Will Potter and James Gordon, Dailymail.com 2024-06-16 02:50, Updated 2024-06-16 03:01
A popular Minnesota resort is taking steps to crack down on rowdy Airbnb guests after receiving numerous complaints from local homeowners.
A picturesque region located about two hours from Minneapolis, Otter Tail County is known for its breathtaking waterfront scenery in a county that boasts “more than 1,000 lakes.”
But in recent years, the lakefront has slowly become a hotbed of rowdy lakeside parties and raucous bachelorette parties that go on long into the night.
Following backlash from homeowners nostalgic for their lost peace and quiet, the Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners voted this week to crack down on occupancy rates and noise levels in rental housing.
Minnesota’s lake-rich county is cracking down on big, noisy vacation rentals. A patio at one of the giant eight-bedroom, eight-bathroom homes on Lake Clitheroe is going for $1,000 a night.
On the popular rental site Airbnb, beautiful lakefront homes can be rented for as much as $1,000 a night, many of which come equipped with hot tubs and docks for jet skis and boats. Overall, Otter Tail County boasts more than 300 vacation homes available through the app.
But the upscale accommodations stand in stark contrast to social media footage showing revelers drinking at Otter Tail County’s many lakes, the Star Tribune reported.
Local homeowner Steve Erickson told the paper that his neighbors rented out their home and were attracting a ton of rowdy guests who partied until the early hours of the morning.
“Every time a property comes up for sale, I worry it’s going to become an Airbnb,” he said.
Erickson’s neighbors received the most complaints of the hundreds of vacation homes dotted around the lake, and he said it was common for guests to party on the water and set off fireworks until 1 a.m.
Christopher LeClair of the Otter Tail County Land Resources Management Agency has called for the implementation of stricter Airbnb reforms. This cabin in Battle Lake, Minnesota, is available on Airbnb for $649 per night and has five bedrooms and three bathrooms. This 2-acre forested lakefront property in First Silver Lake, Minnesota, offers stunning lakeside views that offer beauty and tranquility.
Following a wave of complaints, the commission passed a series of new regulations this week.
These included mandating quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., banning RVs, tents or fish houses for extra guests, and limiting the number of residents by the number of beds and the size of a home’s septic tank.
To reduce the number of people on and off the lake, maximum occupancy is also stipulated throughout the day as well as at night.
Chris Leclerc, the commission’s land and resource manager, said of the changes: “Vacation rental owners need to be conscious of disrupting the peace of their neighbors, so we’re trying to make sure they can coexist.”
But some locals feel the measures go too far.
When the new measure was voted on this week, only one committee member, Commissioner Dan Buchholz, voted against it, fearing the new law, set to take effect July 1, would cripple the town’s summer tourism boom.
Bucholz said that if the ordinance goes into effect, he would like to wait until at least January 2025 because he feels the measure would affect Airbnb users who already have summer bookings and feel they may have to rescind guest invitations to comply with the policy.
“It’s like moving the 40-yard line,” he told the Star Tribune, “and I don’t think that was fair.”
Chris Buttke, another local resident who owns a rental property on the lake, added that the vote “seems to me like more ammunition for angry neighbors who don’t want that.”
“Not all guests are going to be good guests, but you never know until you see them,” Wuttke says. “It’s no different than your kids having a party while you’re away, so you don’t have as much control over it.”
Of the hundreds of villas listed online, only a tiny fraction are problematic, but it’s that tiny fraction that warrants regulation.
Neighbors who live next to the villas are hoping the new law, which comes into effect on July 1, will bring some relief to what has been a long-running string of large, rowdy parties.
“Vacation rental owners need to be aware that they are disrupting the peace of their neighbors, so we try to make sure they can coexist,” Leclerc said.
Violating any of the restrictions may result in your license being suspended or revoked.
A couple is renting out their lakeside home, but only seven guests can stay in the two-bedroom property.
“A lot of things are banned in the vacation homes we rent out anyway, so most of it doesn’t affect us,” Francie and Dan Gleason say.
But their main concern is that they could be held liable if civil or criminal penalties are imposed on behalf of tenants.
“Somehow, I’m liable and someone could sue me and take my property because of a stupid Frisbee or a dog that ran away,” she said.
