On Thursday, Prince Edward County Committee of the Whole approved changes to the Short-Term Accommodation (STA) by-law to fix unexpected compliance issues for 63 STA properties on private roadways in the county.

According to the associated staff report, a fix was required because the STA By-law (passed last year) made it so STAs located on private roads would have to submit fully to the Private Roadways By-Law. But in practice, this by-law typically requires an engineering report that certifies (among other requirements), a private road’s suitability for emergency service access. This fact was preventing license renewals for the 63 STA owners, as Prince Edward County Fire and Rescue determined that none of their properties (according to submitted applications by their associated owners) were in line with the Private Roadways By-Law.

The fix, which is intended to save costs for the affected STA owners and reduce legal risk for the county, will remove the above requirements from the STA By-Law and replaces it with an owner-written waiver recognizing that their properties will now be subject to "limited services" (defined in the Fire Department By-Law), with mandatory disclosure of this fact to guests.

Some of these owners provided comments concerning their frustration about being singled out by the waiver requirement and the delay on their licence renewals:

Ameliasburgh Coun. Janice Maynard provided an explanation for the reason for waivers from STA owners, given their unique context:

Committee also directed county staff to temporarily extend licences for existing STA licence holders located on private roadways until the STA by-law revisions are passed by council.

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