By Ethan Marshall and John Nugent
The Lake Success Board of Trustees introduced a bill designed to limit transient housing in the village Monday, considering factors like how long a permit and rental term would last and how family would be defined.
The law arose from a proliferation of what is known as Airbnb rentals, which allow homeowners to rent rooms in their house to travelers, sparking concern among residents, village officials said.
“There has been a marked increase in the number of private homeowners offering short-term rentals to non-residents,” Lake Success Village Administrator Patrick Farrell said.
The board came to the agreement that the permits would limit residential rentals to one year. The rental permit must be renewed after one year.
Violations of these permits would result in fines for the homeowner, with the first offense costing $1,000, the second offense $5,000 and the third $10,000. Even if the second fine occurs years after the first, the homeowner would still have to pay $5,000, establishing that there will not be a time limit between offenses.
According to Lake Success Mayor Adam Hoffman, “a [tax] lien will be put on the house if a fine isn’t paid by the date set from a judge.”
Lake Success Village Attorney Andrea Curto said families, no matter how large or extended, will not fall under the category of transient housing residents. “Nannies and housekeepers will not be classified as family,” she said, meaning permits would be required to allow them to live in the family’s home.
Curto added that the Village will require a minimum rental of one year to an outside party and permits “will allow for the inside of houses to be tracked.”
“The Village wants to avoid transients,” Curto said.
The board will vote on whether or not to pass the bills during their next meeting June 18. Another measure that will be considered then would increase building fees from $12,000 to $15,000.
In an unrelated matter, insurance broker, Nicole Salerno presented a proposal to the board for renewal of the Workers’ Compensation policy offered by Perma Insurance Company. The trustees voted to accept a two-year option. The first year will incur a premium of $195,000. A range of $184,000-$208,000, depending on the number of claims submitted, was established for the second year.
Trustees voted to adopt a policy on Realty signage. No signs other than “Open House” with a time and phone number of the realtor will be permitted on the property of a home that is being offered for sale. A public hearing on the matter was scheduled for July 8.
The Village Fitness Center will be adding five new treadmills and one new elliptical trainer. Some of the old equipment will be traded in which will reduce the cost by $700.
Also approved by the board was an expenditure of $2,200 for a new credit card processor at the Lake Success Golf Course. Farrell noted that currently there is no firewall in place, which puts credit card users at risk for attacks by cyber criminals.
An e-mail vote approving cart path repairs and replacement at the golf course in the amount of $10,254 was ratified by the trustees.
