after that, Village President Bob Bielinski sent the issue to the committee.
On Feb. 11, Walden residents Bodee Kittikamron and Andy Rix — who both spoke last September — again asked that Wilmette control or ban short-term rentals.
“Are we a suburb, or are we a business district?” Rix asked. He said he preferred a blanket ban on such rentals, but might accept a compromise like banning rentals for fewer than 30 days.
Kittikamron, however, said he would prefer the village ban the rentals outright.
Sixth Street resident Rick Sweitzer, who has offered Airbnb rentals at his home, said Wilmette already permits other home-based businesses.
“I think one person’s short-term rental may be another person’s long-term (rental),” he said.
“Should it be regulated in some way? Perhaps,” he said.
Park Avenue resident Merry Juell, a real estate agent, told the committee, “I don’t think Airbnb is going away … we’re in a sharing economy.”
Meanwhile, Lake Avenue resident Rita Berg, another real estate agent, said she understood some people have had bad experiences with neighboring Airbnb operators, but it raises home values and, in some cases, can help people stay in their homes by providing extra income.
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Mark Matejka, who has offered rooms in his 9th Street home for Airbnb use since 2014, said in a phone interview after the meeting that he typically rents to people who stay two to three nights, and does so perhaps once every three weeks.
Matejka said he wouldn’t oppose the village regulating rentals, possibly by licensing rental operators like him.
“I put the shoe on the other foot and ask how I would feel about someone renting near me,” he said.
Evanston has regulated the licensing of vacation rentals, defined as any rental of 31 days or fewer, since 2013, Mark Muenzer, the city’s community development director, said last August. Providers of rentals shorter than 31 days have to be licensed, Muenzer said at the time.
Evanston does allow non-licensed short-term rentals if they are longer than 30 days, Adler told committee members Feb. 11. People without licenses can make shorter-term rentals under certain circumstances, such as doing it only once a year, he later said.
Wilmette’s land use committee will meet again to discuss the rentals on April 14 at 6 p.m.
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy