Vacation rentals concern residents

08/11/2005

By Todd Thatcher , Staff Writer

Residents of Hershey's Cedar Avenue, along with Derry Township officials, are concerned that local owners renting out their houses to visitors may be a growing trend - and it's one they want to nip in the bud.
Diane Leonard, who lives on Cedar Avenue, is worried that if such renting is allowed, the trend will only grow, and ultimately change the character of the village of Hershey.
"I speak for most of the neighborhood in that we're concerned this is going to be an up-and-coming trend, and the neighborhoods we're used to where you know your neighbors and look out for each other might change," she said.
The properties in questions are located at 310 Cocoa Ave. and 164 Cedar Ave.
After purchasing the 310 Cocoa property last spring, new owners - and realtors - Chris and Joy Daniels - quickly began renovations, turning it into a 2,500-square-foot vacation home that, according its listing at www.vacationhomerentals.com, offers four bedrooms, a backyard deck, a fireplace, and a game room.
The owners argue that they are not violating any zoning regulations by renting their property.
"We believe we are using the property in accordance with the applicable zoning regulations," the Daniels said in a statement. "We will be promptly seeking clarification and confirmation of the use from the Derry Township Zoning Hearing Board."
According to a listing at www.heartofhershey.com, the 126 Cedar house includes three bedrooms, one-and-a-half baths, a kitchen, dining room, and living room, and rents for $175 a night during the "on" season and $140 a night during the off-season.
"We purchased it last fall - September or October," Francine Walker, the owner of the Cedar Avenue property, said. "We actually had our first renters in over Thanksgiving."
According to Walker, the home has been rented by everyone from tourists to people with family in town - as well as visiting members of her own family.
"It's been sporadic, especially during the fall or winter - [then it's mostly] local townspeople who had relatives to visit over the holiday," she explained. "At least half of it has been local people. Our friends and family use it too, so to make it a bit cost-effective, we rent it too."
Walker said she has never heard any complaints from neighbors about the rental activity - quite the contrary, in fact.
"An immediate neighbor said he has been very happy with it actually - much more so than the previous owner," she said. "We live in town ourselves, so we meant in no way for this to be bothersome to people."
But following complaints from neighbors of the 310 Cocoa Ave. property, Jeff Keiser, the township's director of community development, stepped in, making the rental issue a priority for his department.
"We heard the allegations here in the department for a number of weeks," Keiser said. "We were periodically looking at the property, and about two weeks ago, we were able to find people that were staying at each of the dwellings and talk to them. They both indicated they were there for about week."
Keiser then looked into the township's related zoning ordinances to find out what provisions about length or type of rental - if any - were being violated.
"The use of that or any other property is governed by the zoning ordinances," he said. "We don't come out and say, 'You can't do that.' The way most zoning ordinances are written is to spell out what you're allowed to do, not what you're not.
"It was my determination that that use was not permitted in a village residential district, which these properties are both in. I sent a cease-and-desist order to the owners of both properties. "
Walker said that she was told the opposite by a township zoning officers when she first looked at the 126 Cedar house.
"Prior to purchasing the property, we spoke to a zoning officer who said there's nothing in the regulations that say we can't do what we're doing," she said. "What I was told was 'That's an interesting question, but there's nothing that says how long a property can be rented.'"
Both property owners have appealed Keiser's order to the [Derry Township] Zoning Hearing Board.
"What will happen now is that will be discussed at the zoning hearing board's meeting on Sept. 21," he explained. "The board has 45 days then to render a decision. The board could uphold my position or overrule it."
According to Keiser, his cease-and-desist order will be staid until the hearing board has made a decision, meaning the owners will be able to rent their property's at least until that time.
In the meantime, residents of Cedar Avenue are working to make sure their opposition continues to be heard by township officials.
"We spoke early on with some of the township staff, and later in the process we've spoken with some of the township supervisors about it," Leonard said. "There's a petition that's going to be circulated and that's going to be presented at the September supervisors meeting, and I know there's lots of signatures on that."