Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
December 7, 2021
Held in-person at Borough Hall Council Chambers, 416 New Jersey Avenue, Point Pleasant Beach.
Live streamed via https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCflODKbSFakXUEKiyxSYdUA/live
Mayor Kanitra called the regular meeting to order at 7:30PM. The Municipal Clerk read the notice indicating compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act: “Adequate notice of the time and place of this meeting was given under the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act and was posted and sent to the officially designated newspapers in compliance with the law.” Present were Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola and Migut.
FLAG SALUTE, INVOCATION
Councilman Cortes: recognized the 80th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack– his uncle, a 28-year USAF Sr. Master Sergeant, survived it – he heard a lot of first-hand accounts growing up – along with him, a lot of young men and women fought in a war for our freedoms because of – one freedom is speech – fitting that there is a debatable topic on the agenda – all are invited to speak – reminded all to be calm, cool, collected, respectful – it’s the beauty of what we are allowed because of those men and women.
Approval of Minutes:
Motion by Councilman Pasola to approve the November 23, 2021 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilman Migut and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut,….YEA
Councilman Vitale….ABSTAIN
DEPARTMENT HEAD MEMO/DISCUSSION:
Councilman Cortes: addressed the following curb cut requests:
217 Laurel Court – single family home, being elevated, with garage underneath – looking for 10’ cut – house backs up to Freedom Ln. – will lose 1 parking spot – Acting ZO Savacool has no objection –no ordinance mandates the curb cut go out to Freedom Ln., but there is an ordinance that mandates only one curb cut on a property – must ensure they don’t continue to come in off of Freedom Ln, if they put the cut on Laurel (Councilman Pasola: they said they weren’t going to use that one) yes – they said they won’t have access – agrees with Acting ZO Savacool – added as item 2J.
103 Philadelphia Ave. – it’s already done – a large property on the corner on Philadelphia and Ocean – was subdivided into 2 houses – original cut went out to Ocean Ave. – that has been blocked off and a new cement cut with a paver driveway is already out to Philadelphia Ave. – it is 16′, which is what they asked for – Acting ZO Savacool approves – might lose 1 spot on Philadelphia, but it’s next to the corner of Ocean – seemed to be a tight spot – since it’s already up, the 2 lines need to be blackened out – agrees with Acting ZO Savacool’s assessment to approve with no changes, even though it was completed before this meeting – they were notified from the Building Dept. ahead of time (Mayor Kanitra: asked if the Governing Body wants to incentivize people building things and asking for forgiveness afterwards – been a problem going back a couple of years with developers) agrees – there was one on Elizabeth Ave. that was wider than the allotted footage and they were made to repair it – this one meets the 16’ requirement – suggested sending them and the builder a letter reminding them that they have to come ahead of time (Atty. Riordan: sure – asked, if they would have come ahead of time, it would have fit into the usual ordinances for curb cuts, and then approved as a matter of course) correct (Atty. Riordan: that’s a little different than people who come afterwards and they have a 22’ curb; Councilman Pasola: should let them know Council is not happy that they did it before the Council approved it) – added as item 2i.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Kanitra: asked to go first with his report – welcomed all – most here to talk about the Short-term Rental Ordinance – explained it would be at the end of the agenda – will be 2 public participation sessions – first is for agenda items for 1st reading ordinances only, as it’s always been – this ordinance, on for 2nd reading, has its own public participation period; thanked BA/CFO Riehl, DPW, R.T. Davies, Carol Vaccaro and the Chamber of Commerce for the incredible tree lighting ceremony and tree – elves in Town Hall wrapped the packages, put them under the tree and put hooks on all the ornaments – fantastic – a family-friendly type event that is wanted here – his 3-year-old niece help him light the tree and enjoyed the things the Chamber has set up, including Elsa, snow globes and horse and buggy rides – a great night.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Vitale: gave Police Dept. report – started the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over grant period, which runs Dec. 3-Jan. 1 – grant covers officers for 100 enforcement hours; Sat. is the Winter Wonderland. 4PM-8PM at Pleasure Park – invited all – Santa will be coming via firetruck – there will be an ice sculptor, DJ, arts & crafts, snow machine and several food and craft vendors – thanked DPW for wrapping the tree with Christmas lights – weather looks iffy, so the rain date is Sun.; Recreation basketball is underway – practice and games will start in the next few weeks – have about 116 kids registered – Recreation Wrestling will start next year – about 7 volunteer coaches are interested – just need to figure out in what building it would be held; military banners were taken down and being stored at DPW for another week – all who purchased a banner were notified to reach out to DPW Super. Trout to get them back or keep them stored for next year – they are planned to be hung again next Memorial Day; he works hand-in-hand with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency – their job is to understand, manage and reduce risk to Country’s physical and cyber infrastructure – all the work they do is free to municipalities, paid by taxes – he and BA/CFO Riehl met with them – several programs that will be rolled out internally to help to protect us from cyber risk – working on moving PPB website from.org to .gov for more security – hoping roll that out in a few weeks; as a requirement of the insurance fund, he will be providing some cyber security training to Borough employees in the next few weeks.
Councilwoman Testa: Arts Committee will start to meet back at Town Hall – 2nd Mon. of each month at 7PM – looking for new members – don’t have to be an artist – just someone who wants to contribute; Beautification Christmas decorations are up – thanked volunteers – planning for spring flowers – tree lighting was great.
Councilwoman Byrnes: expressed gratitude to the outstanding Fire and First aid Volunteers for their tireless dedication; the Shade Tree Commission (STC) is proud of this year’s accomplishments – 65 new trees have been planted – 30 more were just planted by NJJ DOT at the south traffic island – STC has tremendous gratitude for BA/CFO Riehl for her support – they would also like to recognize CEO Troncone for her prompt attention regarding hazardous trees; the Environmental Commission would like to acknowledge Cathy Sogorka for taking the lead on another successful year of obtaining Sustainable Jersey Bronze Certification; Golden Gulls are having a Holiday Party, 12PM-4PM on Thurs. at the Laurel Ave. firehouse with a wonderful band and food – asking for a $5 donation at the door – all active adults in town are welcome; will recuse herself from the Short-term Rental Ordinance, as she has a conflict.
Councilman Cortes: recognized Dec. employee anniversaries – asked Councilman Vitale to continue this recognition, which he started 9 years ago – Ned Martin 30 years, William Crate 26, Kyle Grace 24, Brian Larrison 24 and Brendan McGovern 3; the Ocean Ave Water Project is moving along – they are down to Niblick St. – be aware of detours; Central Ave. curbs are done from Cooks Ln. to Chicago and moving east.
