Ann Arbor lawmakers are enlisting the input of community residents as they consider new rules for vacation rental websites like Airbnb.
“We learn a lot from listening to each other, but there is still a lot that we do not know,” Democratic Council member Elizabeth Ward of the 4th Ward told The Center Square.
As part of the process, the city has hired Ann Arbor-based consulting firm Carlisle Wortman Associates Inc. to collect data and study regulatory options. According to early data, the firm indicated roughly 1,400 properties across the city were used for short-term rentals over a yearlong period beginning in July 2018 and 131 of those were rented out for at least 150 days out of the year.
Most common among the complaints filed against Airbnb are pricing locals out of the market and inviting party houses with absent landlords, The Center Square reports.
Zoning laws have also proven to be a prime issue, leading to other cities establishing ordinances requiring Airbnbs owned by the same person to be a certain number of feet away from each other.
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