VERMILION — A proposed update to Vermilion’s transient rental rules drew a lengthy discussion during the May 18 Legislative Committee meeting, with city officials pointing to safety, compliance and neighborhood concerns while several Linwood Park cottage owners argued their historic seasonal community should not be treated the same as full-time short-term rental businesses.
City Points To Safety, Compliance Concerns
Mayor Russ Owens told council the city has approximately 107 registered transient rental properties. Of those, he said only 15 are owned by Vermilion residents, while the remaining 92, or about 86%, are owned by people, businesses, LLCs or other entities that do not live in the city.
Owens said the rentals are spread across all five wards, with 41 in Ward 1, 24 in Ward 2, six in Ward 3, 31 in Ward 4 and five in Ward 5. He said 47 are in Lorain County and 60 are in Erie County.
According to Owens, the average nightly rate for the registered rentals is $253. He said a proposed $500 annual registration fee would amount to about $6.66 per night if a property was rented 75 nights per year, or about $3.85 per night if it was rented 130 nights per year.
Owens said the proposal is not intended as a money grab, but as a way to strengthen compliance and enforcement.
“This Ordinance is about making sure everyone is playing by the same rules and that they have a way to address it when they are not,” Owens said, according to the meeting minutes.
The mayor said the ordinance focuses on inspections, safety compliance, complaint investigations, revocation authority and daily violations tied to behavior. He said enforcement fines would apply to owners who repeatedly violate the law, ignore city orders or fail to comply with safety requirements.
Owens also argued that transient rentals can reduce the supply of long-term housing in Vermilion and affect neighborhood stability when homes are converted from year-round residences to short-term rentals.
Linwood Owners Say Their Community Is Different
Several Linwood Park residents said the proposal does not account for the differences between investment-style short-term rentals and seasonal family cottages that may only be rented for a few weeks each year.
John Balliett, of East Shoreline, said his great-grandfather built his family’s Linwood cottage in 1910 and that this is his 80th year at Linwood. He said he rents the cottage only five weeks during the summer because family members use it the rest of the season.
Balliett said Linwood residents pay property taxes and park fees, while also maintaining their own streets through the Linwood Park Company. He said his cottage is not heated, has no insulation and is only usable during the warmer months.
“They are not involved in any of the safety issues he is talking about,” Balliett said, according to the minutes. “They are not causing any problems in the neighborhood; if anything, they bring people in here.”
John Waggoner, of Walnut Street, said he is a year-round Linwood Park resident and one of the 14 compliant cottage owners who rent in the park. He said the city already charges $300 every two years for inspections and questioned why the cost should rise if the current system is working.
Waggoner said he had been told there had only been one fine for failure to register and a couple of noise complaints, which he said could already be handled under the city’s noise ordinance.
Greg Brenneman, of Fifth Street, also opposed the proposed changes. He said many Linwood cottages are seasonal and cannot be rented year-round. He said renters support local businesses by buying gas and groceries and visiting restaurants during their stays.
Janet Waggoner, also of Walnut Street, said her family’s connection to Vermilion goes back generations. She said many Linwood renters return year after year and spend money locally while they are in town.
“Linwood Park gives back, they police themselves, they have their own rules, they put in their own streets and maintain everything and hire people from Vermilion,” she said, according to the minutes.
Jerry Monroe, of Elm Street, said not all out-of-town owners should be viewed as outsiders. He said some are only one or two counties away and remain deeply connected to Vermilion.
Monroe described Linwood Park as a private association and self-policing community that is nearly as old as the municipality itself. He asked council to consider whether there is a reasonable way to distinguish Linwood from other areas under the ordinance.
Other Neighborhoods Report Different Problems
The discussion also showed that concerns about transient rentals vary by neighborhood.
Karen Viterna, of Edgewater Drive in Elberta Beach, said transient rentals are prevalent in her neighborhood and have created issues with visitors walking through private yards to reach the water. She said some renters are told there is a public beach nearby, creating problems for residents.
Viterna also raised concerns about fireworks during the Fourth of July holiday and said she hopes the city gets the issue under control.
Council President Jeff Lucas noted that the city’s transient rental map shows dense clusters in lakefront areas, including Vermilion on the Lake, Nakomis, Elberta Beach and Linwood Park.
Council Weighs Legal Questions
Councilman Greg Drew asked the city’s law directors whether council could legally carve out separate rules for Linwood Park because it is a gated community and handles some services privately.
Law Director Tony Pecora said they could not answer that question immediately and would need to research it.
Councilman Homer Taft raised broader concerns about the ordinance, including whether the city’s definition of transient rental could unintentionally apply too broadly. He said council has an obligation to treat residents equally and avoid illegal discrimination.
The ordinance remains under review. The discussion left council with a central policy question: how to regulate problem rentals and protect neighborhoods without overburdening long-standing seasonal cottage communities that say they are not the source of the problem.