Councilman Pasola: referenced the Bank Closure Resolution passed by the Ocean County Board of Commissioners – heard from many people that the Ocean First Branch closing on Arnold Ave. will hurt seniors – totally supports this resolution (Mayor Kanitra: did a resolution to support it – are standing with the County – agrees completely – seniors disproportionately use banking centers in person) they are trying to force online banking which many seniors, including himself, have a problem with – is happy the resolution was passed); met with DPW Super. Trout – is extremely happy to hear the amendments to the salary ordinance have already helped – morale is up – numbers are good (Mayor Kanitra: it’s 2.5% over 5 years, mainly for the lowest-level employees – were losing money training employees and losing them to other towns – it might be a wash, financially, and help with retention); had an excellent meeting with FO Martin and CO Thulen – the Dept. is extremely busy due to the new Floodplain Ordinance – people who did not used to need permits now do – have already issued approx. 156 permits just for that – doing an excellent job trying to get caught up – FO Martin is trying get everything straightened out with fire inspections – very impressed – secretaries in that Dept., and all of Borough Hall is working hard – met with Chief Michigan about what a great job the Police Dept. has done the past couple of summers under tough conditions – met with BA/CFO Riehl about many things (Mayor Kanitra: confirmed that he also met with QOL Dir. O’Rourke) yes – good meeting with her (Mayor Kanitra: another committee or 2 wants to meet with him next week: Councilwoman Testa: will be meeting at 5PM tomorrow).
Councilman Migut: the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) October fundraiser was a huge success – thanked all who bought tickets and the local businesses who donated gifts – biggest fundraiser they ever had; will meet with the Parking Authority this week – asked them to send a letter to the Chamber encouraging downtown businesses to utilize the railroad lot for employees, to open up parking downtown (Mayor Kanitra: Councilman Migut is a tireless advocate of the AWC – thanked him for his support of them – good to hear they raised so much money – Last Wave was packed and it was a blast).
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
BA/CFO Riehl: the Central Ave. project started and is on track – picked up a couple of curbs to be done through CDBG at St. Louis, Cooks and Chicago; progress for the Ocean Ave. Water Main project is on schedule – plan to finish in early spring and then the County will do the final restoring pave; AT&T said no to painting the water tanks, so the tower has come down.
The Municipal Clerk announced additions and revision to the agenda.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 7:53PM
(3-minute limit tonight, per ordinance)
Vincent Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: thanked Mayor Kanitra for letting him come forth – is a Navy Veteran – spoke about the 80th Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Attack – gave a brief history – 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 were wounded (Mayor Kanitra: thanked him for his service).
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:00PM
Motion by Councilman Cortes to close public participation and approve the items listed below was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and carried by roll call vote.
CONSENT RESOLUTION 1:
1a Approval of payment of Payroll #24 ($328,952.96)
1b Approval of pymt of Pay Cert 2 to Lafayette Utility Const-Ocean Ave. Water Main ($145,708.26)
1c Approval of payment of hand checks from the W/S Utility, Dog Trust & Collector accounts
1d Approval of payment to Amazon Capital Svcs for 38 sets of lights & Santa mailbox ($2,967.63)
1e Approval of payment to Carl Roller for painting of offices in building dept ($2,262.27)
1f Approval of payment to State of NJ for employee & retiree health benefits ($121,906.70)
1g REMOVED
1h Approval of W/S relief request
1i Approval of payment to BTMUA for November bulk water usage ($52,650)
1j Approval of PO to Noreika Sales for snow blower for DPW ($2,800)
1k Approval of payment to M. Woszczak for water main break repair at 300 Richmond ($8,717.78)
1l Amendment to Resolution 2021-1123/1B – salary adj for C. Glass to add 10/4/21 effective date
1m Approval of purchase order to Burke Environmental for landscaping, public properties ($25,407)
1n Approval of PO to Globe Petroleum for DPW fluids for 2021 ($2,800)
1o Approval of payment to Keystone Plastics for sweeper brooms for DPW ($3,031.80)
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($257,593.18)
2b Resolution proclaiming December 2021 as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month
2c Approval of participation in NJ Safe & Secure Comm Grant Prog/Auth for Mayor to execute grant app
2d Approval of PO to Red Line Fabrication to fabricate/install 36” rollout tray for Fire Co 1 ($5,540)
2e Approval of payment to The Rodgers Group for Dec. consulting services for the PD ($3,325)
2f Approval of payment to All Covered for IT maintenance/support for Nov., including PD ($3,495)
2g Approval of PO to Witmer Assoc. for 34 Megaflow Breather Hoses for Fire Co 2 ($28,110)
2h Amend Res 2021-10192H (Auth to accept OC JIF grant for Police Accreditation Svcs & execute agmt)
2i Approval of 10’ curb cut request at 217 Laurel Court – ADDED PER DH MEMO
2j Approval of 16’ curb cut request at 103 Philadelphia Avenue – ADDED PER DH MEMO
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut (except 2a, 2d, 2g),….YEA
Councilman Migut (2a, 2d, 2g)….ABSTAIN
ORDINANCES:
Ordinance 2021-32A (Amend Salary Ordinance) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing with no member of the public wishing to be heard. Motion by Councilman Migut to close the public hearing and adopt Ordinance 2021-32A was seconded by Councilman Cortes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut,….YEA
Ordinance 2021-32B (Amend Salary Ordinance) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing with no member of the public wishing to be heard. Motion by Councilman Vitale to close the public hearing and adopt Ordinance 2021-32B was seconded by Councilwoman Byrnes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut,….YEA
Ordinance 2021-32C (Amend Salary Ordinance) was considered on second reading. Mayor Kanitra opened the public hearing with no member of the public wishing to be heard. Motion by Councilman Pasola to close the public hearing and adopt Ordinance 2021-32C was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Cortes, Pasola, Migut,….YEA
Ordinance 2021-33 (Combining and Revising Chapters 13 and 27 regulating rentals in the Borough) was considered on second reading.
Councilwoman Byrnes left room at 8:02PM.
