Last Night's Council Meeting: Part 3

The proposed law to regulate short term rentals may have been what drew most of the sixty-four people who attended last night's Council meeting, but very little attention was actually paid to it. The latest version of the law had been posted on the City of Hudson website earlier in the day. The only change to the law had been defining the amortization period as one year and outlining the process for seeking a variance to continue operations for up to three years. 

Alderman Rebecca Wolff (First Ward) requested one small change. In paragraph 4 (a), in the phase "substantial investments to improve the property necessary to use it as a short-term rental," she wanted the word necessary to be changed to unique. Her reason was that the substantial investment had to be specific to short term rental and could not be applied to long term rental. The Council passed the motion to amend the law in this way.

Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) asked why the Zoning Board of Appeals had been identified as the adjudicating body and not the Common Council. Jeff Baker, counsel to the Council, told her, "It would be very unusual for the Council to decide." Garriga persisted, "That wasn't agreed on or voted on."

Alderman Jane Trombley (First Ward) expressed the opinion that "the law as written is flawed." Nevertheless, the law was placed on the aldermen's desks.

The next steps are to send the law to the city and county planning boards for a recommendation and to hold a public hearing. It was pointed out that if the county planning board disapproves, it would require a super majority for the Council to override the objection and vote to enact the law. A public hearing on the law was scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, the same night as the Council's informal meeting in October. It was determined that the law was a Type I action under SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act), and the Council passed a resolution declaring itself lead agency.

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