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Red Hook considering short-term rental regulations

Nov 18, 2021 12:04 am

Cloey Callahan reports in the Times Union that the town of Red Hook in Dutchess County is the latest local municipality to regulate short-term rentals that are partially to blame for skyrocketing local rents and housing prices. For years, local officials say the Hudson Valley needs more hotel rooms for visitors. That's led to more homeowners converting spaces to short-term rentals, which leads to fewer spaces for people to live full-time. Plus, some counties such as Greene, have lost buildings in the past ten years. And while the housing supply gets smaller, the demand has increased, with more people moving into the area looking for a place to live. Towns and villages could build affordable housing to help, but few are, so regulating short-term rentals has happened in Hudson, the village of Catskill, Woodstock, and other towns and villages. The proposed Red Hook law would require short-term rentals to register with the town for a permit to operate. While Woodstock capped the number of similar permits, Red Hook's proposal would not. But they are limiting permits to homeowners who use their home as their primary residence. And they are limiting the permits to four bedrooms in residential districts, and eight bedrooms in rural districts. Robert McKeon, Red Hook’s Town Supervisor, explained that the town is less concerned with skyrocketing rents, and more interested in stopping nuisance short-term rentals. “We want to be mindful of the fact that if there is someone operating a short-term rental on the block, that we have the obligation to ensure for the other houses, there is not a negative impact on them,” said McKeon. Red Hook will hold a public hearing at 7:35 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Town Hall on the short-term rental proposal. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

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