NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The General Government Committee is recommending tiered annual fees for short-term rentals.

 

Owner-occupied buildings would be charged $200 for registration per unit and initial inspection and then $200 annually for inspection per unit.

 

All other buildings would be charged $350 per unit to register and $350 annually per unit for inspection.

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey had suggested a $500 fee to cover costs last month but said it was a starting point. She wanted to get some kind of fee in place so Inspection Services could begin registering and inspecting as required by the new short-term rental ordinance finally approved in February.

 

The committee had initially considered a registration charge and then a lower annual fee for inspections. 

 

Committee member Ashley Shade said she had looked into fees in other communities and found some were yearly, some were over a range and that others had separate registration and inspection fees. 

 

Most had a flat annual fee, she said. "Honestly, I want to make it as simple as possible. So I think there should just be one straight fee."

 

Chair Wayne Wilkinson asked Building Inspector William Meranti if there was a way to calculate the costs associated with inspections and referred to apartments. 

 

Meranti said it was difficult to determine. Apartments are $30 but that's only when a new tenant moves in so it could be inspected multiple times a year or once every 20. 

 

"We want to cover our costs," he said. "We tend to do a lot of inspections that are a loss for the city."

 

Shade thought it important to consider housing in the community, suggesting that fees go toward a housing component in the city and that residents who live in their building pay a lower fee because the money is staying in the city. 

 

Councilor Keith Bona, who attended the meeting, questioned if that should also apply to North Adams residents who don't live in the buildings they rent. 

 

The committee didn't think that was the same since they could be categorized as businesses. 

 

"I wouldn't be opposed to having a higher fee for the ones that are not owner-occupied," said Shade. "These are people who are just buying properties and using them to make money as an income."

 

They were also taking housing options away from the people who live here, she added.

 

Bona said, "they're buying multiple houses and basically running a hotel business without calling it a hotel."

 

Some people might just rent a room a few times a year but many are charging hotel rates, he said. 

 

A quick search of Airbnb for the Fresh Grass weekend turned up a half dozen units renting from $108 a night to $1,200.

 

Meranti said he was fine with flat fee or having the initial registration being higher, and having non owner-occupied buildings being higher as well. 

 

"I'm OK with that, too, because it is a business and my opinion has always been, if you want to run the business, there's costs," he said. 

 

After some discussion, the committee hit on the $200 and $350 fees after Committee member Peter Oleskiewicz pointed out the city would make more with a flat fee over time than an initial high fee and lower annual. 

 

Bona recommended that they not write the fees into the ordinance as the city is moving all the fees onto a separate schedule that can be linked to the ordinances. 

 

In other business, the committee will recommend the Airport Commission's request to amend its ordinance to require it have at least one person with experience in aeronautics rather than two with "aviation or airport management experience" as had been amended in 2021.  

 

"We found that we were having extreme difficulty finding someone with aviation or airport management experience," said Administrative Officer Katherine Eade. 

 

Chair Marc Morandi said the changes had occurred at a time when the former mayor was trying to expand the commission's pool of candidates while the former commission was limiting it.

 

The amendment would be in line with the state law and the committee voted to recommend. 

 

It also voted to recommend a change in the much amended Public Arts Commission ordinance. That commission is requesting that its authority also extend to art within public buildings that are accessible to the public. 

 

Commissioner Bryan Sapienza said this request was prompted by the mural painted inside the Armory that was commissioned by the North Adams Youth Basketball League to honor league contributors. 

 

"We feel that the Armory is a public building, it was accessible to the public," he said. "And this mural was painted without purview of the Public Arts Commission."

 

Any art installation on public land currently has to have a hearing by the commission. Sapienza said an individual had complained that the mural didn't reflect the present population or demographics of the city.

 

"I think having the ability to have public forum on any kind of art that's going to be put out publicly whether it's indoor or outdoors is important," said Shade. "It's an opportunity for people to to speak about it and have that conversation."