Oglesby to revisit short-term rental request

Oglesby might be ready to revisit one of the short-term rental requests that had been denied.

Monday, the Oglesby City Council reopened talks on short-term rentals – Airbnbs, for example – in residential areas.

Previously, the council turned down a request to establish a short-term rental. Now, Commissioner Austin Cullinan proposes giving it a fresh look provided the city agrees to some limits.

Cullinan proposed limits on the number of nights allotted ≠ “No more than 30 days at the absolute max” – for rental at a non-primary residence.

Cullinan further said he was open to a higher cap for a primary residence – someone vacationing abroad could rent out their home – and he had no issues with converting downtown structures into rental units.

The petitioned denied could get a fresh vote on July 21; but the ensuing discussion showed the council has no consensus on short-term rentals as a whole.

“I’ll be honest,” Commissioner Hilary Moyle said, “I’m not a fan of the short-term rentals.”

Moyle said the housing market already is tight and not favorable to first-time buyers and young families. Market conditions would worsen if properties were snatched up to be converted into short-term rentals.

“I’m OK with being on the losing side of this,” she said. “It’s something I don’t agree with.”

Mayor Jason Curran signaled there may be ways to find a middle ground.

“I do think there’s some value in having it to some degree,” he said.

Separately, the council tweaked the ordinance governing video gaming.

The council decided to get in front of the growing demand for electronic keno. Though the city presently has no requests to add keno to any gaming parlors in Oglesby, city officials checked to see if the ordinance was current and updated. It wasn’t.

“We had something in our code that defined the word ‘raffle’ that made it not legal for us,” Curran said.

Finally, the council is looking for members to sit on various boards. Curran announced an opening on the zoning board of appeals, one opening on the park board, two for the ambulance board, one for Design Review Board and one for the facade committee.