Sixteen Woodstock property owners can apply for short-term rental permits (STRs) after showing they had received county permits but did not register with the town.
Members of the town Short Term Rental Association had argued they were denied the opportunity to obtain town permits because the Woodstock cap, initially 340, had been reduced to 285. Some had been lost in the Covid-related backlog.
Since these were second homes, the homeowners had argued, they were not suitable as long-term rentals for the time they were not used.
The town housing committee, which has been working on solutions to long-term affordable housing, opposed changing the caps until the regulations were reviewed. But the resolution, which passed the town board unanimously, decided that permits for the 16 homeowners, if approved, would fall under the original 2019 cap.
The property owners have 30 days from the date of the passage of the resolution to apply for an STR permit. They must comply with all other conditions of the STR permit. and they must attest they meet four conditions:
First, that they had applied for their county ID# prior to the beginning of 2020.
Secondly, that they assumed their county ID# permitted them to operate an STR in Woodstock.
Thirdly, that they use the residence in question part of the year.
Finally, that their use of the residence does not permit for a long-term rental situation.