LORAIN, Ohio — In the decade since Sandy Campana first began noticing an influx of short-term visitors to her quiet Lakeside Avenue neighborhood, she has been growing increasingly irritated by what she’s seen.
“It’s like having a Motel 6 across from you and now we have two in a row,” she said. “It’s not a quiet neighborhood anymore with the AirBnBs and Vrbos.”
The longtime resident shared photos with News 5 of the view from her front window of two short-term rental properties. She pointed out boats and campers crowding the one-way street and cars blocking driveways or parking too close to her home.
“It’s very hard to get out when you have a car parked there,” she said, pointing to the street across from her driveway. “Boats are parking on the steet, [there are] parties.”
In 2022, Campana and other neighbors’ complaints throughout the city prompted Lorain City Council to take a closer look at how the short-term rental properties were regulated.
News 5 spoke with neighbors and city leaders about the discussions in April 2023
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The following year, the city was crafting legislation to regulate the burgeoning industry.
In August 2023, Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley told News 5 he hoped revenue generated from rental fees and taxes would help create an enforcement structure.
RELATED: Discussions continue over regulating short-term rental properties in Lorain
In late 2023, the city council amended the city code to include new regulations. The changes now require short-term rental property owners to register with the city, obtain a conditional use permit, pay a 3% bed tax and provide 1.25 off-street parking spaces per guest room.
“This is becoming a big business in the city of Lorain. It needs to be treated as such. There needs to be some regulation and it needs to be taxed properly,” at-large City Council member Mary Springowski said Tuesday.
The former chair of council’s Building and Lands Committee helped craft the new rules. She said it’s a delicate balance to ensure the vacation properties are safe and respectful while not impeding an industry that’s bringing tourism to Lorain.
“Of course there were some property owners who thought it went too far. And you’re never going to make everybody happy. So you really want to go and strike a happy medium,” Springowski said.
One property owner told News 5 off-camera that his short-term rentals are a vast improvement from the blighted homes he originally purchased. He believes his investment has helped attract visitors who, in turn, invest in Lorain businesses, and the new regulations are a burden on an industry that benefits the economy.
Campana believes the properties don’t belong on residential streets. She told News 5 the new regulations may help if they were better enforced, but she would prefer a total ban on short term rentals.
“It’s a commercial business in a residential neighborhood, and that’s my gripe about the whole thing,” she said. “You can’t stop them. And until somebody has one move into their neighborhood, they wouldn’t understand. But when you get them next door, you understand.”
Springowski said the Building and Lands Committee will be reviewing the latest data on short-term rental properties in the city and the impact of new regulations during a meeting on June 10.