Mayor Kanitra: opened the discussion to Council with no one on Council wishing to be heard – thanked all for coming out – have strong opinions – gave his background – a Federal lobbyist – started his own lobbying firm 12 years ago, because he saw how much Government had been corrupted by deep-pocketed interests and campaign donations – his firm does not dole out campaign contributions, but gives a voice to groups previously drowned out and unable to afford one – lobbying influence is the dynamic that needs to be addressed – all respect the rights of residents, taxpayers and outsiders to express themselves and their interests – unfortunately, there are big pocketed interests, in the form of Airbnb, the Expedia Group, that owns VRBO, and other groups using their money and weight to try and warp the facts and drown out the wants and needs of PPB residents – in the past few days, Council has received roughly 300 form emails generated by a system controlled by these groups – they received help from a self-interested resident, who gave them the private email addresses and cell phone numbers of most people in town – and we know who that is – that led to over 1,000 phone calls, text campaigns, and a non-objective biased survey that he is sure will be presented here tonight, without telling everyone how it was set up to trick elderly residents, nor how those making the calls tried to pressure people into certain responses by preying on monetary fears – a text campaign sent this morning said “Don’t let the Borough Council call the shots on what happens to your clients” – a prominent local business leader was harassed on multiple phone calls, trying to get him to say his business would be adversely impacted – he refused – big pocketed groups always try to make the message altruistic – they always try and take it away from self-interested approaches and, instead, find a lane to show how noble and acting for the greater good they are – the reality is that for every $1K in rentals on an Airbnb, Airbnb makes a staggering $170 – PPB makes $30 and has to police these structures, provide DPW services, etc. – Airbnb has more than a $5M lobbying budget/year, and a good chunk of it is aimed at states and municipalities to keep the gravy train running, regardless of local impact – they have tried to desperately grasp onto PPB’s economy – most emails received were entitled “Protect Our Local Economy” – ironic because 99.9% of the emails were not from local residents – almost 100 of them, from what he could tell looking at property tax records, were not even from PPB property owners – had virtually no one here earlier this year when sweeping downtown business ordinances and the Budget were passed – both had far bigger impacts on the local economy – he and the Council respect everyone’s opinions and right to make their voices heard and look after their own financial interests – this is America – asked all not to try to sell Council a fact-less scare tactic about local economy – it holds no water – can’t tell us that, without short-term rentals, no one will be spending money in the off-season, without acknowledging that, if a short-term renter wasn’t there, a full-time resident would be, who would be eating out and dining the entire off-season – this ordinance could actually help local economy but putting more full-time residents in houses, who are currently getting priced out of the market by investors paying far over asking value – those full-time residents make businesses more viable year-round, instead of seasonal – for the record, our main objective in passing this ordinance is to protect the future of PPB – have all watched as year-round population and school sizes have shrunk, while the percentage of homes purchased by investors has grown – per the Building Dept., many new homes are without master bedrooms and purpose-built to be rentals only – this trend must be reversed or PPB will be a town in name only – this isn’t about whether you are a Super Host or what kind of tenants you rent to – this is about the elected Governing Body of PPB fixing a zoning loophole that has been exploited for financial gain – PPB’s forefathers never wanted B&B’s, hotels and motels in most parts of town – that’s why these areas are not zoned for them – despite that, the inconveniences of living next to a commercial property are being imposed on residents who didn’t choose to buy next to one – hotels and motels must have specific insurance – they are managed properties, where problems can quickly be identified and routed out – they have to have enough parking for guests – residents know clearly where these properties are, and can choose to purchase a home next to them or not – that’s not the same for short-term rentals – for those who say this a rushed decision that needs to be looked at more, PPB is not alone on this front and this wasn’t remotely rushed – 12 Ocean County towns have already passed short-term rental bans – 2 more have them on the books and they are going to be passed soon – PPB took a measured approach, studied this, gave it an extra summer without any regulations, to look at it, and ultimately decided what was in the residents’ best interests– everyone speaking will have 3 minutes – that will be enforced – asked all to end comments when time is up, to state name, legal residence address and town before starting – will allow 1 resident to speak per every investor who does, to keep things fair – asked all to exit the room when finished commenting, to allow someone waiting outside to come in and speak – opened the public hearing.
Mike Corbally, 8 Lake Terr. PPB: doesn’t understand how PPB allowed outside investors to buy 7, 9 & 10 Lake Terr. – is sandwiched between 2 Airbnbs – rental system he worked on, before retiring from real estate, was weekly in summer/complete season in winter – weekend rentals are unbearable – they are not coming to go to the beach or out to eat – they are partying – he bought here so his kids could go to Antrim School – his wife passed in 2000 – he owes PPB for how they handled his girls – would not be who they are if they weren’t in PPB – recognized Councilmen Cortes and Pasola – town was a family – need kids and full-time residents to keep schools going – lose the schools, lose the town.
Michael Candido, 51 Wootton Rd., Essex Fells, NJ: has a house in Bay Head since 1990 – feels a member of the overall community and cares about PPB – recently purchased a duplex rental unit at 10 Stoney Rd. – 1st season – been pretty full- rented weekly during summer – fortunate to have winter rentals – is unaware of any problems – want to be good neighbors – understands concept of the ordinance but has questions (Mayor Kanitra: will address questions at end; Atty. Riordan: Mr. Candido sent an email, so his is aware of his questions) some sections seam arbitrary and capricious, including 13-8A, 13-8.6, 13-12, 13-26.c – concerned with how it is drafted – seems unfair.
Vanessa Rudd, 318 Parkway, PPB: 20-year resident – has lived with Section 8, rental, non-rental, crazy rental, long-term rental, 2-year rental across the street – has 14 new neighbors, all full-time residents – is one rental left – complained to him about problems last summer – he corrected it and now does background checks and only rents to families, more than 5 days, not on Sat. and Sun. because they would cram 15 people in a 1–bedroom house – that’s her problem with Airbnb and VRBO – when she rents in Lake Placid or other ski town, her information is hung on the wall or door for emergency purposes.
Eric Seaberg, 128 Randall Ave., PPB: has 3 houses – 2 are investment properties – mentioned Craigslist, which started out as a porn site, but is not being brought up – money they are making is not coming out of the town’s pocket – it’s our money – it’s what we are willing spend for the work they do – doesn’t use Airbnb, only Realtors in town – have the Seafood Festival, weddings, New Year’s Eve – huge events that call for short term rentals – he only rents in summer and lives here – bought and lives in a resort residential town – can’t change what PPB has always been – want to make it a whole different town – that’s a mistake – we are the residents – you provide a service to us – are here since the ‘80s – hasn’t been an issue since this – would love to see a trusted Police Officer be pulled from the beach to check a CO for a 94-sq.-ft., instead of a 100-sq. -ft. bedroom for 2 people.
Dennis Driber, 1208 Charlston St., PPB: born and raised here – his dad bought 323 River Ave. in 1939 – Councilman Migut was his student when VP of PPBHS – when he grew up, PPB was a lot different than now – to stay as is, must do things like this ordinance – couldn’t afford to live in PPB for a lot of years, but was blessed to move back – wants to die here – doesn’t want to see this as a B&B community – not what it is or has been – shouldn’t move in that direction – Seaside is spending a lot trying to reverse what they’ve done over the years, because they saw what was wrong – if this kind of ordinance isn’t passed, are inviting the same scenario – asked Council to do right thing and pass it.
Tony Haddad, owns and lives at Tower Cottage Bed & Breakfast, PPB: only B&B in town – approved by the Board of Adjustment (BOA) – has use variance to operate as a B&B – voted best in NJ a few years ago – people are using the term “B&B community” improperly – Airbnb’s are not B&B’s – Airbnb’s rent rooms in homes – he is against that – doesn’t belong to Airbnb, but advertises on the Internet – considered one of the best B&B’s in the Country (Mayor Kanitra: a source of town pride, a State Historic Landmark – built in the 1800’s) yes, 1883 – restored it – thinks it’s the most beautiful house in town – doesn’t want this to exclude him from his investment and his home (Atty. Riordan ordinance doesn’t apply to approved B&B’s – has Zoning approval); Arts Committee did wonderful job repairing the Great Wall – his is a member of the Historic Commission.
Lisa Kent, 201 Washington Ave., PPB: recently purchased 110 Trenton as 2nd property – hopes her daughter will live there with her soon-to-be husband and kids, eventually – in order to afford it now, she needs to rent it – thinks a 4-day rental makes sense – what the Governing Body has done with this town is incredible – cancelled a rental to make her Trenton Ave. house available for 2 weeks for the Cooks Tour because she thinks the community and schools are important – she did it as an investor and as a resident – uses VRBO and Airbnb and books through Kim Allen and other local realtors – would rather keep business local – they take the same 10%-12% as Airbnb and VRBO – planning a baby shower involving people staying a few nights – her Thanksgiving renter went out every night but Thanksgiving, when she brought her 92-year-old mother over from Brick – has rented both houses – has had no complaints – doesn’t expect any – can’t seem to do a full season rental in winter that even half covers her mortgage – a 4-day weekend gets her a long way toward it, so she’d like to be able to continue that, with quiet family renters who park in the driveway and enjoy the town (Mayor Kanitra: residents are exempt – will be able to rent for 4 days) making a plea for everyone – rentals helped her relocate here.
