by the Vermont Standard
At a joint meeting last Thursday, May 2, the Woodstock Selectboard and Village Trustees unanimously approved a new short-term rental (STR) ordinance and fee schedule. After a 60-day waiting period during which residents can petition to bring the new regulations to a public vote, the ordinance will go into effect on July 1, 2024.
The ordinance standardizes STR rules and fees across the Village and Town; caps the allowed number of STRs at 55 for owner-occupied units and 55 for non-owner-occupied units, which represents roughly 5% of Woodstock’s housing stock; and removes operation limits so permitted STR operators can rent as many times a year as they want. Village Trustee Brenda Blakeman, an owner of two STRs, recused herself from the vote.
Before passing the ordinance, the board changed the original fee structure in the ordinance, which had been one of the most contentious parts of the proposal. The ordinance now has an annual base fee of $500 for owner-occupied STRs and of $1,000 for non-owner-occupied STRs. Operators will also be charged an additional annual fee tied to their unit’s maximum occupancy.
STRs with a one- to four-person maximum occupancy will be charged $250, those with a five- to eight-person maximum occupancy will be charged $1,000, and those with nine or more will be charged $2,000. This is a reduction from an earlier draft of the ordinance, which proposed an annual charge of $750 for owner-occupied and $3,000 for non-owner-occupied, plus $250 for each of the unit’s allowable occupants.
“We heard a lot of feedback from the community about how high the fees were,” Laura Powell, a member of the Woodstock Selectboard, told the Standard. “And I think it made sense to bring them down to get us to a place where people could be reasonably expected to cover the costs while still being high enough to enable the fees to cover the cost of the program.”