Board votes to require off-street parking
The Cold Spring Village Board on Wednesday (Oct. 30) continued its discussion of revisions to laws that regulate short-term rentals such as those booked through Airbnb and VRBO and voted to require all STR owners to provide at least one off-street parking space.
Issues that remain unresolved include the timing of inspections, enforcement, an appeals process, shared driveways and use of accessory buildings. A public hearing will be held once all proposed revisions have been agreed upon by the board.
In other business, the board accepted the lowest of three bids, $9,500 from Downey Energy, to replace the boiler at Village Hall. The village also received bids of $10,200 from Pidala Oil and $19,500 from T. Webber.
Over the past months the village board’s procedures for policymaking have become increasingly opaque and bereft of the public’s opportunity for comment. In fact, we have seen the public comment period go from five minutes, to three minutes, to zero minutes (unless voted on and approved by the board). There is an increasing perception that village voices are being stymied and, in some cases, shouted down. (I will keep the Orwellian quotes at bay, although they are “top of mind.”) Notwithstanding the rancor within the board, which has become more pronounced at recent meetings, policies which represent the village seem to be made based on some board members’ personal positions, “backroom” meetings and ad hoc coalitions, rather than either by the consensus of the board through a vote, and/or public input. Development of a village position on the Fjord Trail is an example of this strange process. While there is an existing policy on STRs in the village, most are in agreement it is too cumbersome and unenforceable. Add to this a perception that rules have been fashioned by an STR committee which may have included members who did not own STRs in the village, but rather who only managed them; perhaps The Current can factcheck this perception and provide some clarity. For the STR process, wouldn’t it be more democratic for the board to objectively present what it sees as the pros and cons of the unresolved issues listed in the article above and solicit public comment, before it… Read more »