Phil Karg, 329 Cantrell Rd., Ridgewood, NJ: any good community has a combination of residents, investors and small businesses – need that cycle to thrive – some middle ground can be established – as an investor, some level of non-summer rentals is key, to be an active part of the community – comes down in winter and uses the property multiple times – suggested permitting weekly rentals on big holiday weekends like New Year’s, Christmas and Easter – families coming in – supports not having 1-day rentals of 200 people destroying the town – suggesting permitting weekly rentals by using local Realtors as screening process to ensure rentals to the right people – all want this to be a thriving community.
Anne Lightburn, 307 New Jersey Ave., PPB: is a resident – the 1-month requirement for off season rentals is absolutely wrong – the small people will be hurt most by this, not big investors – those who own a rental property and rent responsibly – she uses Airbnb when she travels – that’s how people are doing business and it’s going to expand – not going to slow that down – should consider allowing short-term rentals – leave it up to property owner as to what is in the best interest of their property and clients – some have repeat people on holidays – off-season people spend money and eat out – should have no restrictions, rather than a month – and a month is undefined – should be number of days – is opposed – lives next to 2 mega-mansions – doesn’t like the looks of them, but has no problem with the renters – families – only had to call the Police once, about 2 years ago – overcrowding and noise is an enforcement issue – have to give Police and Code Enforcement the right tools and support, if they need more people – have Animal House and noise codes – stay on problem houses – don’t punish all for the few.
Steve Korzeniowski, 350 Darlington Rd., Media, PA: has a home at 2 Delaware Ave. – also has a rental property a block away – this is forced – appears to be jammed through at end of 2021 – arbitrary – PPB and Council is telling families and others their business isn’t wanted – people plan 6-12 months ahead for weddings – is already 70% booked for next year – half are weddings – asked if he is supposed to tell those people they can’t come – doesn’t address tenants who have short–term rentals if this is put in force on Jan. 1, 2022 (Mayor Kanitra: will address – it’s grandfathered; Atty. Riordan: it’s not grandfathered in – it’s ex post facto, so you can prove that you have other rentals in a court room – good luck) an owner like him takes full responsibility – no one under 25, no high school, no college – been doing this for 20 year and now Council is going to tell him he can’t – accepts families, screens – asked that Council consider alternatives – look at the codes – doesn’t disagree with some things said – there has to be a middle ground that all can benefit from to make this a better town.
Jennifer Malpass, 802 Trenton Ave., PPB: respects all opinions – been a resident for over 10 years – concerned about the negative effect of short-term on quality of life – the past few summers, her neighbor allowed weekend stays – renters were not respectful – made several calls to the Police Dept. – loud noises late into the evening, partying all night, drunk behavior – they have young kids all around, who couldn’t go out during the day, hearing all the foul language – need to respond to the change in ways that sustain the purpose and way of life of PPB – consequences of home rental web sites that have gained popularity were not initially known – can note the effects over the last few summers and respond accordingly – doesn’t believe the ordinance would hurt the local economy – town has prided itself on excellent schools, beautiful beaches, a nice downtown and family-oriented community – that’s what draws people here to live and shop and keeps property values high – as quality of life deteriorates, families will leave and the town will go downhill – have enough short-term options with motels – don’t need more – don’t need to be another Seaside – have all worked hard, especially since Hurricane Sandy, to maintain the quality of life, because of the dedication to year-round residents – asked that the options in this ordinance be considered – year-round taxpaying school attending residents will be forever grateful.
Mark Cipolloni, 7 Sapphire Rd., Robbinsville: owns 105 Parkway – been coming here since the 50’s – used to rent here 2-3 times/summer, so short term rentals are not new – bought house with intent of moving here – asked if he would be able to retroactively rent – understands all sides – rents his house with VRBO – weekly in summer – has families on some off-season weekends – is here a lot – doesn’t see this as a big problem – noise and ruckus is in summers – it’s quiet in the off-season – ordinance is backwards – recommends tabling for a year – doesn’t think a good economic analysis on business impact has been down – will hurt him as a landlord and bring in less tax revenue – suggested bringing in landlords to talk about what they can do better – he meets his tenants personally and read them the rules – are other ways to fix this problem – need the money in the off-season.
Jeff Childers, 336 Curtis Ave., PPB: local real estate broker with brokerage in town – strongly opposes this ordinance, as written – not to say there isn’t a problem that mostly stems from short-term rentals – believes there are better ways of achieving a more peaceful community with higher in-use home ownership – Mayor & Council should consult with business owners, residents, landlords and real estate brokers to come up with a new proposal – some things in the ordinance are written improperly – Part 7 – is un-American – Parts 14.2 & 14.3 – is the biggest issue – believes the Mayor isn’t looking at the full picture – town is built on and relies tourist dollars – cater to weekend weddings year-round – several events in town and surrounding draw tenants – families rent short-term for holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, President’s Weekend and Easter – this would eliminate them from coming and spending where it is needed most – Part 14. 6 is blatantly prejudice against non-residents – residents, second home owners and investment property owners are equal – opening the town to Lawsuit – not thought out – asked what happens to residents purchasing an investment property after ordinance is passed – Part 15, subsection G – maximum occupancy should be made clear to tenants, but it is impossible for any landlord to enforce where their tenants sleep – Subsection I – occupancy of a room should not be based off an arbitrary square footage – trying to accomplish good, but doing it wrong.
Robert Festa, 39 Waters Edge, Congers, NY: majority seem against these regulations – has owned here since 1974 – considers himself a resident – people who stay 3-4 days are residents also – children of these renters group up in PPB as much as in their own hometown – to not represent them would be prejudicial – supposed to love your neighbor – if people visiting Yellowstone, Grand Canyon or Ft. Lauderdale, were told they had to stay a minimum of 1 month, it would be ludicrous – same applies here – has had honeymooners, PPHS reunions, walkers for the Alzheimer’s run, and a father and son who come here to fish for a week every Nov. – provides tenants with lists of restaurants and take-out places, with addresses and phone numbers – knows from their feedback they go there – they can’t afford or don’t have time to spend a month – owners who rent to these people give the Borough a fairly high tax that eases the burden on local residents – owners and their renters give to all facets of community, including churches, restaurants, gas stations, fishing boats, hardware stores, etc., 1/3 of his income comes from off-season rentals – he has no other job – people should be allowed to work for their income – this ordinance would take away a large part of their livelihood and the mini-vacations of people who have rented here for years and think of PPB as their home away from home – should appreciate their contributions.
