An ordinance that would regulate short-term rentals in Knowlton that was on the agenda in January but tabled is expected to check in for the February meeting of the Township Council.
Short-term rentals, often facilitated by online sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo have been a hot-button issue in Knowlton, particularly after a non-profit organization was found to be hosting events with more than 30 people.
“We had a situation with a place called Hayden’s House of Healing, where they were advertising their establishment online,” said committeewoman Adele Starrs at the January meeting. “You make a donation, and then people could get the house for the weekend. And they did that.”
Starrs said people were having parties on an adjacent community-owned lake, and there was nothing that the township committee could do about it, because it lacked the authority to regulate that kind of short-term rental.
In 2022, Knowlton firefighters responded to an alarm at a home on Ivan Road. The alarm was quickly resolved, but it seemed apparent that many more people were staying at the house zoned for residential use.
The house was owned by Hayden’s House of Healing as a resource and retreat for bereaved parents who have lost a child.
Given the nature of the activities of the facility, township zoning and fire officials felt that the house needed to be in compliance with regulations beyond those of a single-family residence. Because Hayden’s House had never applied for the variances, it had escaped notice until the June 2022 fire, when zoning officials got involved. The inspections effectively suspended any activities at the house.
In August of 2022, more than 50 people crowded the Township Committee meeting to voice their support of Hayden’s House of Healing on Ivan Road, many of whom spoke about the children they had lost and the support they received from Hayden’s House.
Committee members initially offered strong support of Hayden’s House but added that it is imperative that the facility meet fire and zoning requirements for the safety and health of its clients as well as its neighbors.
However, Rob and Ady Dorsett, the founders and chief officers of Hayden’s House, did not follow through by applying for the proper permits and other requirements according to town officials. And by the November 2022 Township Committee meeting, another crowd of about 50 people—this time neighbors of Hayden’s House—appeared to voice their frustrations with the facility.
An official of Lake Property Owners Association, a homeowners’ association that includes a number of residential properties adjacent to and near the Ivan Road Hayden’s House, said the facility has morphed beyond a retreat house for grieving parents.
Neighbors said the organization rents the house for private events including loud parties that last to the early morning hours.
Contacted after the committee meeting, Rob Dorsett said that he is always at the house during any event. He also disputed the characterization of the retreat house morphing into a social gathering place.
“Absolutely not,” Dorsett said about the facility being used for parties. Although when asked about an event when neighbors came to the door to complain in the early morning hours, he did concede that things sometimes “got a little rowdy.”
Events such as these concerned committeeman James Mazza, who said he wanted to know that—even with the proposed regulations—how the township would enforce them.
“I’m not particularly fond of short-term rentals. How are we going to police it?” Mazza asked. “How do you keep up on it? How do you vet the people coming in and out? And it’s more on zoning.”
The next Township Committee meeting is scheduled for Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
