Murrysville council advances short-term rental ordinance

Murrysville council will vote next month on an update to its ordinances governing short-term rental properties, typically booked through companies like AirBnB or VRBO.

Council voted unanimously to advertise the ordinance, which would remove references to specific zoning where short-term rentals could be located, remove language requiring that a short-term rental be a primary residence, and amend the maximum overnight occupancy from eight to 10 people based on the number of bedrooms.

“So there’s no restrictions now?” asked Councilman Tony Spadaro. “They could put it anywhere in Murrysville. If they live in Florida, they could buy a house in Murrysville and they could use it as a short-term rental. And that could happen all across the community, right?”

Both Spadaro and Councilman Carl Stepanovich have raised concerns that widening the door for additional short-term rentals — there are none currently listed on AirBnB and VRBO as of Nov. 17 — could invite property owners to essentially open a business in the middle of a residential area.

“It’s not new for companies and businesses to own and rent property,” Councilwoman Jamie Lee Korns said. “But where we didn’t have lot of protections before, now we have a section about the person in charge, so that even if someone does live in Florida, they’re required to have a representative for the property who lives within 10 miles.”

Murrysville Chief Administrator Michael Nestico said that if council decided in the future that short-term rentals were becoming a problem, they could always revisit the ordinance.

“The possibility of an outside individual purchasing a home and renting it does exist, but that was already permitted under the current ordinances (as a long-term rental),” Nestico said.

Korns said she doesn’t envision Murrysville becoming a short-term rental destination for tourists.

“We have a lot of amenities, but they attract residents, not tourists,” she said. “People have had the ability here for AirBnBs and VRBOs as long as they’ve existed. If it hasn’t boomed before, I don’t see why it would start now.”

Council voted at its Nov. 15 meeting to advertise the ordinance, which means it will likely come up for a vote in December. Councilman Mac McKenna was not present.

Budget advertisement

Council also voted unanimously to advertise a $15.6 million budget for 2024, which does not include a property tax hike. Taxes will remain at 12.15 mills.

One mill represents roughly $340,000, according to budget projections.

Council will vote on the proposed budget at one of its December meetings, which will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 6 and 19. An agenda is available in advance at Murrysville.com.