Kitty Stillufsen, 54 Channel Dr, PPB: was here at the last meeting and begged the Governing Body to table this ordinance and create an advisory committee – thanked Councilman Migut for trying to pass it – is here again to do the same – this ordinance, as written, will fail on its face if it goes before a judge – and it will go before a judge – it wrongfully predicates the allowable use of a property upon the identities of its occupants – is certain the Borough Atty. is well aware that this is going to fall on its face – a zoning issue can’t be predicated by the occupants – being led right into a lawsuit.
Vincent Lenza, 251 Seideman Ave., Staten Island, NY: born and raised in Staten Island – spent summers in Manasquan his entire life – has gotten good feedback from people renting his house – family reunions from all over the Country, holiday weekends – are things that can be done better – doesn’t think 30 days is feasible from a monetary standpoint and time away from their jobs – thinks 4-5 days is reasonable – timing could be extended – Oct. is still a prime beach month – not fair to compare to Seaside, which is all high-rise hotels – PPB is family oriented with houses that can house multiple families.
Joseph Seickel, 201 New York Ave., PPB: proud to be a year-round resident – favors the ordinance – nice to sleep with windows open in winter, fall and spring and not have to worry about noise emanating from a rental house – is here to enjoy the town all year – doesn’t want the madness extended beyond summer – bad enough to have to deal with it in summer when town resources are stretched thin – shouldn’t have be stretched thin all year – commends Mayor & Council for trying to protect PPB citizens.
Anthony Mahon, 130 Ocean Ave., PPB: bought house 3 years ago – lives here 8 months/year – bought here because of the year-roundness – people here all winter and the restaurants – ordinance will dissuade younger purchasers and investors, people who want to live here for 8 months, but also make money off their property for 4 months – as a teacher, can’t afford to live in PPB if he doesn’t rent his house – some rental money comes from wedding weekends, music festival, Seafood weekend, etc. – the issue is communication – one of his neighbors was here last week complaining about the Airbnb and Police managing it and the owners are nowhere nearby – has never received one call from that neighbor – potentially, it’s not his, but no one is communicating with owners when there is an issue – is friendly with people on his lane – landlords aren’t given enough information to manage their properties – doesn’t want people having parties at his house – landlords need to be included in the conversation, not just complained about, and then a blanket ordinance thrown over everyone – is against the ordinance.
Mike Ramos, 420 Arbutus Ave., PPB: year-round resident, 7-year member of the Board of Education and presently serving as President – is here as a resident – is for quality of life and wholeheartedly supports this ordinance – have 2 award-winning schools – PPHS is ranked #1 in Ocean County and is very highly ranked in the State of NJ – both schools are Apple Schools of Distinction – 1 of only 500 schools worldwide – that’s from the hard work and dedication of an outstanding board, teachers, administrators, and a town that supports it – both schools have decreasing enrollments year after year – rely on tuition students to keep the lights on – that’s a direct result of seasonal rentals taking over homes previously owned by year-round residents – works for Hilton Hotels – knows all the hotel owners in town – home value is directly tied to quality of schools, which is tied to having actual students, not more tourism-based rental homes – need people who want to be here year-round, to contribute to the town and help it grow – the decrease is getting worse and very concerning – supports the ordinance.
Dwayne Watlington, representing NJ Shore Rentals Coalition, Long Beach Island: here to voice opposition to the ordinance – a lot of things wrong, as written – would like to extend consultation to the Council, if they should decide to table and come up with something that better fits residents, non-residents and renters – owns vacation rentals on Long Beach Island – had always rented there – were able to buy a house after Sandy, but had to rent it out in order to keep it – 10 years later, are getting ready to retire there next year – vacation rentals aren’t new – Airbnb’s is the problem – used to rent as a kid in Seaside – asked his dad where he went on vacation in the 50’s – the Jersey Shore – it’s just changed a bit – used to be all through Realtors and now it’s on the Internet – there is a better approach – Coalition wishes they knew about this earlier, so they could have lent guidance – suggested not putting out all these onerous regulations – his group was behind getting Gov. Murphy to cut taxes in NJ for direct by rent owners – part of that law was a professionally-managed unit clause to stop the investors – doesn’t think he should be considered an investor because he is buying 1 house that he can rent out while his kids are in college.
Bob Maloney, 26 Central Ave., PPB: his in-laws have had rental properties here since 1948 – used to rent weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, half-season – rentals aren’t like that anymore – today, kids spend half the summer involved in athletics, so people can’t come for a week or 2 – others want to go to Disney World, etc. – but people still like the shore – they come for 4-5 days, when they can – he uses Airbnb and VRBO, but monitors every rental – lives in house in front of his – town has to enforce ordinances – investors have to get a CO – if they have too many people, the town has to enforce it – limiting to 7 days won’t eliminate the problem – people will come for 7, instead of 4 days – has had people from all over for weddings and family gatherings – no problem – they rent through VRBO and Airbnb because they have a bigger market – just have to control the way they rent – has had Airbnb and VRBO approach him to open up his rentals more but he refused – he won’t rent to those who won’t follow the town’s rules.
Steve Hyduke, 136 Upper Creek Rd., Stockton, NJ: owns 204 Randall Ave. – his wife lived in the Boro and always wanted to come back – bought the house as a secondary house and, eventually, a retirement home – started renting to pay down the mortgage and utilities – are only allowed 2 weeks to use it yourself once it becomes a rental property, per IRS code – has owned it since 2010 – currently fully rented through Labor Day with 100% repeat tenants, some for 9 seasons – extremely well-vetted – mostly 3 generations – has never used Airbnb and stopped using VRBO when Expedia took over and it turned into the organization from hell – even the State differentiates between Airbnb, VRBO and direct rentals – thinks some phrasings could be addressed better – ordinance says CO’s will run calendar year and terminate on Dec. 31st – his current CO ends in June (Mayor Kanitra: Atty. Riordan will address that at the end) – have to list all tenants on the CO application – town dropped that a few years ago – currently, have to know their names and addresses, but not submit – asked if going back to the old way or if it just wasn’t phrased right – 13.20 is ambiguous as to if you must list current tenants or all tenants on the door – all tenants would be a privacy issue – he has a nice door and won’t deface it – all his tenants are primo with 1 exception – in summer 2019, tenants came through a Realtor and should have been vetted – found out there may have been 60 people in his backyard – doesn’t want that in his house or in his neighborhood – as raised at a meeting of the Non-Resident Taxpayers, he wasn’t notified until weeks after they left – he got a note in the mail 2 weeks after they left – if there is a problem at his house, he wants immediate notification – he can’t act on it if he doesn’t know about it (Mayor Kanitra: spoke with the Police Dept. a week ago – plan on making that a priority and being more proactive about that in the New Year).
Michael Hefferon, 333 Grand St., Jersey City: started Shore House Maintenance, professional vacation rental manager business, during COVID – there is a need for understanding quality of life – health safety and welfare is their #1 concern – 60 people in a backyard is not safe and not condoned –ordinance is against what should be done responsibly for rentals – big difference between responsibly renting a property and just passing ordinances for the sake of it – had over 300 renters at their properties this past season– age limits, guests requirements, notice of tenants are not being addressed here – strictly a ban on timing – not fair to residents or investors – should be tabled until all understand what the needs are – lot of people here, including him, are against this – 30-day ban doesn’t solve issues – underlying issues are noise, crowds – professional managers are on site and accountable if there is an issue – there is a big difference between a 30-year resident and a guest – are giving all the legal benefit to guests and treating them as residents – not fair – taking that away from owners – lot that should be looked at.
