Red Bank Borough Hall. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Fifteen months after Red Bank’s council all but banned residents from renting out their own homes through services like Airbnb, a new administration is poised to allow the practice on a wider basis once again.
An ordinance slated for introduction Thursday would expand the zones in which such rentals are permitted to include strictly residential zones.
The controversial February 2023 ordinance had limited the rentals to mixed use zones, squashing the practice nearly entirely.
As under the current law, the proposed ordinance limits the practice to homeowners seeking to rent out their primary residence. The new ordinance would also allow residents to rent out a room in their home.
The owner of this home on Oakland Street had argued against the Airbnb clamp down last year.(Photo by John Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Investors or absentee owners would still not be allowed to rent their apartments, condos or houses on a short term basis.
The current ordinance passed despite howls from some residents who said periodically renting their own homes via Airbnb and similar services had been an economic life saver.
And Representatives of the New Jersey and Monmouth County Realtors organizations argued that by enacting the law, the town would be setting itself up for a possible lawsuit based on unequal treatment of homeowners, depending solely upon the zones in which they live.
But supporters argued the law would help ensure residents don’t end up living next door to houses serving a continual stream of “transients” and erode community by encouraging absentee investors to buy up properties to rent them. Neighbors of some short term rentals owned by absentee landlords complained of groups renting homes and causing disturbances.
At the time, Mayor Billy Portman and Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano had expressed support for more measured restrictions, but were outnumbered by a group of rival Democrats who supported the stricter ban. That slate was swept out of office last November by a group led by Portman.
The mayor said Tuesday he thinks the changes will strike a better balance between the competing concerns.
Aside from established zoning rules, Portman said “I have a hard time telling people what they can do with their own homes.”
The ordinance is on the agenda for council meeting Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at Borough Hall, 90 Monmouth Street. The meeting can also be attended virtually via zoom. A full agenda can be found here.
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