Henlopen Acres makes changes to rental code

During a meeting Sept. 11, the Town of Henlopen Acres unanimously passed an ordinance modifying the town’s home rental policy.

As approved, property owners can rent their homes up to eight times a year, with six of those rentals occurring between May 15 and Sept. 15. The property owners must provide town hall with a copy of the rental agreement at least three days prior to the start of the rental.

The town had already had a rental ordinance on the books, but it was limited in scope. Rental homes could host up to 12 people; they had to be rented for at least a seven-day period, and there was a 5 percent gross receipts tax. The gross receipts tax remains.

During the meeting, Mayor Joni Reich said 50 people attended and 22 people spoke at a public hearing Aug. 31. In all, she said, 135 people weighed in on the matter to her somehow, and the majority agreed something needed to be done.

It’s been the most vetted issue in her time on the board, said Reich, who has been a commissioner since 2014.

The approved ordinance is different from the draft used for the public hearing. For that meeting, the proposal was to limit the number of weeks to six and require a copy of the rental agreement at least two weeks prior to any rental. The proposal also separated current property owners from new property owners beginning Jan. 1, by allowing current owners to rent for a minimum of a week, while new owners would have been limited to a minimum of a month.

Commissioner John Staffier said he thought the approved ordinance was a good compromise. He said the goal is to make sure Henlopen Acres doesn’t become a neighborhood full of rentals, but it also allows second- or third-generation property owners to still be able to afford their home.

Also, Staffier said, the ordinance doesn’t limit how many months a year a property can be rented. It just depends on the lengths of the rentals, he said.

Commissioner Andrew Brittingham motioned to add a third off-season week, for a total of nine weeks that could be rented, but the motion failed after not being seconded.

Town commissioners sworn in

The passage of the ordinance was the second order of business conducted during the Sept. 11 meeting. The first was the swearing-in of commissioners.

Reich, Staffier and Commissioner Tim Hidell were each sworn in for three-year terms. There was no election this year in Henlopen Acres because they were the only people who filed.

Reich will serve as mayor for another year. She has been mayor since May 2018 when she filled the vacant seat of Mayor David Lyons who died the month prior.

Staffier has served on the board since March 2011. Hidell has served on the board since 2015 and was named president pro tempore of the board. Commissioner Beatrix “Paddy” Richards will remain secretary, and Commissioner Jeffrey Jacobs, appointed in July to fill the final two years of the three-year term of former Commissioner Frank Jamison, was named treasurer. Jamison died in June.