Kim Allen, 146 Ocean Ave., PPB: would love for Governing Body to come up with a compromise – there are bad investors but there are people who are our neighbors – Mr. Festa let her stay at his house when hers was destroyed after Sandy – he has owned houses in this town for as long as her family has – is here because her parents rented – loves living here – came part-time – she put money into the house because it was a rental property that she grew up coming to – there are people in the audience who don’t have physical addresses here, but it’s their home too – wants Council to consider that – lot of those people won’t be ablet to keep their homes with the 30-day minimum.
Joe Abate, 22 Shenandoah Dr., N Caldwell: has a home at 63 Harvard Ave. – proud to be paying taxes in town for 34 years – commended Governing Body for acknowledging Dec. 7th – those who were acknowledged, the military, folks who lost their lives, would be dismayed by a discussion that separated the community between residents and non-residents, on this night of all nights – against the ordinance – has folks coming tomorrow for a wedding and repeat customers for Christmas and New Year’s – would like to know how the ordinance would affect that, and the timeline of this going into effect – vigorously supports most of the discussion – very strong points on both sides – time to come to a compromise.
Rosa Crowley, 1401 St. Louise Ave., PPB: has lived here 25 years – raised 2 of her children here – blessed to live in this community – the difference between this and other communities is this is a hometown – not seasonal, not dead in winter – rentals are a part of the shore community, but this is a shore family community – rentals will still exist – must structure them for families who are in residential areas – they are investors too – they live here – it’s their community – this has to move forward – Council is under a hard position – trying to right things for all – can’t destroy what we have going forward.
Patty Inglese, 313 Laird Rd., Colts Neck & 1606 East St., PPB: everyone has a valid point – doesn’t understand how such a harsh decision can be made – has taken many town families, who were rebuilding, into their rentals – have to step back – any town with rentals has problems – lot of people don’t know what’s going on – thanked the amazing Police and Public Works Depts. – can never thank or pay them enough – have to work together – shocked that no one calls Police that there are 60 people in a backyard – have to appreciate and listen to one another – understands only one person on Council owns a rental.
Kevin Dolan, 102 Buttermere Ave., Interlaken: owns 100 NJ Ave. – been on both sides of fence – been coming to the shore as long as he can remember and a full-time resident of Spring Lake since 1953 – identifies with Governing Body’s goal of maintaining quality of life – as he articulated in his letter to the Governing Body (Councilwoman Testa came back after brief exit) there are 2 issues, zoning and affordable housing – should put pressure on the Zoning Board – gets a license every year – inspector puts on license how many people can be in house – he wouldn’t jeopardize his license by renting it to more than allowed – appalling that the Animal House Ordinance is never enforced – if it was, people wouldn’t be here complaining as much as they are.
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: supports the ordinance – used to be weekly-only rentals in the bungalow community, some winter rentals, then came group rentals – has heard stories about landlords doing a great job and wonderful tenants – these buildings are hotels – the pay hotel/motel tax because the State recognizes them as a hotel – doesn’t want to live next to a hotel but may not have a choice when someone else buys one of the houses in his neighborhood and turns it into an Airbnb.
Robin Selvaggi, 5432 Via Olas, Thousand Oaks, CA: born and grew up not far from here, but essentially lived on the beach here – when they had enough savings they bought a Sandy-damaged house that sat vacant for 7 years – no resident family bought it – is now a vibrant house that welcomes wonderful families when she can get her brother out – being vilified for investing her savings into this community and paying PPB taxes every year – intent of the proposed ordinance is to control which property owners can rent their properties and how they may be rented, in an effort to transform the character of the residential occupancy and ownership of the town – in doing so, the ordinance would deny a fundamental attribute of the property ownership to nearly all residential property owners in PPB – unreasonable and discriminatory licensing requirements enforced by the proposed ordinance clearly violate well-established NJ law – proposed ordinance also improperly imposes discriminatory restrictions for owner-occupied dwellings – it also permits a discriminatory housing practice, in violation of the Fair Housing Act and the NJ Law Against Discrimination – would be invalid and unconstitutional – improperly and arbitrarily targets non-resident owners of short-term rental properties, as compared to resident property owners, in violation of our Constitutional rights and equal protection under the 14th Amendment – these rights are protected by the State and Federal Constitutions and the statutory laws – a prevailing homeowner bringing an action against PPB under NJ Civil Rights Act to vindicate rights protected by the State and Federal Constitutions and statutory laws, is entitled to any damages, civil penalty, injunction or other appropriate relief, as well as reasonable attorney’s fees – appreciates Council’s efforts for this community – but this ordinance is a huge misstep – strongly urged that it be tabled before wasting taxpayer dollars defending it.
Kevin Agaman, 3 Harvard Ave., PPB: splits his residence with another property – his home is multi-family – rents in winter and enjoys one of the units in summer – bought Sandy-damaged home at auction and raised the value of all the other homes on his block – objects to the ordinance – 30-day winter minimum opens them up to losing their eviction rights – after occupancy (inaudible) 30 days, you can’t evict them – have first right of refusal – have to protect their investment and community – other than that, everything stands from when he spoke last time.
Ann Jocelyn, 11 Willow Terr, Verona: purchased 5 Danby Pl. as investment property – by the time they closed on it, it was their home – wasn’t born here but wouldn’t mind dying here – being able to rent it now makes that possible – don’t want to rent for a month or full-time in winter to someone who will not be a permanent resident – they will only be here for 9 months and then summer renters will come – idea of getting a permanent resident isn’t accomplished by 1-month minimum – also, they want to come down – met people like Councilmembers Vitale and Testa, before knowing they were Councilmembers, and wanted to be part of the community – she talked to Councilwoman Testa about the Municipal Alliance grant and wanting to be part of the community and help her with that – to be lumped in with investor/not investor/permanent resident/not permanent resident muddies the community they fell in love with (Mayor Kanitra: asked how many weekends in the off-season she rents) this is their 1st year – rented most weekends through mid-Oct., except for the bonfire weekend, which they took for themselves – nothing in spring because they were just getting their bearings – didn’t rent for Thanksgiving because they weren’t here to keep an eye on things – only group she is renting to for a week on May 15th is probably college kids or a mom renting the house for her kids for prom week – they’re willing to pay for a week even if they are only staying a weekend because there’s going to be plenty of them cramming into her house – not what she wants, she wants a family, but families won’t come until school is out – only way for them to part of the community is to rent, but not forced to rent long-term.
Carol McCabe, 399 Faletti Circle, Rivervale: owns 15 Forman Ave. – been here since 2004 – have family and friends here – have personal things going on and renting the house allows them to live now – rented for a 3-day wedding in Nov., 4 days for Thanksgiving, then another 2-day wedding rental – that helped her pay the mortgage – has nothing going on in Dec. – has repeat people for 3 days over New Year’s Eve – has a 6-bedroom Victorian – CO says 12 people – is annoyed and doesn’t know how people get away with renting a 4-bedroom house to 20 people – she rents to families and doesn’t want parties – bought here because it’s a family town – she and husband will retire here one day – this month thing will kill them – for how she rents her properties and loves this town, feels like a slap in the face – has to be a different way – people who screw around with rules always find another way – this will hurt her.
