Like many around the world, I’ve taken advantage of short-term vacation rentals for the same reasons as everyone else — the price, the ability to save money and time cooking your own meals, living amongst local people to experience their culture instead of being in a sterile tourist environment, and especially the benefit of having a house or apartment to yourself where you might have laundry facilities, a private pool, and a garden or terrace for relaxing outside. It’s a wonderful way to spend a vacation and very convenient for families with kids.

That being said, because of the explosion of these types of accommodations popping up in residential neighborhoods in popular tourist towns, there are very good reasons for imposing a modicum of regulation on these properties.

Ms. Shelton’s recent commentary is well taken, but some of her arguments are flawed.

First, the notion that regulating vacation rentals is a violation of the U.S. Constitution is a bit over the top. Our Constitution has been amended many times and has reasonable limitations, interpreted by courts. Some things do need regulation, and sometimes regulations that didn’t exist beforehand become necessary because of changes in the society. I don’t think I have to list examples. Zoning laws are just one example of necessary local regulations in towns and cities.

Second, equating short-term vacation rentals with long-term rental properties is simply apples and oranges. I agree that there are many code violations and other problems with local rental properties, but they should be addressed separately.

Short-term rentals are different. When an individual or family settles into a residential neighborhood that is zoned as such, they expect to live under the conditions of a residentially zoned neighborhood. While in many towns this may allow for certain limited commercial use, by and large “residential” means the dwellings will mostly be occupied by long-term or permanent residents (or long-term rental tenants) who work, go to school, raise families and otherwise “live” there. There is the expectation of a certain sense of security, consistency and community in knowing the people who live in the surrounding dwellings, knowing whose houses your children are frequenting, and knowing that the people in that community are there for the long term. Permanent residents have a stake in the well-being of the neighborhood. This is how most people characterize a residential community. Even if there is a hotel in a zoned residential neighborhood, which does occur, the transient nature of the occupants is understood and limited to that property. A hotel is a hotel, and a home is a home.

The constant turnover of occupants in multiple vacation homes in a single neighborhood significantly alters the nature of what is supposed to be a residential area. When the ratio of vacation homes vs. permanent residents reaches a threshold that affects the “residential” nature of a neighborhood, that makes it no longer a residential location. It takes on the character of a cluster of vacation condos, which few would characterize as a community or neighborhood where they would want to put down roots.

This is precisely the dilemma Lake Placid is facing. Residents say neighborhoods zoned “residential,” where children expect to grow up establishing friendships and knowing their neighbors, and where everyone has a sense of familiarity, continuity and security identified as “home,” have turned into strips of vacation rentals. This fundamentally changes the neighborhood’s character for the permanent families who are left. Residents no longer recognize their home as a community, and it’s not good for kids. They never know who their neighbors will be in any given week. Their neighbors are transients with no stakes in or relationship with the community. This is not to say that all vacation tenants are abusive. Most are not, but it doesn’t change the constant turnover of strangers in your neighbors’ “homes.”

Third, I take issue with Ms. Shelton’s euphemistic term, “home sharing.” Vacation rentals are not “sharing” your home. They are commercial ventures that are advertised on vacation rental websites where paying visitors make a reservation and the property owner makes money (as does the third-party rental website). These are not “guests” that you’re “sharing” your home with. In many cases the owner is not even present, and most purchase the property expressly as a profit-making investment.

Further, vacation rentals price potential permanent residents out of the home-buying market. The market values skyrocket because of the money-making potential of these “homes.” That is not healthy for any community.

Some have brought up the case of individuals who rent out part of their residentially zoned home for economic reasons to “make ends meet.” Why must it be rented out as a transient vacation unit? Why not rent on a one-year-lease basis like a traditional rental property where the tenants will be actual “residents” of the community? I understand there is a shortage of affordable rental housing in these parts. Personally, if my home became unaffordable to me, I’m pretty sure I would sell and downsize before I rented part of it out to “make ends meet.”

As I said in the beginning, I myself take advantage of these types of accommodations when I travel and they are great, especially in more remote rural areas where they have less impact. But their numbers on the map have exponentially multiplied, and I support regulating them, at least in densely populated residential neighborhoods. If a proprietor charges me a little more in order to pay for permits and meet certain standards, I’m confident I’ll still get much more for my money than I would from a conventional hotel room.

There should be standards and reasonable limitations on short-term rentals. How that’s done is a question for residents and officials with more expertise than me, but if we allow unbridled growth of for-profit short-term rental homes in residential neighborhoods, then how do we define “residential” and what is a “neighborhood?”

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Annette Scheuer lives in Saranac Lake.