OCEAN CITY, Md. - The debate over short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods and mobile home communities resurfaced this week as Ocean City residents and council members met Tuesday to review potential new regulations.
The discussion centered on an internal survey completed by council members to determine where they stand on possible ordinance changes. The topic has remained contentious in recent years, with supporters calling for more regulations and others arguing the town is overreaching.
Jerry Priestley, who lives in a residential neighborhood with his grandchildren, said he has seen safety issues tied to short-term renters. “Some of the short term rentals, they come in and out of this neighborhood fast and things like that,” Priestley said.
Some ideas being considered by the ocean city council.
Other residents, including Terry Miller, oppose additional restrictions. Miller said limiting short-term rentals would hurt the local tourism economy, which she believes relies heavily on visitors. “The people that don't want rentals just don't want somebody staying next door to them. And that's a shame. We were built on short term rentals, and that's our whole economy. We have nothing else here but tourism,” she said.
Among the ideas being considered by the council are limiting rentals to one renter per week, requiring a minimum stay of seven nights, and capping the number of rental properties a single owner can operate. All of these ideas would only apply to short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods and mobile home communities according to the council.
Miller argued the issue should have been resolved after the town’s special election in July, when voters struck down a proposal that would have imposed stricter regulations on short-term rentals. “We felt that with the referendum that this would be put to bed, but they're bringing it back, and it's unfortunate,” she said.
The council is expected to revisit the topic Monday as it reviews the current short-term rental moratorium.