Deanna Savino, 68 Tricentennial Dr., Freehold: pays taxes on 4 properties – 2 are rentals – both houses are rented all of Nov. – had people with family here come from Illinois and Maryland – without Airnbnb/VBRO they would never have known her house exists – she tells her renters to respect her town and home – she loves their stories – she’s had 3 weddings and a funeral – gives them things to make them remember how great PPB is – can have bad people stary for 7 days – maybe can get a committee – all of these landlords sound like they care – won’t rent to anyone under 28 – is a rule follower – has beautified on Niblick and Ocean and made the neighborhood look better – spends more time here than at her house in Freehold, picking weeds, etc. – doesn’t want partiers – sees bad things happen and it annoys her – has people Fri.-Sun. and Tues.-Wed.
Scott Dolan, 105 Trenton Ave., PPB: owns 637 Arnold Ave. – tough issue – supports the ordinance, but not as written – discriminatory – seeing residential properties, in residential-zoned areas, turned into commercial properties – if you want to take a residential property and turn it into a hotel or Airbnb, should apply for zoning permit – Council appoints the Zoning Board – seem to have an issue with Airbnb’s but he fought an Airbnb/hotel going next to him – it was illegal – didn’t meet the NJ hotel building code – was attacked by his neighbor, saying they would ruin his life because he showed up at a Planning Board meeting to fight an Airbnb – after approved was attacked on Facebook that he is holding up all of downtown because he opposes an Airbnb – hypocritical – now pushing an ordinance to fight Airbnb’s – Councilman Pasola voted for the Airbnb/hotel on Arnold Ave. – doesn’t meet the State requirements (Mayor Kanitra: reminded Council they can’t talk about zoning issues; Councilman Pasola: are not here for the Zoning Board; Atty. Riordan talking about something that has nothing to do with this ordinance – advised Council not to reply; Councilman Pasola resents him making that comment – are at a Council meeting, not a BOA meeting – voice objections at a BOA meeting, not here) is pointing that out – this is a zoning issue – is insulted, when he went to fight an Airbnb/hotel in downtown PPB that didn’t meet the zoning (inaudible), didn’t qualify under the zoning laws, didn’t qualify under the State code for a hotel, didn’t qualify the OSHA laws for providing a bathroom for the employees of the hotel, and he got personally attacked and it got approved anyway by the Zoning Board – confused as to the goal (Councilman Pasola: goal is to protect health safety and welfare of residents) got to do it at zoning, not at this level – pass a zoning law that says if you want to be an Airbnb, you’ve got to go to the Zoning Board to apply for a zoning permit – make it every year so, if a property becomes a constant problem, it can be addressed next year – lot residents, because they couldn’t afford a property, invested in a property, started off as a landlord and evolved into the property – no one wants a hotel next to a private house – whether renting for a night or a weekend, it kind of becomes a hotel.
Denis Laplante, 1429 Oceanfront: resident – sent email to Council, except Councilman Pasola – echoed what others said about compromise – 7 days in summer is fine and will solve some problems – don’t need 1-2 day rentals – a lot could be amended – was a comment about contracts executed for next year (Mayor Kanitra: his intent is that existing contracts that can be proven are grandfathered in – that was his expectation when it was written and that is what he expects to enforce as Mayor – is going on the record that existing rentals that can be proven through correspondence, contracts, etc., should be grandfathered) asked if he thinks there should be a safe harbor provision (Mayor Kanitra: if he goes on the record, that show intent; Atty. Riordan: is in complete agreement – they just have to prove it in a court room, that’s all; Mayor Kanitra: asked Atty. Riordan to clarify that he is not saying everyone needs to go to court if they go to the Building Dept. with a contract and correspondence and the Building Dept. says OK; Atty. Riordan: the Building Dept., like all officers, have discretion in enforcement of the law, but individuals who bring things in which are forgeries will not be given an opportunity; Mayor Kanitra: don’t expect anybody to have forgeries; Atty. Riordan: exactly, but you should expect that there will be folks who will try to get around the ordinance by pretending that they had things booked before; Mayor Kanitra: of course, but with electronic communications and electronic records, etc., could call up Airbnb and VRBO and verify it – the Building Dept. is going to have discretion on that and he is stating his intent) if people paid $300 in Jun. for a CO and it expires Dec. 31st, they are only getting 6 month instead of 12 – suggested amending that to say they expire by calendar 2022 – asked, if it passet, when it would be enforced (Atty. Riordan: 10 days after publication, but the Building Dept. is going to start enforcing it when they see fit) that’s not in the ordinance – the way it is written is Dec. 31, 2021; Mayor Kanitra: will address that) hopes Council will consider that administrative change – definition of rental needs to be addressed – and this affects residents who don’t rent out their homes – if you give the keys to your house to a close friend or even your son or daughter, you need a CO the way it’s written (Mayor Kanitra: that will be addressed as well) would prefer the whole thing be tabled, reconsidered, and 3-5 weeks from now, come back with better defined ordinance – and compromises for off-season as well.
