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Myerstown Borough Council heard resident concerns about a property being rented short-term at its monthly meeting Tuesday.
Two residents said that renters of 11 N. College St. are often disruptive and the owner often does not promptly and adequately respond to concerns.
Resident Loretta Livinghouse alleged that renters at the property July 29 were speaking and acting violently. She said three neighbors (not including herself) called state police, who took around an hour to arrive on scene.
Last year, upon being alerted to the operation of several Airbnbs in the borough, council passed an ordinance establishing where short-term rentals can operate and limitations for their use.
One licensing requirement is that a short-term rental must display a 24-hour contact line for neighbors in the event that issues (including disorderly contact prohibited by rental standards) arise.
Livinghouse said that on July 29, the designated contact for the short-term rental was slow to respond and did not attempt to resolve the issue.
The ordinance requires that property owners (or designated contact persons within 15 miles of the property) take action in these cases, such as “notifying the occupants of the rules regarding short-term rentals and responding when notified that occupants are violating laws, ordinances or regulations regarding their occupancy.”
Livinghouse alleges that he did not respond to her messages directly until around 16 hours later. She says that after she texted that she was fearful for her safety, the contact’s wife advised her to “cast [her] cares upon Jesus.”
“You are free to call the police or leave the area if your personal safety is at risk,” the contact said in a message to Livinghouse around 16 hours after Livinghouse’s initial contact.
Another neighbor echoed that the contact person (representing a management company in North Carolina) does not adequately respond to complaints.
The ordinance governing short-term rentals also established a hard limit of 10 overnight guests at once, with only two people per bedroom allowed with less than five bedrooms. In April, the owner of the property requested an exception to allow more than two guests per bedroom, but was denied.
Neighbors said the guest total appears to surpass this limit at times, with late-night parties of more than 10 people.
The 11 N. College St. property has a license to operate, but the license needs renewed annually and can be discontinued if a property is breaking the ordinance.
The ordinance reads: “the Code Enforcement Officer may either revoke, or deny an application to renew, a Short-Term Rental License if there are three (3) uncured or repeated violations of this Ordinance in any rolling twelve (12) calendar-month period. The revocation or denial to renew a Short-Term Rental License shall continue for six (6) months for the first set of three (3) uncured or repeated violations, and continue for one (1) year for any subsequent sets of violations.”
Council has also heard complaints from other neighbors of this property at previous meetings.
Council president Park Haverstick II said that while short-term rentals were allowed by council with the hopes of bringing tourism revenue into the borough, he doesn’t consider the money to be worth the alleged safety issues.
“These are the things we were trying to avoid,” he explained, noting the requirements within the ordinance. “My priority is always going to be the citizens of the borough.”
Haverstick said he would reach out to the property owner to see if the issues can be resolved. Otherwise, and if proof of violations (in the form of police reports, calls into the borough, and photos by neighbors) are presented, the rental’s licensure may not be renewed.
The ordinance establishes that “any person … who violates or permits a violation of the provisions of this Ordinance shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding, pay a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 per violation, plus all court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by Myerstown Borough.”
However, council has not expressed interest in litigation as of now.
Council also unanimously approved a Recreation Board proposal to hold a carnival in the recreation area from May 22 to 26, 2025.
The board has already secured $6,000 in sponsorship and begun exploring possible grant funding. Councilwoman Kathy Yang said the board hopes to have six to ten temporary rides set up in addition to entertainment and food at the event.
She said that revenues will be split as follows: 25 percent benefiting the pool, 25 percent benefiting the playground, and the remainder benefiting yet-to-be-planned U.S. semiquincentennial festivities.
Read more: Myerstown Borough Council plans for U.S. semiquincentennial
In other news, council:
- Unanimously agreed to hold a members-only pool party Aug. 17 from 7:30 to 10 p.m with a cover charge of $5.
- Postponed a previously discussed cornhole tournament until next year due to lack of sufficient sponsors.
- Unanimously agreed to allow the library to host a food truck in the parking lot at a book sale Sept. 14 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Tabled use of facility requests from the Dead Isaac 5K and the Soccer Association.
- Unanimously agreed to allow the Mission Church to use the gym Mondays from Sept. 2 to Dec. 30, 6 through 8:30 p.m., at a rate of $25 a day.
- Unanimously agreed to grant a refund for a pool rental that was cancelled due to weather. Ordinarily, the pool does not issue refunds (requiring renters to reschedule instead), but the cancellation occurred at the end of the season, so rescheduling was not possible.
Myerstown Borough Council meets the second Tuesday of each month at the Myerstown Community Center, 101 S. Railroad St. Meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.
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