Following the lead of Planning Commission, Milford City Council approved a request from Central Sussex LLC to establish a short-term rental above a commercial business at 116 North Washington Street. The applicant plans to convert a second story apartment into an AirBnB or VRBO rental.
“We purchased this property in 2020 as a new construction that was completed,” Hunter Emory, owner of the property, said. “We have a commercial unit downstairs that houses a facial spa with a lot of business that comes in and out. In the back, we have parking and we have a long-term rental unit upstairs. We see this as an opportunity to bring folks into downtown Milford that may not have been here in the past. We don’t have a lot of hotels in downtown Milford and now with DE Turf there is lots of opportunity to introduce people to Milford.”
Emory felt that people who came for games at DE Turf might decide they enjoyed downtown and decide to come back. He also felt a benefit was off-street parking behind the unit and they can restrict the number of people who rent through the apps they use. Currently, only four people are permitted in the location, and he expects only one vehicle which has a designated space. Councilman Dan Marabello asked if Emory owned the spa and he said he did not, that it was leased to a tenant. Marabello asked who managed the salon and if they paid rent to which Emory replied they did. Emory confirmed he would be managing the rental.
“My understanding is that it does not have to have a special permit,” Emory said when Marabello asked if it did. “We are going to purchase the $50 permit through town that is required. It’s kind of a weird way it is set up. It feels like it is not a hotel, but I guess the way our policy in the town is written, it falls under the purview of the hotel situation, but it is not at all like that.”
Marabello asked if there was a minimum time for someone to rent the short-term rental.
“We actually can subject them to that, we can do that, so a minimum of one night, of course, but we can add more, depending on the season, maybe two nights,” Emory said. “We’ve also seen situations before that can extend it out from there just in general. With AirBnB, you can get short-term nurses who use that platform. These are in transition, travel nurses, use that platform to find locations, so you can actually negotiate for two or three months, maybe even longer.”
There was a public hearing for the request.
“This is actually an appropriate use,” Jennifer Cinnelli Miller said. “Where it is located makes all the difference. It’s walkable. It’s bikeable. It’s within city limits. The owner has done his due diligence and put in parking which is a big concern downtown as everyone knows. I speak in favor of this request.”
Cliff Mumford agreed with Cinnelli Miller.
“This is a great location for an AirBnB here in Milford,” Mumford said. “It’s really close to downtown. They can go play pickleball. They can enjoy the Riverwalk. And as Hunter said, there’s a lot of families who came to the Turf who need a place to stay. When you are at the Turf, you have easy access to the beach as well, so hopefully this will be a bonus for Milford.”
Julie Morris did not speak in opposition, but instead raised concerns.
“Maybe I should not be in the against category, but I like this area for this project, it can make sense in some commercially zoned properties, but we need to really be realistic about what this ordinance is about,” Morris said. “I really am bothered by the mention of traveling nurses and other temporary professions because they are not ever going to locate your AirBnB unless you plan on putting it on other platforms through their employers because that’s how they find their housing.”
Morris continued.
“You know this kind of short-term rental is going to be the general public,” Morris said. “It might attract some tourists, weekend visitors, possibly people coming in town to drink, celebrate and party. Noise, police, problems, lots of times. Just like why Dewy has lots of additional regulations going in because of this kind of thing. I’m not saying this is, but when you say traveling nurses, as if that’s who this is going to bring, that’s absurd.”
One of the biggest problems Morris had with the short-term rentals was the underlying code as they are not permitted in C2, so staff is using provisions that are similar to those for hotels and motels.
“If Milford believes short-term rental belong in the commercial districts, then put that in the ordinance and regulate them as short-term rentals,” Morris said. “Establish rules for occupancy, parking, noise, local contacts, enforcement, noise complaints, instead of trying to squeeze them into the hotel and motel category one application at a time. I just don’t think you should make this kind of precedence.”
Councilwoman Nina Pletcher asked if there was handicap access since it was the second floor and Emory replied there was not. In most cases, short-term rental applications like AirBnB or VRBO note that a rental is on the second floor without handicap access. Councilman Dan Marabello asked Chief Cecilia Ashe if there was a concern about possible noise complaints and she responded no.
“I just wanted to say that as far as providers, nurses, educators, I think this is a wonderful draw for them,” Councilwoman Katrina Wilson who retired after decades working for Nemours, said. “I worked in the medical field for 40 years and I used to have to try to find extended stay for some of our doctors. It happens all the time and this would have been another option for them.”
Pletcher also agreed that this was beneficial.
“I’ve been to the spa downstairs, and it is fabulous,” Pletcher said. “The building is in great shape. No, seriously, I mean it’s well maintained. Parking has never been an issue. I’ve never parked out back. I always park on the street. But, nevertheless, it’s a fabulous asset to that street. I’m going there.”
Councilwoman Nadia Zychal made a motion to approve the request and Pletcher seconded. Marabello voted yes as he did not think there was a problem with this one unit and he felt Emory would have hands on to oversee it. Councilwoman Madula Kalesis also voted yes as she felt it would add to the city.
“I vote yes,” Zychal said. “It is a well-considered plan that will fulfill a need but moving forward I do think it should be considered that Rob might come up with an ordinance that does specifically address short-term rentals.”
Councilman Danny Perez also voted yes stating he felt it was a wonderful asset to downtown.
“I vote yes,” Councilman Jason James said. “Not only for all the other reasons stated by Mr. Emory, but it would also make available overnight stays on a short-term basis for those who want to visit all the activities we have downtown, The Riverwalk Freedom Festival, the Bug and Bud Festival, all the other things we do.”
Wilson also voted yes stating that the city needed more short-term and extended housing. The motion passed seven to zero.
