Welcome to a new, weekly column in which a topic of interest, piece of news, relevant opinion, or general request for feedback is presented. We’ll offer the topic du jour and accompanying question, and you have the opportunity to respond with your thoughts.
Simply fill out the form below. A collection of each week’s responses will appear in the following week’s column, along with a new topic for consideration and feedback. Publisher reserves the right to edit responses for clarity and publish online and/or in our print publications.
Let’s hear your thoughts!
This week’s topic is:
Short-Term Vacation Rentals in Downtown Annapolis
Short-Term Vacation Rentals (STVRs), which you probably know as Airbnb or Vrbo rentals, have been a topic of debate among Annapolitans for several years. On one side, some neighboring residents consider them a nuisance to the City’s neighborhoods with reports of disturbing behavior, partying, littering, and other offenses made by the anonymous vacationers. On the other side, residents see them as a viable source of income for both the homeowners that rent them out and the City of Annapolis.
Last year, the City passed SRTV legislation that qualified and specified the licensing for establishing and maintaining an SRTV within City limits. Proponents of SRTV believe that this legislation, alone, is working well and no further legislation is required. But others disagree.
Earlier this month, the Annapolis City Council Alderwoman Elly Tierney introduced a bill that would make non-owner-occupied STRVs a non-conforming use in several conservation residence districts. Property owners seeking a new permit to rent out their property or to transfer a permit would be required to file an application for a special exception with the Planning and Zoning Department and be reviewed by the Board of Appeals. Existing permit holders in those zones would be exempt from doing so.
What do you think and why? Please share your feedback in the form here:
To learn more about the issue, we invite you to read on. Pros and cons of SRTVs in the City of Annapolis are offered by several longtime residents, including Gary Jobson, who serves as the Chairman of the Executive Committee for Visit Annapolis& Anne Arundel County, who wrote the following piece for What’s Up? Annapolis, last year. A response from reader Susan Margulies, co-admin of Facebook group Support Annapolis STVR, follows Jobson’s remarks.
Are short term rentals good for Annapolis?
By Gary Jobson
Short term rentals are amazingly popular across the United States. In the past year I have rented an apartment for three weeks during a series of sailing regattas in New England and rented another place on a golf course for a four-day outing in North Carolina. The rentals were easy to book on the Internet, both places were clean, and they delivered on my expectations. It seemed like a fair exchange. When I mentioned my experiences to a group of friends recently, I learned there is another side to the short term rental (STR) story that is not good for local residents or municipalities. I heard enough noise to spend some time doing research to understand the issues. Allowing short term rentals has benefits for owners and renters but there are a series of problems that must be addressed to ensure fairness for all stakeholders. It is a tricky balance.
The Internet certainly has made it easy to book rooms for short stays. The rise of services including; Airbnb, Windu, VRBO, HomeAway, and many other providers has been extraordinary in recent years. A golden opportunity for entrepreneurs has opened up thanks to the short term rental explosion. The growth has helped many owners to rent individual rooms in their homes, or make use of unused properties. Apparently, there is enough revenue that people are buying up properties with the single purpose of short term rentals. But, while this is a boom for some, there are resulting problems for others.
The downsides to the short term rental story are many. According to several locals I spoke with, neighborhoods within Annapolis city limits are being hurt by too many of these units. For locals, there is unwanted noise by too many renters piling into a unit, extra cars taking up valuable parking spaces, increased trash, barking dogs, and lack of upkeep. Even worse, whole streets are being taken over by STR leaving the remaining residents living in a vacant neighborhood. Homeowners find the value of their homes dropping when a STR is set up next door. A few streets in the historic district have been overwhelmed. Apparently, some of the rental units are owned by out-of-state people. A bill passed by the Annapolis City Council in January 2020 requires owners to file for a Short-term Rental Operating License Permit. The application is a simple one page form. It states that out-of-town owners must “employ a local property manager who has a primary residence or office at a physical location in the city, and is available by telephone at all times in case of an emergency, safety, public health, or police concern.”
