---

The Asbury Park City Council will hold a public input meeting to address short term rentals within city limits.

Slated to occur at 7 p.m. June 15 at the Asbury Park Senior Center located at 1201 Springwood Ave, all are welcome to share their thoughts and concerns, officials said.

The second of two such meetings, the governing body has said they are seeking input on how to safely and responsibly regulate short-term rentals, defined as any rental lasting less than 30 days.

 The proposed changes will address properties listed online via websites like Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway, officials said via a written news statement.

The meeting will address the definition of short-term rentals in more detail, current complaints, concerns for the future as it relates to housing and quality of life in Asbury Park, and what regulations the City plans to introduce, officials said.

The changes are intended to make the permitting process simpler and allow the City to more effectively regulate short term rentals and enforce those regulations.

“In changing the ordinance, the City is attempting to address the concerns of residents in the neighborhoods surrounding short term rental properties, while still protecting the ability of property owners to responsibly rent their properties,” the written news statement said. “The new policy would also extend the current “summer rental season” to an annual, year-long period, providing eligible property owners with the ability to short-term rent their property throughout the year, versus just in the summer.”

The Short Term Rental meetings were organized to make the process as transparent as possible, officials said.

To help guide the process and ultimate decisions made, the City Council and City professionals have also met with representatives from AirBnB, members of Asbury Park’s real estate community, and representatives from Asbury Park’s business community, according to the news release. The city officials have also looked at measures introduced by other New Jersey cities to see how other communities have regulated short-term rentals.

Policy changes will not affect summer short-term rentals in 2017 but current guidelines require short term rentals apply for a Summer Rental License.

The process begins at the Department of Code Enforcement, involves fire safety and certificate of occupancy inspections, and a once-per-summer fee of $250.

A full checklist and more information on the Summer Rental License application process is available here.

—————————————————-

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNews newspaper.

---