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An STR law that works — so far

Saranac Lake’s law regulating short-term vacation rentals is working. That’s one of many reasons why the village board must take great care as it moves forward with revisions to its STR law in the coming weeks.

As the growth of the vacation rental market in neighboring communities exacerbates the affordable housing crunch, it’s clear that the village’s regulations — paired with its moratorium on new permits — are having the desired chilling effect on the market’s growth here. The number of vacation rental units remains below neighboring communities, accounting for a slim 4% of the total housing stock in the village. Last month, village Community Development Director Katrina Glynn also told the Enterprise that she has received calls from realtors representing clients looking to buy homes in Saranac Lake to rent as STRs, but after she told them about the law’s residency requirement, they’ve told her that their clients aren’t interested anymore.

Simply put: The law is, for the most part, working as intended.

In Section 2 of the village’s STR law, the village was clear on its intent:

“A. Balance the needs and rights of all residents; B. Protect residents from external forces affecting housing access and affordability; C. Provide stability and a high quality of life for Village residents; D. Provide Village residents with the opportunity to benefit from tourism; E. Provide great benefit to the community when operated appropriately by Village residents.”

As the cost of living and the price of owning a home continues to skyrocket, it makes sense that property owners would decide to convert rooms or apartments into STRs to make ends meet. The village’s law takes that into consideration; for that, the village deserves credit.

But with the village board planning to resume discussion on its law regulating short-term vacation rentals in a few weeks, we hope the board will keep in mind two things:

One, the original intent of the law. This law is just one piece of a broad web of efforts that must combine to make real headway on the affordable housing issue.

Two, imposing a strict cap on new STR permits is absolutely necessary. Any pathway for exemptions to the cap should outline a clear set of criteria that applicants must meet to be granted one.

The village board has a lot of work ahead. As always, we hope that at the end of it all, the village has a better law than the one it started with and one that still aligns with the original law’s intent.

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