The Town of Brome is attempting to implement a new bylaw that aims to give the municipality more control over short-term rentals.

A registry was held on May 27 and 28 that provided citizens with the opportunity to sign against the bylaw (Bylaw 596-12). Only 218 signatures were needed to determine how the town was going to move forward, but over 300 signatures ended up being collected. As a result, the municipal council will be deciding at its next meeting on July 4 if they are going to hold a referendum. 

“We go back probably three years or so. People were doing Airbnb, they got a permit from the Centre de transfert d'entreprise du Québec (CTEQ). We had a couple of complaints, we didn’t have many, we probably had five complaints. Out of those five, there was one that was really a delinquent owner,” explained Richard Burcombe, mayor for the Town of Brome Lake. (…) “So finally, we worked on it.”

Burcombe added that they did a survey and a public consultation to collect the opinions of citizens across the municipality and what they look for regarding short-term rentals. They used this information to create Bylaw 596-12.

“What would happen in this bylaw is that we would be the controlling part. Before you could get your permit from the CTEQ or Airbnb. We came up with a bylaw to accommodate certain people and certain restrictions for others,” noted Burcombe. 

Burcombe noted that if people conformed to the criteria within the bylaw, which includes having to have a property measuring minimum 1,500 square meters, respecting the number of parking spaces and bedrooms that come with the property, amongst others, that they will have access to a permit from the town and then they can apply for their permit from CTEQ. 

“If there were complaints, you’d get a warning. If there is another one, you’d get a warning and then we could pull the permit. We advise the CTEQ that they don’t conform to our bylaw, so they would pull their permit,” said Burcombe. 

After making changes to Bylaw 596-12, a registry was held, a typical process when changes are made, and Burcombe said that people were misinformed. 

“People thought that by signing the register, that they were signing to keep Air Bnb, but it wasn’t. They were signing against the bylaw. There was a communication problem there, at what level we aren’t sure. (…) They (those against the bylaw) managed to get 373 signatures opposing the bylaw, which would force a referendum, and they only needed 218,” he emphasized. 

As a result, the town will evaluate whether they will move forward with a referendum. 

“The referendum will be, if there are enough votes to accept the bylaw, the bylaw will go into effect; that’s the end of the line. If there’s not enough votes to adopt the bylaw, it’s out, it’s finished, it’s terminated,” mentioned Burcombe. 

If they decide against a referendum, other options are on the table. 

“We can look at amending the criteria there. (…) We could also say ‘look we’re going to form a committee with pro and con, and neutral people.’ We could form a committee like that also, it’s an option. This is something that will be discussed by council, but like I said, our main decision is do we go to a referendum or not,” said Burcombe. 

Listen to the full interview below: