Short Term Rental Debate
Resident Responds to Move On Petition Argument Ahead of 10 a.m Saturday Public Input Meeting At City Hall
Editor, Asbury Park Sun,
Now i don’t have a problem with entrepreneurism but at what cost. I have responded to what is the perceived problem below. I also addressed a solution at the end.
I am in favor of this ordinance until we work out all of the issues of this city to allow investors to find any profit situation that goes against values residents think are important but investors can care less about need to be stopped.
As we see it here are the problems:
- While we understand the city’s need to regulate rentals, no other shore town has restrictions like this and all have managed for 70 years or more to have thriving summer rental communities with happy tenants and happy landlords.
Response: Asbury Park is not just a summer rental town, it’s working to become 12 month substantial livable community and to have blacked out streets during the other eight months of the year won’t create this vision.
- There are only four hotels in town (Empress, Berkeley, Tides, and The Asbury), packed all summer, so there is a need for more short term accommodations.
Response: Yes and there are vacant lots by the shore that if developed would accommodate more summer visitors create jobs for a city that has a section of its population has unemployment rate 28 percent.
- In a town with rapidly rising property taxes, the residents need the ability to rent short term to supplement their income.
Response: With the development of those vacant lots it would increase ratables to decrease taxes so the fight with taxes should be with iStar who are sitting on ratable lots that can be developed them to decrease taxes.
- The huge increase in beach badge revenue and parking fees are all a result of short term visitors. If we don’t provide accommodations, the city would be encouraging day trippers, which is worse for the town than weekly visitors.
Response: Asbury is just not a beach town and sustainability needs more than beach revenue with short term rental do not create that revenue for jobs and families with child living in this local community and attending our local schools.
- We believe in a free market economy – we are not Russia, yet.
Response: Yes the truth free market? Profits over People and residents. Residents that live in Asbury set the tone for Asbury Park. When the town was broke 15 years ago, and there were no profits to be made, people lived here because of the community. Now when the city has come around and there are profits to be made, investors come out of the woodwork with no compassion to better the quality of life but reap benefits.
- The city alleges that residents have expectations of “residential only” when many of us live on mixed use streets. My own private residence, where I pay $20,000 in annual property taxes, is seven doors down from a hotel [The Tides].
Response: There are four hotels. Buying another residential house to rent out as a for profit investment property is doing the same thing; creating a business, a hotel without a license. Give me a break.
- The city is making some claim about a dearth of affordable housing. We support the creation of more as fair minded citizens. But to put that burden on the R1 zoned homeowners is ridiculous. They have allowed the developers to build whatever they want, how about insisting on some affordable housing instead of $800,000 2 bedroom townhomes.
Response: I have not seen any of these fair minded people out calling for affordable housing city wide and pushing that the city create an ordinance that developers add 20 percent Affordable Housing to their projects. So fair is fair. Short term renters are looking to make a profit just like the developers.
- The city has worked on this for a year in secret, and now, with four days notice, are asking for public input. Many people can’t rearrange their schedule to be at the meeting this Saturday at 10 a.m.
Response: And those that speak for the restrictions had the same amount of time to come out. But one difference is that those who are coming out are residents that are out here everyday trying to fix others issues in the city not just those that benefit their individual pockets.
- These regulations will push people to rent elsewhere on the Jersey shore driving tourism dollars away.
Response: We can be a 12 month city of tourism if residents unite and push iStar and Madison Marquette to renovate the Convention Center in order to attract the tourism all year for the hotels.
- People are not coming here for the good schools, they are here for the beach and the bars, and the restaurants. We can have regulations to protect permanent residents and we do. But to restrict rentals and choke off these opportunities is silly.
Response: We as a town can create jobs 12 months a year, but not with short term renters that are here to create a profit – the privileged few and not the many.
- Our homes are way more affordable than hotel rooms. In July a room at the Berkeley is nearly $300 with taxes. Many of these homes rent for $100/night per room.
Response: These same homes can be rented out to people who live and are calling for affordable housing. Just as property taxes are high so are the rents that hard working residents pay all year; so there are options.
- Any complaints about drunks and noise should be addressed at the business level. Why isn’t the city concerned about bars over serving people? The city doesn’t even have evidence that these complaints have increased because of summer rentals.
Response: If proof is needed go to Cookman Avenue after a Facebook bar crawl. Those are not neighbors trashing Cookman, they are those who don’t live in Asbury Park, using this city as their amusement park and have no regard for quality of life.
- Arguably as homeowners protecting our properties as investments, we vet tenants far more than a hotel. The Asbury, for example, has rooms with 8 bunk beds. Who are they attracting? Whereas, I only rent to people I think will treat my home respectfully, and care for the peace and quiet of my neighbors.
Response: The Key phrase is investment properties. Most of these investment property owners don’t live in Asbury and reap benefits. Their interest is the almighty dollars, there are signs of this all over the city especially the west side. Now properties owners want to use a better stream of income to make their profit with no regard for Asbury Park. We have a few names for this, it’s called Racial Profiling and Gentrification.
Solution:
No we are not in Russia. This is a democracy and all the people’s demands should be met, not the privileged few. We can sit down and work on a fair plan where all the parties involved needs are met or not met equally based on affordable housing throughout the whole city, property tax reduction, more ratable development, and zero tax abatement for profit entities. Honest local homeowner entrepreneurism. If fair minded people want what is best for this community property tax reduction, affordable housing, creating jobs and improving quality of life, then they would be in favor of this discussion until a real plan is completed. A united community doing it together. Fair minded people doing fair minded things.
Tracy Rogers
Springwood Avenue
[This letter represents the opinion of its writer and is not representative of any opinion of the Asbury Park Sun staff. All readers are welcome to submit Letters to the Editor to news@asburyparksun.com for our consideration. For guidelines on letter-writing and submission, click here.]
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