A skier carves fresh powder in January 2019 at Whiteface Mountain Ski Center in Wilmington. Whiteface is a reason many vacationers come to Wilmington. (Photo provided by ORDA/Whiteface)

WILMINGTON — The town of Wilmington is exploring the possibility of altering its land use code to regulate short-term rentals.

On Tuesday, the Wilmington town board is expected to be presented with possible land-use code modifications that would require short-term rental owners to register their properties with the town, and may require biannual inspections, according to town Supervisor Roy Holzer.

Holzer said short-term rental regulations in Wilmington won’t be “as restrictive as Lake Placid’s,” in part because while Lake Placid has a wealth of hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts and hostels, Wilmington has far fewer accommodations for visitors looking to stay there. He said as of now, short-term rentals are helping grow the town’s tax base.

There were 131 active short-term vacation rentals with Wilmington addresses listed on Airbnb and Homeaway as of Thursday, according to AirDNA, a website that aggregates online rental data. There were 679 active rentals listed in Lake Placid.

But Holzer said that while the town has seen some benefits of the industry, certain protections need to be put in place.

“We want to have protections in place for our neighborhoods,” he said.

More details on the proposed land use code modifications are expected to come at the town board’s Jan. 14 meeting.