Short term rentals are not a new phenomenon in Annapolis. The annual U.S Sailboat Show and the U.S. Naval Academy graduation week always attract out-of-town visitors. Several houses on our street are rented out for one or both of these annual events. And, yes, the parking becomes a problem and sometimes noise extends well in to the night, but those of us still living here tolerate the visitors in the spirit of welcoming people to our town. I have mildly suggested to some of our neighbors that they should share the rental proceeds with the rest of us who have to put up with the challenges. To date, no one has made any offers, but it is a nice fantasy don’t you think?
I serve on the Board of Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County (VAAAC). The short term rental has been an important topic for our many hotels in the area. Hotels charge their guests taxes and extra fees that are distributed to the municipality and other groups including 3 percent of the room tax to Arts Council of Anne Arundel County and 17 percent of the room tax to VAAAC. These funds are used to promote the city and county to visitors outside of our area. In fairness to hotels, guest houses, and bed & breakfast inns, the short term rentals should be collecting the same taxes. This requirement is now in practice. Fairness is important for all parties. There needs to be a level playing field. Hotels and smaller inns often offer room service, keep a front desk attendant available, include housekeeping, and provide safety items. Few, if any, of these services are offered at a STR. Short term rentals also need to be sure they have adequate insurance coverage when unattended guests are staying on their properties. The City of Annapolis requires that smoke alarms be installed on each ceiling or wall outside of each sleeping area.
The pro and con arguments about short term rentals can get heated. It is not an easy issue to grapple with. The City of Annapolis needs to monitor the growth and use of short term rentals so they are operated safely and in a way that is fair to the neighborhood.
Response
Dear What’s Up? Magazine,
I recently read Gary Jobson's article entitled "Are short term rentals good for Annapolis?" I plunged in with great interest, but was ultimately disappointed by the lack of research in his "Not in My Backyard" piece, and frankly appalled by his notion that Boat Show/Commissioning Week guests are so invasive and unwelcome that hosts should actually compensate stay-at-home neighbors "forced to endure their presence."
Those of us who live in the Historic District of Annapolis live in tightly-packed densely-concentrated neighborhoods, and we don't get to choose our neighbors. I live just off of Main Street. I love the hustle-and-bustle and cheerful hum of activity. I live near permanent residents, long and short-term rentals, and homes that are permanently vacant because the owners just have so many shiny copper pennies that they have probably forgotten that they own a home here at all. That's Annapolis. And in particular, that's the Historic District.
While researching his article, I wish that Mr. Jobson would have spoken to the many people that have walked away from home sharing because of the unnecessary and over-reaching short-term license requirements passed by Annapolis in January 2020.
I wish that Mr. Jobson would have spoken to the many people who previously hosted Airbnb guests in their spare rooms on the weekends, but have now permanently delisted from Airbnb because they don't want to undergo the cumbersome top-to-bottom home inspection requirement buried within the license.
I wish that Mr. Jobson would have spoken to older retired couples who had relied on Airbnb in the past to offset costly family vacations that fell on non-Boat Show/non-Commissioning Week weekends. In the past, those couples may have offered their own home for a handful of weeks per year, but these retired couples have walked away from home sharing because they are unwilling to obtain the redundant Maryland State Sales/Use Tax ID buried within the license (remember that Airbnb collects and remits the newly passed 7% hotel tax automatically on behalf of hosts, no action required, no Sales/Use Tax ID needed). These retired couples recognize harassment legislation when they see it, and I wish that Mr. Jobson would have spoken to them.
Finally, I wish that Mr. Jobson would have looked at the true condition of short-term rental properties in Annapolis. They are pristine and inviting, from their flowering multi-colored pots to their ribboned May Day baskets. Those properties are publicly reviewed every single weekend by guests as discerning and demanding as Mr. Jobson himself, and they are as near to picture-perfect as any 5-star Airbnb can be.
Of course, there are badly managed short-term rentals, in the same way that there are neighbors who act as though the city ought to be the country. But in a densely-packed city, there are existing laws to handle neighbor-on-neighbor conflicts, such as noise regulations, garbage requirements and parking tickets.
I disagree with Mr. Jobson. I stand with the 99.9 percent of well-managed short-term rentals in Annapolis. I stand with the parents of midshipman that come and visit our town, and I stand with the tourists that patronize our museums and restaurants.
Susan Margulies co-Admin of Facebook group Support Annapolis STVR