Motion by Councilman Pasola to close the public hearing was seconded by Councilman Cortes and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Cortes, Pasola, Migut,….YEA
Councilwoman Byrnes….ABSENT
Mayor Kanitra: explained that the Governing Body would now talk amongst themselves with no more public participation – when they can’t give an answer, will have a legal opinion – CO Thulen, head of the Building and Code Dept. is here and can jump in; in regards to pending complaints in May or Jun., courts might not see that until Sept. or Oct., – are not able to address thing in the moment – would leave things to the discretion of the Building and Code Dept. – not our intent to have things thrown out in court – if, in Jul. you have 4 different complaints for noise, underage drinking, etc., they will probably pull your CO (Atty. Riordan: this part of ordinance is about application – wouldn’t be pulling a CO but refusing application for the new CO – that’s the only change he’d make but, in general, that’s exactly right) – discretion by the Building Dept.) in regards to names on door, that is part of the existing ordinance being amended (Atty. Riordan: that’s exactly right – 90% of this ordinance is simply combining Chapter 27 and Chapter 13 – the duration restrictions are new, the fee changes mentioned were new, some of the bedroom regulations are codifications of the existing fire code – but, with the exception of the duration restrictions and the fees, virtually all of this ordinance pre-exists, particularly the section referred to with respect to notification on the doors – the folks who have told you they haven’t been doing it have been violating the ordinance – it’s been on the books since 2011; Councilman Pasola: basically, these 2 ordinances have been combined, so all of this is existing; Atty. Riordan: exactly; Mayor Kanitra: most of it: Atty Riordan: and what happened is that what applied to annual rentals is now applied to seasonal rentals and to annual rentals and what was applied to seasonal rentals is now applied to both seasonal and annuals, and the duration restrictions were added and the fees were up’d – that’s basically the changes) there is validity to the point that if you paid for a CO, you should get the benefit – asked if that can be addressed through an extra ordinance that can be read in at first reading or if some of that concern can be assuaged now (Atty. Riordan: thinks CO Thulen has already answered that question for him: CO Thulen: annuals are a 3-year term – if someone took an annual rental last Feb., they are still going to get their 3 years and a little extra benefit, as it will extend itself – people were applying for short-terms in Jan., pre-COVID and utilizing because they were really trying to get the benefit of the summer season out of it – during COVID, everything got pushed back dues to Executive Orders, etc. – short-term was on a calendar basis, essentially, just got pushed back – doesn’t understand that it was necessarily – wasn’t anything we signed besides the calendar year at that point anyway – were giving leeway, just due to the fact of catching up with inspections during winter – information on what is supposed to be posted on the door including tenants’ names, garbage information and parking information, is already a requirement and already supposed to be posted on the back of door) – seems like there are a lot of budding Constitutional lawyers in the audience – some emailed the Governing Body – someone yelled at him over the phone, said we’d be sued and called him a Towny, which he took as a badge of honor – Governing Body looked at the ordinance, discussed the legalities, as it pertains to residents – feel there is a much better chance than not of defending it in court – received many threats about lawsuits – even if the ordinance is challenged and, somehow, the resident provision is attacked successfully in a court of law, it will only affect the resident component of the ordinance – have had many people threaten lawsuits and have successfully defended all – doesn’t want people to be deluded or led astray by people promising they’ll be able to take their money and go forward with a lawsuit, because the result of that lawsuit would not be the intention (Atty. Riordan: the equal protection clause says that all people have to be treated the same under the law – as they teach us in law school, obviously they can’t mean that because, if they did, you couldn’t treat thieves different than everybody else – what the 14th Amendment really means is that you can’t make distinctions among people that are discriminatory – and they are basically race, creed, color, sexual orientation – they are not resident and non-resident – when we look at an ordinance which makes the distinction between resident and non-resident, the question is whether or not that distinction is rationally related to the purpose of the ordinance – most of the people against it made good cases for that being a rational relationship – is confident that we have a good case in the court room) are a lot of nice people in the audience and are always people looking to make a buck on a situation – doesn’t want people to be taken advantage of (Councilman Pasola: population has gone from approx.. 5,600 to 4,600 because people are buying houses to rent out for Airnbnb’s and so on – can’t let that continue – Mr. Ramos stated that the population is down in Antrim School and the High School – if that continues, there is a great possibility PPB could not have a school system – would be a sending district – property values will plummet without a school system – many people move to PPB year-round to attend our fabulous schools – he, his wife, kids and 6 grandchildren went through the PPB school system – a good school system keeps property houses high – something has to be done; Councilman Cortes: moved here when he was 10 in 1968 – grew up on River Ave. – before that, he and his mom would vacation here and stay at motel – in 1970, his mother bought a rental property on Vetrini Ln. and rented it out for a week to a month in summer and then it was winter rental – in those days, 99% of the rentals were in the bungalows – houses are operating like motels in residential neighborhood for a 1-2 days – Airnbnb started in 2007, VRBO started in 1995 – people say downtown will become a ghost town – there were businesses downtown well before 1995 and they all survived – he graduated from PPBHS in 1976 and has seen a change over the years – PPB has 575 motel rooms – if coming for a short stay, there are a lot of motel options, with rooms together, to choose from instead of going to a house – people will go out to eat if they stay in a hotel room, just as they would if staying in a house – for investors, it’s monetarily driven – for others, including himself, it’s not all about money – it’s about community – asked the last time an investor went to a Friday night football game, etc.– he still goes; Councilwoman Testa: moved here in 2008 from Elizabeth – used to come here and rent a house for the whole summer –was always week-to-week, month-to-month or whole-season – couldn’t do a weekend rental except sometimes in Seaside – that’s why she and her husband picked PPB to move to – a family town with a good school system – she ran for Council to protect this town for residents – not discriminating – all are part of the community and wanted here – can still rent out your house in summer, week to week – for most, this is a second house, where they will retire, which is great – she understands people getting emotional – is for this ordinance – if something is not working, can go back to the drawing board – are not perfect people – right now, this is what we need to do for our town; Councilwoman Vitale: has only been here 7 years from north Jersey – used to stay in hotels when evaluating where they wanted to go – the year-round perception of PPB was awesome – they came all months – little partying, lot of recreation for the kids and the schools are great – has talked to many people, read 400 emails called the Borough Atty. and Mayor almost every day to get a better understanding of the ordinance and explain it to people on both sides – makes sense – were elected to protect the town and residents – that’s what we are trying to do with this ordinance, which he supports; Councilman Migut: Mayor made a good point at the last meeting – this is new phenomenon, come about by the Internet and cyber businesses – the law has to catch up – can’t allow new-fashioned businesses, with 1-day rentals, to skirt zoning laws and insert hotels into residential neighborhoods – may not be perfect, but it’s a starting point – had discussions with the Borough Atty. in the last 2 weeks and there are some things he wants to change, that are not going to be changed this week, but may be considered later – and other points may be considered later – but there has to be a starting point; Councilman Vitale: spent the whole summer monitoring social media to protect shore towns from pop-up parties – are using Airbnb’s and VRBO’s, bringing in 80 people, with drugs, drinking, etc., and just renting for the weekend – are partying and posting it all over – are 5-10 Snapchat sites alone advertising these parties – sent Chief Michigan notices of parties coming up in the area every day this summer – had 1 or 2 here that were stopped – is a huge phenomenon with the Internet and another reason to enact this ordinance; Councilwoman Testa: realizes not all rent to pop-up parties – are only a small majority of people in this town – maybe 10 people reached out to her from town saying they opposed the ordinance – and over 500 emails from people not from this town; Councilman Pasola: it’s very simple – a big part of the Governing Body’s job is to protect the health, safety and welfare of residents and visitors – one way to do that is we must regulate rentals, including short-term rentals – can’t have hotels popping up in residential neighborhoods – can’t have corporations like Airbnb’s take over the town and it’s slowly happening – supports hotels and motels in the right zones – must stand strong and do what’s best for residents) – addressed the 30-day component in off-season –majority of other Ocean County towns that have short-term rental bans also have this 30-day component – in the off-season, it’s much easier to sell a rental for 7 days, price it accordingly, and it’s a de facto weekend rental – and that is not the intent of the ordinance – the intent, aside from de-incentivizing the continued trend of investor-only properties being purchased, is to cut down on weekend rentals in general – this is the only way to ensure there aren’t major abuses – are going to look at this – are not perfect – hearing the stories of people who want to be part of PPB, whose rentals help them subsidize, pulls at his heart strings – hears everyone loud and clear empathizes – but personal financial realities and what motivates someone to buy or not, can’t supersede the intent, wishes and will of the residents – asked himself why there should be short-term rentals where they were never zoned for – no one answered that question in a way that would change his opinion – only one resident who spoke, who doesn’t manage her own rentals, was against this ordinance – speaks volumes – he is for the ordinance – appreciates the public debate – called for a motion.
Motion by Councilman Pasola to adopt Ordinance 2021-33 was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Cortes, Pasola, Migut,….YEA
Councilwoman Byrnes….ABSENT
Motion by Councilman Pasola to adjourn was seconded by Councilman Migut and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 10:31PM.
ATTEST: ______________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
