Close to 100 people filled the Beaver Valley Community Centre Monday night to voice their opinion about a controversial Town of the Blue Mountains bylaw that would license  short-term accommodations.

The bylaw amendment, initially proposed last year, would see the establishment of rigid definitions and permitted uses for short-term accommodation properties in the Blue Mountain area. It would limit short-term rental properties to specific areas and also see harsher penalties for what the municipality has deemed nuisance factors such as parking and noise infractions, factors that many residents view as intolerable.

"We don't wish to waste your time repeating complaints," said Ian Huffman, a resident of the Blue Mountain area and president of his condo board, addressing council and the public. "We can't enjoy the same quality of life as most residents because we are abused by property owners who rent."

Terry White, a fellow condo board president in the area also put his support behind the amendment, while others who could not attend the meeting in person wrote letters voicing their concern.

"Most weekends are marred by people partying to all hours of the night and making a lot of noise from screaming and yelling to beeping car horns to extremely loud music thumping away," said Annette McMaster, a property owner in the Tyrolean Village area at Blue Mountain in a letter to council.

"I hope that the powers that be see sense in this bylaw and the need to license these accommodations with strict penalties."

However, with support from some community members came heavy opposition from others.

"The current report contains no information that demonstrates a negative impact of rentals," said Stan Makuch, a lawyer representing three major rental companies.

He also said that the municipality has grossly underestimated the initial cost of implementing the bylaw, adding legal fees and the additional expense of staffing to police the bylaw would result in a 7.7-per-cent tax increase for residents.

"It would be very inappropriate for council to sponsor this bylaw."

Makuch's comments were loudly jeered by the residential property owners in attendance who are pressing council to pass the new bylaw.

"There are already laws on the books to control many issues people have," said Harvey Goldmintz, owner of Blue Mountain Chalets. He said that council and the police don't enforce many bylaws that are already in place. "Before we go looking for new rules, you should enforce the rules you already have."
The meeting also featured a presentation from Intrawest representative Paul Peterson.
"Blue Mountain Resort works very hard to run a good rental program, he said. "We don't see a need to be subject to additional costs," adding that rental properties were always part of Intrawest's development plan for the resort. Peterson said the "blanket prohibition" in the bylaw would result in his company having to look for exemptions.
Blue Mountains Mayor Ellen Anderson said the planning department would compile and consider the comments from the public meeting and prepare another report for council within eight weeks.