By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – Short-term rentals in a town that is neither popular for skiing nor going to the beach have become a contentious issue between the public and borough council.
Amidst much pushback at a Feb. 8 meeting, the borough council passed a controversial ordinance to regulate short-term rentals in the borough.
Championed by council president Michael Ballard and in the works since last summer, the ordinance prohibits short-term rentals such as those offered on Airbnb in strictly residential areas, even if they are owner-occupied. Short-term rentals will be allowed everywhere else in the borough.
Led by Mayor Billy Portman, the council passed the ordinance with the only dissenting vote cast by council member Kate Triggiano.
A lengthy debate ensued over the implications of the ordinance that primarily restricts short-term rentals facilitated by popular online rental companies like Airbnb and VRBO, among others. While some residents called the ordinance “discriminatory,” a few others deemed it necessary to curb what they consider to be a transient population in town.
“The only thing that kept me from losing my home from foreclosure was Airbnb,” West Front street resident Michael Gheghan told the council. He said he survived the pandemic because of the rental income.
A resident of Red Bank for 20 years, Gheghan explained to the council that the point of Airbnb is to “build a positive structure.
Otherwise, you can’t use Airbnb as a guest. I’ve been a super host, what they call a super host, for five years, meaning that my house is always in perfect order, and that my tenants act accordingly.”
Gheghan tried to convince the council that no one could rent his property for any amount of time without being vetted thoroughly. He also added that most of the people who frequent Red Bank are “families coming in from other states for weddings and/or funerals or family gatherings, maybe a Christmas or Thanksgiving.” That generates income for local businesses, too, he said. “It would be a tragedy for us to lose this opportunity.”
Bruce Shapiro raised concerns about the ordinance on behalf of the New Jersey Association of Realtors, an advocate for real estate industry and private property owners. “We do not agree with only allowing certain property owners to engage in short-term rentals based on what street or even what section of a street a home is located on.”
Shapiro said the council should give homeowners the right to use their property as a short-term rental to make extra income that could be used to help them offset their property taxes and pay for their mortgage.
Bryan Hutchinson, CEO of Monmouth Ocean Regional Realtors, an organization that represents roughly 16,000 real estate agents, told the council to either vote the ordinance down or to consider rewording it to represent all homeowners fairly. “We don’t redline people for where their houses are at. Whether they’re on the beach or they’re in downtown, they should be able to equally access their home no matter who they are, where they come from, or what their socioeconomic status is and this ordinance does the opposite of that,” Hutchinson said. “It says based on where your property may be will determine whether or not you can utilize your home to the fullest advantage.”
Hutchinson noted that the IRS allows individuals to rent out their primary residence for 14 days a year without having to declare it as income to the government, under the Department of Treasury’s Internal Revenue Code.
Apart from helping people pay for their mortgages, insurances and property taxes, Hutchinson said short term rentals help pay for the upkeep on houses, “to keep them from becoming slums and falling apart.”
Residents in support of the ordinance have alleged since the council first opened the discussion on short-term rentals that the restrictions will curb a steady stream of “transients.”
Mary Ellen Mess, a resident of Hudson Avenue, was in favor of the ordinance. “It is not perfect but it sends a message to other people who are looking to come in here and speculate on real estate,” Mess said.
“This is not an outright ban,” council member John Jackson said, citing the examples of Toms River and Ocean which also allow only designated areas for short-term rentals.
Portman noted Ballard was supposed to hold a workshop on the short-term rental ordinance after the December council meeting but “that just never happened.”
“I feel our job is to listen to residents, and I don’t think we as a body listened to the residents,” he said.
“To say that we didn’t listen to the residents is just not true,” Ballard said, refuting Portman’s comment. Ballard noted that the ordinance was brought forward multiple times and tabled twice to discuss all public comments. Wallace Street resident Anthony Scannell who operates a short-term rental, echoed Portman. “There was going to be a workshop where you would listen to us and have some sort of collaborative conversation and it never happened,” he said.
Frustrated by the council’s “ridiculous” decision, Scannell said, “Forget the matter at hand. The fact that you are not listening to us is paramount to what this whole problem is. It’s frustrating and it’s sending turmoil down every street in Red Bank.”
“We’re not trying to kill anybody’s rental income,” Ballard had said when the final draft of the ordinance was proposed at the Jan. 25 council meeting, one which lasted more than four hours.
During that meeting the council heard a majority of residents complaining about the negative impact of Airbnbs on their quality of life, with increased noise, garbage and parking problems.
Worthley Street resident Scott Lavelle spoke about 250 Mechanic St., listed on Airbnb as a six-bedroom rental property. The property is regularly used for “loud parties” even though no one resides there, he said at the Jan. 25 meeting. Lavelle showed photos of a bounce house in the backyard of the rented house visible from his window. “No couple who’s going to have a romantic dinner at Robinson Ale House is going to rent this place,” he said.
Yet another set of residents who rent their properties to afford living in town themselves had requested the board consider allowing short-term rentals. Residents Vahid Wallace who hosts short-term rentals and another resident, Nicole Shore, who doesn’t rent, called on the council to make a balanced decision.
“We’re just trying to create communities in Red Bank where neighbors know their neighbors from week to week, and month to month, and hopefully for years. I don’t think short-term rentals provide that,” Ballard said.
Upcoming Special Elections
Also at the Feb. 8 meeting, the borough council voted unanimously to introduce an ordinance for early voting. The ordinance will lay out the parameters for whether or not early voting should be part of the special elections scheduled for May.
As recommended by the Red Bank Charter Commission, last year the residents voted in favor of a new council-manager form of government that would replace the present mayor-council form in the borough. The mayoral position and all six council seats will be up for grabs in the special elections in May.
Council members weighed in on the cost of early voting options for this special municipal election.
According to Laura Reinertsen, borough clerk, the estimated cost for the May municipal election comes to $25,249 and early voting estimates are $20,795, “so, you’re looking a total $46,044,” the borough will need to pay to hold the election.
Early voting would be held in person at the borough hall from May 5 to 7, the weekend prior to May 9 elections.
Portman confirmed that the cost of a runoff election would be $20,000 to $25,000. The total estimated cost of the special municipal election, including early voting and a potential runoff, is estimated at $65,000.
Portman said he was in favor of early voting. “I want as a many people voting as possible, that’s the whole point of it,” he said.
“I think the numbers we’re putting up there might be a lot for the residents,” Triggiano said. “We’re not always talking about the cost of democracy, and election costs every year. I believe it’s the right thing to do.”
Council Remembers Gary Sable
At the Jan. 25 council meeting, Portman and council members opened the meeting by observing a moment of silence in memory of Gary Sable, who passed away Jan. 20, at the age of 70. According to his obituary on shorepointfh.com, Sable owned and operated the restaurant That Hot Dog Place in the little alleyway next to Dublin House on Monmouth Street. Laura Scribellito, one of Sable’s acquaintances, posted a comment on his online obit page: “Gary didn’t just make delicious soup, but *he* was the main ‘ingredient’ in going for soup or a sandwich at The Hot Dog Place. I would always marvel that Gary could talk to everyone about anything… from the Stock Market to Horse Racing, to Music to Pets… When I read that his remains will rest with his dogs, that gave me a big smile. He was a great guy… and will be missed.”
“Gary was a top-notch guy,” said Triggiano, who had known him since she was a teenager. “He was always there, he was a support to a lot of people, and he really cared about giving back to the community.”
The article originally appeared in the February 16 – 22, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
