SARANAC LAKE — As the village continues implementing its new short-term vacation rental law, it has another round of four preexisting STRs to grandfather in at a Development Board meeting on Tuesday.
The village received 78 preexisting STR applications, according to Community Development Administrative Assistant Cassandra Van Cott, finally giving the village a more accurate count of how many exist in Saranac Lake. This is on the low end of what village officials were expecting based on summer data.
This will be the base number of STRs allowed in the village, at least until a moratorium on the issuance of any new STR permits is lifted. This moratorium is set to last until December 2024, but it can be extended or shortened, depending on how long the grandfathering process takes.
After this moratorium ends, the village could choose to approve more permits.
Van Cott said anyone who has not submitted an application by now should not be renting out their property as an STR. Otherwise, they would be in violation of the village law and subject to fines — $500 per day of violation. She said she has not yet been given methods to seek infringing STRs out.
Village Mayor Jimmy Williams said enforcement is a “tough question” right now.
“I think we will get people permitted and then start to focus on enforcement,” Williams said.
He said the village needs to find an effective system for discovering violations and issuing fines. The village could fine violators now, he said, but is focusing more on getting permits done.
The village is preparing to cap the total number of STRs authorized to operate in Saranac Lake. As a measure to protect those who are already operating them, it created a process to grandfather in all existing units, guaranteeing permits to all owners of preexisting STRs.
The deadline to apply for these permits was Oct. 12.
Otherwise, these units will be deemed illegal and subject to $500-per-day fines if they continue to operate past the Oct. 12 application deadline. To become legal, they’d have to get in line and be subject to things like village residency requirements, which units that are grandfathered in are exempt from.
Earlier in October, village board members were surprised that with the application window closing, they had only received 20 preexisting STR applications — around a quarter of what they were expecting. They started a new push to urge current STR owners to submit their applications for grandfathered permits, and Van Cott said that worked.
The village now has 78 applications to approve. It has OKed three already and has four more on the docket this week. The board is starting to chip away at them, but this process could take a while.
These special use permits are guaranteed to preexisting STR applicants under the new STR law, but based on public comment, the development board can set some conditions on the permits.
The village Development Board approved the first three preexisting short-term vacation rental permits in early October. It was a quick meeting, with the little public comment all being positive and in support of the STR permits.
All were adopted unanimously with universal conditions set by village staff.
All preexisting STR permits come with these conditions:
¯ STR owners must provide the village with a site plan with clarification of parking spaces.
¯ Applicants must separately apply for an STR permit.
¯ Camping is prohibited.
¯ The STR permit, emergency contact numbers and a copy of the village “house rules” must be displayed in the unit.
¯ Renters must comply with noise regulations, maximum occupancy limits and parking locations.
¯ Rental arbitrage — also known as subletting, or the practice of renting out a long-term rental on a short-term basis — is prohibited.
¯ The unit owner is responsible for garbage removal and must comply with signage requirements.
These STR owners will all still have to apply for an STR permit later.
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Tuesday’s meeting
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There are four preexisting STR permit applications before the board on Tuesday.
The first application was submitted by Ricardo de los Reyes at 27 Keene St.
The next is for ADK Saranac, LLC at 36 Dorsey St. Franklin County tax records show this property is owned by Linda Chmielewski.
Another is for Felicia Spence at 498 Forest Hill Ave.
The final application is for Cheryl Braunstein at 254 Kiwassa Road.
The Development Board will meet at 5 p.m. Nov. 7, Election Day, at the village board room on the second floor of the Harriestown Town Hall.
The hearing can also be attended over Zoom by going to tinyurl.com/t8mjv7kw or using the meeting ID 843 1243 1203 and passcode 0186728.
“Given the number of applicants this month that aren’t going to be traveling the many miles to get here in person, we’re utilizing that hybrid option,” Van Cott said.
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The grandfather process
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The volunteer-led development board meets once a month and plans to tackle a handful of these applications at each meeting. They’ve anticipated it might take more than a year to work through the backlog of grandfathered applications.
How long each individual hearing takes could vary drastically depending on how many members of the public show up for them. If no one comes to talk about a rental, it could be a short process. If numerous neighbors show up to lodge complaints, it could take longer.
The purpose of these hearings is to set conditions on permits if needed. These conditions must tie back to the development code. Things like dog and noise complaints are not relevant to the board’s abilities. These are issues that are to be handled by other agencies, like the police or code enforcement officers. What can be discussed includes parking, lighting, trash, landscaping, screening, utilities, property line setbacks, character of neighborhood and impact on neighbors.
Before each hearing, the village is supposed to provide letters for STR owners to distribute to neighboring property owners within 200 feet of their property line. Neighboring renters do not get these letters, but they can ask landlords to post them in rental units for tenants to see.
Preexisting STRs can continue to operate before the owners get a grandfathered permit. Owners of preexisting STRs are still required to follow all safety and good neighbor rules in the law, but are exempt from things like residency requirements for future STR owners.
Owners of preexisting STRs will first need to file for a special use permit. These permits are guaranteed to be approved, with potential conditions set by the development board. After an application is approved, applicants will still have to fill out the regular STR permit paperwork all STR operators are now required to submit. This will include a lot of similar information.
STR owners will need to provide proof that their rental was operating between Jan. 31, 2022 and Jan. 31, 2023. This could include copies of occupancy tax payments or a dated screen shot of a listing on an advertising platform. They must also provide their Franklin or Essex County certificate of authority to collect occupancy taxes.
When completed, applications can be emailed to comdevassist1@saranaclakeny.gov or dropped off in person at the village office.
There will be fees for obtaining an STR permit, with sharply increasing rates for larger and larger operations — ranging from $25 to $1,600.
