The Bethlehem Planning Commission Dec. 12 discussed a proposed amendment to the Zoning Ordinance that would establish Short Term Lodging (e.g. Airbnb hosting) as a new use category, though it was ultimately tabled.

Such a zoning change would, “create an opportunity to define where short term lodging is permitted in the city and create parameters for the use...such as parking, owner-occupancy, limits of use, and code requirements,” according to a Dec. 5 memorandum to the planners from Director of Planning and Zoning Darlene Heller.

The proposed rule permits short term lodging only in certain portions of Bethlehem and only in owner-occupied, single family homes. “For a unit that’s not occupied by the owner, we would not allow short term lodging at all,” said Heller. An owner-occupant may rent one or two rooms on their property. If renting two rooms, they must add a third off-street parking space to the two already required by the zoning rules.

At present, Bethlehem’s Zoning Ordinance does not address short term lodging. However, Article 1741 of the Building Code went into effect in 2018 and prohibits such activity in non-hotels and non-B&B’s with two exceptions. The first is that an owner-occupied, single family dwelling may rent no more than two bedrooms. The second is that a person may rent their entire primary residence for seven to 30 days per calendar year. Homes used as Article 1741 rentals must be licensed and inspected each year.

The code is currently being challenged in court by the company Dr. & Sir, which operates multiple non-conforming Airbnb’s and has been cited by the city repeatedly.

Many issues must be addressed before the Planning Commission will be ready to recommend adoption of the new Zoning Ordinance to city council. Short term renting is divisive, as some find the practice destructive to their neighborhoods and want it strictly limited. Others believe that renting out parts of their homes is their right, not to mention an important source of income.

Heller said during the meeting that her department spoke with many residents and heard arguments for and against short term renting. “One of the things that seemed to be supportive was that short term lodging does allow someone to stay in their home,” Heller said. “We have issues with affordable housing and things like that, and really, if the unit is owner-occupied, we’ve [not had complaints from neighbors].”

Commission Vice Chairman Matthew Malozi expressed concerns that the proposed zoning change is too liberal, as it allows for a home to be rented year-round to the potential detriment of the community. He favors limiting properties to 180 rental days per calendar year. “We want a diversity of neighborhoods.” he said, “We’ve already seen certain attacks...we’re losing neighborhood schools, and that’s part of the fabric. And now, if there’s a single occupant or empty nesters or whatever the case may be, renting out rooms, there’s just strangers in neighborhoods for long durations. There should be a maximum number of days per year that we allow short term lodging.”

Bruce Haines, Bethlehem resident and managing partner of Hotel Bethlehem, addressed the commission at length, objecting to all short term rentals in which guests do not share common space with the hosts.

Haines asserted that such use was never intended by the city when it enacted Building Code 1741. “The intent of the ordinance was always to only allow transient guests who were willing to be in a home-sharing environment and only allow a homeowner to be a short term lodging facility as long as they were willing to accept that guest into their common space...not have them enter by a separate door in a stand alone apartment...because that competes directly with a hotel.”

Haines told the commission that the city has granted short term rental licenses for homes that contain separate apartment units and therefore are not single-family. “They’re allowing people that want to turn their house into apartments...to compete with hotels in downtown, and that’s the problem with Airbnb across the country. I consider myself to be essentially an expert on transient visitors and transient guests, and [the city] refused to meet with me in the development of this ordinance, and I just am here to say I’m disappointed with what’s being proposed here...the only time you should allow transient visitors in a residential community should be if they’re sharing the space...and a continuation of what we have is allowing illegal hotels to operate in our residential districts,” he said.

Specifically excepted from the proposed short term lodging rules are Bed and Breakfast Homes as defined in the current Zoning Ordinance. This might create confusion, as one property could potentially qualify as both a short term lodging facility and a B&B. Under the current zoning law, a B&B is essentially an owner-occupied home with no more than five rooms for rent, operating a minimum of six months per year, and allowing stays of up to 14 days.

The other item the commission reviewed and discussed during the meeting was a draft revision of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO). Charlie Schmehl of Bethlehem’s Urban Research and Development Corporation wrote the proposed ordinance and presented it to the commission.

SALDO mainly governs the creation or alteration of real estate lots and non-residential land development. Among other goals, the new SALDO aims to promote development that is more environmentally sustainable. This involves, for instance, avoiding excessive paving and encouraging the installation of gardens and landscaped areas that do not require watering.

Schmehl pointed out that the new SALDO omits the term “variance,” which is commonly understood to mean an exception from Zoning Ordinance requirements, for which an applicant must show hardship. To distinguish this from modifications of SALDO requirements, the term “variance” has been replaced with “modification or waiver.”

Malozi asked Schmehl about including provisions in SALDO that will improve and promote public transportation, saying, “We have done a good job at cleaning up our carbon emissions for generating power and even manufacturing things. We are still really awful in terms of transportation, and in cities, particularly where you have Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton joined by two major corridors and an enhanced bus service coming along, I would like to see that be something that can’t accidentally slip through the cracks or escape during the process. A robust public transportation system would also speak to environmental sustainability in a huge way.”

In response, Schmael advised that the proposed SALDO requires applicants for major projects to contact LANTA and inquire about opportunities to coordinate service, such as adding or relocating bus stops.

Heller said the proposed SALDO update will undergo further revisions in accordance with the commission’s feedback. Ultimately, it will go before city council for approval.

Planning Commission meetings will resume in 2020 at their new regular time, 5 p.m. Officer election will take place at the next session.