from BRIAN POKORNY

Under New Milford Plan,

Landlords Must Live In

Shortterm Rental Houses

To the Editor:

After almost two years of collecting data and receiving input from Village of Milford residents, the Village Planning/Zoning Board presented an updated version of the village’s Comprehensive Plan to the Village Board to be voted on.

The proposed plan was adopted on April 1, and the Village Board voted 3-0 in favor of the changes.  In addition to the comprehensive plan being updated, the village zoning laws were updated to reflect the changes in the comp plan. Once the vote was taken, the moratorium on accepting short-term rental applications was officially over.

The plan addresses many aspects of our community and gives community leaders a blueprint moving forward.  As data was being collected it was obvious that “short-term rentals” was the topic most village residents wanted to be addressed.

Some residents were in favor and some were not, and village officials worked diligently to find the middle ground.  The goal was to encourage economic growth while maintaining harmony in our village neighborhoods.

So it was decided to “grandfather” in any current short-term rentals as long as the landlords abide by the current zoning laws. New applicants will also have to abide by the current zoning laws, as well as live in the dwelling they are renting while they have guests.

All involved think this “owner-occupied” addition to our zoning laws will help maintain the village population as well as allow landlords to have better oversight of their property while it is being rented.

BRIAN POKORNY

Mayor

Village of Milford