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Leslie Steen, of Tilghman Island, says there are four short-term rental properties within 1,000 feet of her home. She’s worried it’ll become a domino effect for the “tight-knit� community if more rentals pop up.

“The more houses we lose, the less of a community we have,� Steen said. “And that’s not healthy.�

Regulations proposed last month by County Council members Lynn Mielke and Pete Lesher would introduce stricter rules on short-term rental operations and the licenses they receive. The proposal elicited divided opinions at a county meeting last month, and there’s no clear middle ground as county planners prepare to meet with the council Tuesday for a workshop on the legislation.

Property owners already must go through a review board to obtain or renew a license. Most license requests are granted.

Proposed are measures that some rental owners argue go too far, including a seven-night minimum stay for lease holders in residential and village districts, an increase from the current three-night requirement.

Lesher says the seven-day minimum isn’t a huge change — he says short-term rentals are “by and large a weekend business.�

“It’s really, how often can it be rented?� Lesher added, saying an increase from three to seven days still leaves 52 weeks a year on the table.

Michelle Hoyle, owner of the rental company Tidewater Vacations, says renters won’t be likely to pay for seven days if they can only stay for less than a week. She says shorter stays have become more common since many of her renters have gone back to in-person work in Washington, D.C.

“This will shut me down,� Hoyle said. “Three-day is hard enough. We understand the three-day.�

Hoyle says the possibility of the change is already leading her to seek out homes in nearby counties. Currently, Tidewater Vacations operates seven short-term properties, all in Talbot County.

“It’s something I don’t want to do because I truly do love this county,� Hoyle said. “But I don’t have an option.�

ADDED RESTRICTIONS

Draft legislation would amend the county’s current short-term rental rules, which property owners largely say they understand and accept.

Along with the seven-day stay requirement, some of the proposed rule additions that have received divided reactions include:

• Licenses would split into two classes — one for properties that are the applicant’s primary residence and the other for non-primary residences. The latter class would limit one license per 500 or 1,000 feet, depending on zoning district.
• Landlines would have to be installed in all short-term rentals.
• Short Term Rental Review Board members would only be eligible for one immediate reappointment.
• Renewal applications would require logs of when the rental was occupied by tenants, family members and the owner.

The ask to provide more detailed logging hasn’t sat well with Easton residents Kevin and Angeline Hartmann, who often rent out a second home on the Miles River.

“To me, that’s a total overreach,� Kevin Hartmann said. “I still can’t believe that lawmakers and the county attorney would put that in the legislation.�

Keith Watts is chair of the review board and owns two short-term rental properties himself. He says the new restrictions would only add more stress on county planners tasked with reviewing and tracking licenses and applications.

“The amount of time that planning and zoning spends on short-term rentals is astronomical,� Watts said.

Residents supportive of the regulations view them as an improvement from the current rules that they feel are “one size fits all.� They hope the class distinction could help prevent clusters of short-term rentals from popping up in St. Michaels neighborhoods like Bentley Hay or on smaller residential roads in areas such as Tilghman Island.

“You may not need the same kind of restrictions for 10-acre lots as you do for houses that have 10-foot setbacks,� St. Michaels resident Monica Otte said.

The revisions are still far from a potential vote. The commission and council will hold a joint workshop Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. Lesher said in an interview that he’s listening to critics of the legislation, especially those who have specific objections.

Residents like Otte say they aren’t looking for legislation to completely kill short-term rentals, but instead something to provide more balance.

“What we’re looking for is a better balance, a more fair balance between Talbot residents and short-term rental owners,� Otte said.