West Nipissing council has passed a new by-law to govern how people can operate short term rentals within the municipality. The law passed by just one vote. A petition was brought to council to ask them to postpone the vote, which council received, before deciding to enact the by-law as written.
“We’re not giving up,” Roch Pellerin told BayToday. Pellerin traversed the municipality last week collecting signatures for the petition. In total, about 850 people signed, which Pellerin thought would be enough for council to reconsider.
“I had a lot of messages” after the by-law passed, Pellerin said, “asking me not to give up, that we’ll get through it if we keep fighting” to re-evaluate the by-law, which is now in effect. The document can be read on the municipality's website.
See: Petition calls to pause ‘overly restrictive’ West Nipissing rental by-law
Specifically, Pellerin, who operates a short term rental himself, wants more public consultation regarding what goes into the by-law. The municipality did hold a public consultation in the fall and hosted a survey on its website to gather feedback from residents.
“Not everybody checks the municipal website,” Pellerin clarified, and he felt that by the time many people knew about the by-law, it was already too late to add their two cents. He also noted that one councillor was absent for the vote, and he felt that a full roster should have been at the table.
Ward 8 Councillor Jerome Courchesne supported holding off on the vote until September, to see how things went over the summer rental season. Afterward, council and municipal staff could talk to residents about the by-law. “I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls,” and messages from residents, he said, “with a lot of opinions and information.”
He suggested 2024 act as “a transition year” allowing council to receive “more feedback from residents” before finalizing the short term rental by-law. Courchesne also noted that many rentals are booked throughout the summer, and if renters fail to comply with the by-law, or are unable to get an operating licence, they may have to pay penalties for cancellations, if operating through a third-party booking site like Airbnb or Vrbo.
“If I follow my gut feeling on this,” he added, “I wouldn’t be prepared to vote tonight.”
A motion to defer to September was put on the table but did not pass. One vote made the difference.
See: West Nipissing close to passing short term rental by-law
“I think we’ve done enough,” as far as community consultation goes, noted Councillor Jamie Restoule. “We have a sub-committee who took all of the comments that were made” by respondents and he detailed how many discussions were held during council meetings while drafting the by-law.
“This has been going on since 2021,” he added. “We’re going on three years” of planning “it’s time to start moving forward.”
With the by-law passed, Pellerin admitted feeling defeated, and disappointed his petition didn’t cause a bigger wave at council. However, he plans to continue to advocate for short term rental operators and will offer suggestions to council over the coming months regarding revisions to the by-law.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
