Oak Park residents will have two chances Sept. 23 to give input on a proposed ordinance that would regulate and charge homeowners a fee to offer their homes for rent via short-term rental services such as Airbnb and Vrbo.
The village’s Neighborhood Services Division of the Development Customer Services Department will gather public input on the proposed Short-Term Rental Ordinance in virtual meetings on the 23rd, the first taking place between 9 to 11 a.m. and the final taking place from 5 to 7 p.m.
Additionally, a dedicated webpage has been created so residents and rental property owners can review the proposed ordinance as well as post comments. Residents can also email comments about the proposed ordinance to housing@oak-park.us
The proposed ordinance calls for owners of short-term-rental homes and apartments to be licensed by the village and limits occupancy numbers. These rentals are frequently booked for one, two or more nights by business or vacation travelers, but are also booked by people who want to hold parties at the properties.
Specifically, properties would have to be inspected annually and pay a fee for the license. The owners would have to pay a $350 annual fee and show proof of homeowners’ insurance or host protection insurance in the amount of at least $500,000. They would have to confirm the guests’ identification, keep a guest register and purchase village parking passes if parking is not available at the property. They would not be allowed to rent for a period less than 24 hours.
Additionally, maximum occupancy limits would be set, with the following proposed: For one-bedroom units, the maximum number of persons allowed in a dwelling at one time would be three. For two bedroom units, it would be 4 people; for three bedrooms it would be 7; for four bedroom properties, it would be 9; for 5 bedroom properties it would be 11 and for 6 bedroom properties it would be a maximum of 13 people.
The ordinance was submitted to the board in July by Tammie Grossman, Oak Park’s Director of Development Customer Services, who explained that the village has received many complaints about overcrowding, noise, parking issues and cleanliness. She also cited the May 23 incident at an Airbnb on the 600 block of South Lombard Avenue in which approximately 20 gunshots were fired outside a party at an Airbnb rental attended by dozens of people.
Although it is not known how many homes and apartments in Oak Park are available through Airbnb and similar services, village officials suspect it may be increasing.
The Village entered an agreement with Airbnb in 2016 that taxes property owners 4% of the short-term rental cost. In 2017, the village collected $30,131 in taxes from the company. In 2019, that number more than doubled to $79,837, according to Grossman.
“You can see that over the last three years we saw a doubling in taxes that we collected,” Grossman said at a July 19 reading of the ordinance.
According to Trustee James Taglia, that translates to a lot of rentals.
“At $80,000 in 2019, that’s a 4 percent tax, so that’s about $2 million in revenue. It’s a big business in Oak Park because we’re talking about $125 a night, which in 2019 is almost 16,000 nights of lodging,” Taglia said.
Also during the July 19 reading of the ordinance, Trustee Lucia Robinson said that it is important to hear from owners of short-term-rental properties before any ordinance regulating them is enacted. Several other board members agreed.
Trustees Ravi Parakkat and Arti Walker-Peddakotla also asked if short-term rentals might be impacting housing prices in the village, with Walker-Peddakotla saying that the increase of short-term-rental units in the village may be having a similar effect as gentrification.
“There have been a number of studies that have come out in recent years, as Airbnb continues its massive growth, about the fact that the Airbnb effect has been shown to be similar to gentrification. It pushes out long-term low and middle income residents in communities because having an increased number of Airbnbs increases the rental prices of the rest of the rentals in the community and that pushes out residents that can no longer afford to stay in those communities,” Walker-Peddakotla said.
Walker-Peddakotla also urged her fellow council members to increase the tax on short-term rentals, saying that Evanston charges more than 7% while Oak Park is collecting 4%.
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Should Oak Park should restrict Airbnb-type rentals, charge $350 annual fee? Public input set for Sept. 23 - Chicago Tribune
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