On Tuesday, August 18, the City of Milford Planning Commission approved a request for Central Sussex LLC to allow a short-term rental on the second floor of 116 North Walnut Street. The building has commercial properties on the first floor.
“The applicant is proposing to utilize the second-floor apartment as a traditional rental apartment unit or a short-term rental,” City Planner Rob Pierce said. “Short-term rental is not specifically listed under the C2 district; however, the zoning code does state motels and hotels may be permitted subject to receiving a conditional use permit from City Council.”
The building owner, Hunter Emory provided details to the commission as to why he wanted to turn the apartment into a short-term rental.
“We found a viable opportunity o use it as an AirBnB moving forward and I think that would be a big benefit for downtown as well, with the DE Turf facilities in the community,” Emory said. “There is a. need for AirBnB space in Milford and we see this as an opportunity to drive business downtown. In addition to the business, we have beneath, we have a small facial business rented downstairs and we think this would be a great option for someone to come and stay, get a facial while they’re there.”
Emory continued, stating that this would be beneficial to restaurants downtown as people would walk to local places. The building had off-street parking so it would not congest other parking lots in town. Commissioner Shelby DiCostanzo asked if Emory had or planned to get a business license if this was approved and he stated that he did plan to get one. When asked about how much parking was available, Emory responded there was plenty.
“We technically have four spaces back there,” Emory said. “We actually just added some rock off the back end to make the lot larger than just blacktop.”
Commissioner Mark Redden questioned whether it was beneficial to use this location as a short-term rental.
“I happen to own several rentals not far from this and I have found I can rent them in about 30 seconds,” Redden said. “There is a huge demand for living space downtown. I’m assuming that AirBnB is better for you as the landlord, higher rents and whatnot, but how do you feel this is an advantage to the town to take housing stock out and replace it with motel space basically?”
Emory pointed out that from an economic standpoint, there is an advantage to downtown as they would bring in new people who may be experiencing Milford for the first time.
“These are people who may have taken their business to Dover, to the beaches or other places,” Emory said. “This is an opportunity for Milford and our shop owners, our small businesses, our restaurants to get fresh perspective and bring new folks to Milford who may never have been before. The hotel situation in Milford is that they are often booked so there is no space available.”
When asked if he was tracking the loss of long-term rentals due to the growth of short-term rentals and Pierce stated there had not been that many requested, so he did not feel it was an issue. Commissioners felt that it was important to keep an eye on it as it could get out of control.
“I would state that this request is similar to another we received recently where they would like flexibility to do either one, rent short- or long-term, so they’re not totally giving up renting it as an apartment,” Pierce said “I think that was similar to what was approved above Penny Square.”
There was a public hearing on the request.
“I’m curious to know from the solicitor if Chapter 230 expressly defines short-term rental as not being commercial lodging, what section of Chapter 230 authorizes the staff to classify that same use as a hotel and motel in C2,” Julie Morris, who gave an address on Cedar Beach Road, said. “The applicant, you know, told us tonight that it’s already an apartment upstairs. So maybe Milford does need AirBnB space. But if that’s true, then I would think that that’s a policy discussion, not just happening one property at a time through these individual conditional use applications. Because once you approve this, the obvious question then becomes: Are you prepared to approve this for everybody who wants this, who’s not Hunter Emery?”
Morris continued, asking if a different owner came in the following month with an apartment over a business, would the commission have a basis to deny that request.
“What do you tell Milford residents who own properties elsewhere and would also like to earn income through short-term rentals? The rules should not depend on who the applicant is, who they know, how long they’ve done business in Milford, or whether their particular project sounds beneficial to downtown,” Morris said. “The standard needs to be clear and equally available to everyone, and I’m also very concerned that we are using conditional use process to effectively create short-term rental policy without first addressing larger consequences. And if Milford is going to encourage AirBnBs, then where should they be permitted?”
During the presentation by Emory, there was no comment from commissioners that they were willing to approve because Emory is a businessman in town. Over the past year or more, several short-term rentals have been approved in Milford including several over Penny Square and one behind the Jesus Love Temple that were not owned by Emory.
“There should there be limits on how many operate in one neighborhood? Should the owner be required to live on the site? How will complaints be held? The noise, the occupancy, the trash, and the parking. Will there be inspections? Will there be a local contact requirement? Are we comfortable with traditional apartments being converted into these transient lodging when Milford is also dealing with the housing affordability,” Morris continued. “Those are policy questions that affect the entire city. And when Hunter Emory comes in front of us, you all want to say yes because it’s Hunter Emory, and that’s not fair.”
Jennifer Cinelli Miller spoke in favor of the request from Emory.
“I am in favor of this, not based on it being Hunter, but because of the location and the need for short-term rentals,” Cinelli Miller said. “However, I agree with the previous comment which is please don’t make this continual conditional use approvals. We do need this. We are developing the comprehensive plan in Milford, discuss the policy changes that need to be made to properly address AirBnB, VRBO or whichever short-term rental policies we have. Where those places are going to sit, if they’re going to sit downtown, great. But if you also take into consideration the impacts that it could cause to the HOA communities, should people within the HOA decide what they want to do with those.”
Pierce explained that when they looked at Chapter 230, short-term rentals were discussed and his recollection ass they left them as a conditional use to have some kind of review of those requests as they came in. He explained that short-term rentals are permitted in the R1 zoning district with conditions, but that the planning commission felt that commercial areas should have an additional level of oversight.
DiCostanzo made a motion to approve the request due to the presence of similar uses and that this use would not detract from the permitted uses in the district. She did feel that short-term rental uses should be tracked to determine if a separate code needed to be created. Commissioner Jim Purcell seconded.
“I vote in favor because it is based mostly on the fact that this particular property has the facilities in place to handle the situation and the neighbors do not appear to have a concern since they were notified and they had not complained or come here ot complain to us,” Redden said.”
DiCostanzo and Purcell also both voted yes for the request.
“I’m in favor of the motion based on the criteria found under Chapter 230, but I am in agreement with the other commissioners regarding the need for further tracking and building this into the comprehensive plan,” Commission Chairman Ian Wright said.
The request passed by a vote of four to zero. It will now go to City Council for final approval.
