The hearing was live-streamed on Facebook for people who couldn’t attend. This article will highlight some of the key points from the two-hour hearing, which is still open for public comment for the next two weeks. The video is planned to be uploaded to YouTube with links on the village of Lake Placid and town of North Elba Facebooks.

Since the emergence of the short-term rental industry and services such as Airbnb and VRBO, people renting out their homes in this village has garnered both praise and criticism. Some view short-term rentals as a great way to earn extra cash or even just make ends meet and help support local businesses. The summer season in particular, when Lake Placid hosts big events like the Ironman triathlon and the Lake Placid Summit Classic lacrosse tournament, is a lucrative time to operate a vacation rental for both full-time and part-time residents. However, others have attributed issues such as noise complaints, overcrowded side-streets and rising property values to a growing vacation rental market.

Thursday night, the public had a chance to speak on how they feel about short-term rental regulations recently proposed by the Lake Placid Board of Trustees and the North Elba Town Council.

Village Mayor Craig Randall introduced the hearing as a way for the boards to listen to citizens and said they wouldn’t answer questions that night, but would take note of them.

Short-term rental property owner Huda Scheidelman speaks on behalf of Gold Medal Hospitality during a public hearing on short-term rental regulations at the Conference Center in Lake Placid Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

A man in the back of the room shouted, “Not answering questions?”

Out of the 37 people who spoke, the majority had issues with pieces of what the board and council proposed. A group of 41 property owners under the name Gold Medal Hospitality said they were open to discussing and compromising. They agreed on certain safety regulations, but tended to oppose regulations that could potentially hinder the success of their businesses. The group was accompanied by their lawyer, Eric Schwenker.

While the proposed 12 pages of legislation, which can be found on northelba.org, features various sections and rules, the most opposed topic was the three-night minimum stay for renters. David Conlan, Todd Carter and Bob Schiller were just three of the many who opposed the three-night minimum.

“That’s what people like,” Schiller said. “They like to come on a Friday, and they like to leave on a Sunday and go back to work on Monday.”

One attendee, Tia Brooks, said she owns vacation rental properties in Saranac Lake and Upper Jay. She wouldn’t be affected by these regulations but wanted to show her support.

North Elba Town Supervisor Roby Politi, left, and Lake Placid Village Mayor Craig Randall listen to comments at a public hearing regarding short-term rental regulations at the Conference Center in Lake Placid Thursday night. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

“I do agree that there needs to be regulations to keep our guests and local neighbors safe,” she said. “However, I do not agree with the three-day minimum.”

After the meeting, North Elba Supervisor Roby Politi said the idea of the three-night stay was prompted by noise complaints often attributed to properties renting for one or two nights during big events.

“The average minimum stay in this community, according to (the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism) is four nights,” he said. “People who stay four, five, six, seven nights are generally families that are here on vacation. They generally don’t pose as much of a problem as those who are here for events. It was just an attempt to curb that type of activity.”

Donna Morris-Calvey, a short-term rental owner, took issue with the 16-occupant maximum regulation. She said it would make it difficult to host weddings and provides less choices for travelers.

Another topic that received attention was regulations on lake-front properties.

Short-term rental property owner Huda Scheidelman speaks on behalf of Gold Medal Hospitality during a public hearing on short-term rental regulations at the Conference Center in Lake Placid Thursday. To her left are members of the Lake Placid Village Board of Trustees and the North Elba Town Council — Clerk Anita Estling, Trustee Scott Monroe, Councilman Jay Rand, Supervisor Roby Politi, Mayor Craig Randall, Councilman Jack Favro, Councilman Bob Miller, Trustee Jason Leon and Councilman Derek Doty. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

In the proposal, it says, “Short-term rental properties may not be used as ‘keyhole’ properties to provide access to or use of Lake Placid or Mirror Lake for dockage, parking, mooring of boats, swimming or any other lake activity. These uses shall be limited to the record owners of the short-term rental property.”

Some people were confused by the wording.

“I want to mention the uses of the water,” Eric Fahlborg said, “which to me is very strange.

“People come up here to swim.”

Politi said the regulation is to keep people from overcrowding docks with their boats if they’re not renting the property the dock is attached to.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with the tenant that rented the place, nor does it have anything to do with the landlord,” he said.

On the other side of the conversation, there were people like Andy Teig and Denise Dramm. Teig said he works as a critical care paramedic and that he’s not involved with the vacation rental or hotel industries. He added that finances can be challenging for him.

“As you come in here, and as you discuss this and bring high-priced lawyers in here to threaten to sue the community, you’re affecting my taxes,” he said. “I have to pay my taxes on a four-month instillation because I can’t afford to pay the lump fee. So as everyone is discussing their cash windfall and what they have at stake on their first, second or third home, or their income, you think of the critical care paramedic who you need in this community.”

Dramm, a 39-year resident of Lake Placid, said the rise of vacation rentals is hurting the local population.

“We will no longer have a small community with kids in a parade, where local people volunteer for the school board,” she said. “We’re going to have conglomerates of people buying up all the homes so there are no homes for the people who work and live here all their lives.”

By the end of the hearing, both Politi and Randall said they felt positive about what people had to say. However, Randall said he was disappointed that the effect of short-term rentals on affordable housing was scarcely addressed.

“While everybody talked about the positive impacts that there are in terms of economic activity and creating revenue for local businesses,” he said, “Nothing at all was said hardly about the plight of our local families, who are working class families, that cannot find housing here. I’m actually disturbed that there was less representation from that part of our community because I know they’re out there, and I know for many of them it’s a hopeless situation.”

At this point, Politi said the two boards will meet and discuss the public comments. If substantial changes are made to the proposal, it would call for another public hearing.

“I think you’re going to see a law in effect in 2019,” he said.