Windsor council reverses course for third time on short-term rentals. Is a ban imminent?

Windsor’s dizzying struggle to adopt regulations governing short term rentals continues.

The Town Council on Wednesday reversed course — again — this time directing staff to come back with an ordinance that would essentially ban non-hosted short-term rentals in residential areas of the town.

The council has wrestled since 2015 to come up with regulations for non-hosted short-term rentals such as VRBO and Airbnb properties. That year, staff counted about a dozen short-term rental properties that were operating in town. Currently, there are 108, according to staff.

In February, Town Council members were presented with an ordinance that would have required all short-term rental owners to get a permit and limit them to owning no more than five of these properties in Windsor. That ordinance would not have limited the overall number of short-term rentals operating in town.

At that same meeting, passionate opponents to non-hosted short-term rentals argued they harmed quality of life and the small town atmosphere on which Windsor prides itself.

The council switched course and, instead, asked for an ordinance that would essentially ban non-hosted short-term rentals in residential areas. It would have given owners a year to shut down.

In March, presented with that ordinance, and after hearing passionate testimony from short-term rental owners who said their livelihoods would be harmed, the council went the other way.

It asked city staff to come up with a new ordinance that would have limited non-hosted short-term rentals in the city to those that were already established.

On Wednesday, it was presented with that ordinance. But then it heard, again, from passionate opponents of non-hosted short-term rentals who said they harmed Windsor’s small town atmosphere and residents’ quality of life.

The council switched back like a hairpin turn.

It asked staff to come up with a much tougher ordinance*; one that would ban short-term rentals in residential areas and give the owners a year from this October to shut them down.

Council member Debora Fudge likened how that made her feel to the main character in the horror film “The Exorcist,“ whose head spun around as she was possessed by a demon.

“We just can’t do this again. This is showing dysfunctionality on our behalf,” Fudge said. “I’m done.”

She said the next time the ordinance comes back for a vote, “I may not be here. This needs to end.”

In a 3-2 vote Wednesday, Fudge and Council member Mike Wall voted against Vice Mayor Sam Salmon’s motion for the staff to return June 7 with, essentially, the ordinance it considered in February. The measure will also contain conditions that include limiting guests to two per bedroom, prohibition of events in non-hosted short-term rentals and minimum stays of three nights.

*Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to correct the description of Windsor’s various proposed ordinances to regulate short-term rentals. On Wednesday, town leaders asked staff to put together a stricter measure similar to one the council considered in March.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 707-387-2960 or jeremy.hay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jeremyhay