GUILDERLAND — During a recent meeting, the Guilderland Zoning Board of Appeals had the narrow charge of interpreting a decision made by the town’s code-enforcement officer about an Airbnb, but the request sparked a broader discussion about short-term rentals in town. 

Part of the Nov. 15 meeting acted as a public hearing on Beck Concepts LLC’s request challenging the violation it had received “for utilizing a single-family dwelling for the purpose of transient rental accommodations.”

The LLC is owned by Jason Beckmann, a former Guilderland resident who now lives in Colorado. 

Beckmann received a letter in August from the town’s code-enforcement officer, Kevin Efaw, stating his office had received a complaint that Beckmann was operating an Airbnb at his property on Becker Road. 

The home, 4218 Becker Road, is located in a rural agricultural district, Efaw’s letter stated, which doesn’t allow for Airbnb and other “similar transient accommodations such as motels and hotels.”

The letter requested Beckmann discontinue listing his property with Airbnb or the town would commence enforcement proceedings.

There are, in fact, a number of Guilderland homes listed for rent on Airbnb. And Beckmann purchased the home under the impression that short-term rentals were allowed in town.

During the meeting, an email about the subject from Supervisor Peter Barber was read. Former Councilwoman Laurel Bohl had — as a “champion” for Beckmann, his father, Gerd Beckmann, told the board — asked Barber about Airbnbs and shared his response with the town board members and with Beckmann.

Barber’s email said he was “not aware of any prohibition or regulations regarding short-term rentals. I personally know several residents who rent out their houses when they’re away for the winter,” wrote Barber. “I’m also aware that Afghan refugees are now living in two short-term situations in single-family homes, and I understand that the state is looking to do the same for Ukrainians.”

Later in the meeting, Gerd Beckmann told the zoning board members, “Based on the strength of [the email] and seeing nothing else, my son and his wife went forward and purchased a second home.”

Jesse Sommer, a lawyer representing Jason Beckmann, told the zoning board members that he didn’t “necessarily disagree with the stated interpretation” by Efaw, “generally speaking,” but “the problem is that there is not, in fact, a law for them to be interpreting.”

Sommer said the violation Beckmann received suggested Beckmann “is in violation of what basically amounts to prohibitions on transient rentals that are specified as adhering to other types of rental units,” like a bed and breakfast or an inn.

The problem, as Sommer saw it, was that there is no current law or regulation in Guilderland “that precludes this particular approach to renting out one’s unit,” he said, referring to short-term rentals. New York state defines short-term rentals as the renting of dwellings for less than 30 consecutive days.

During the public hearing, the only person who spoke in addition to Sommer and Gerd Beckmann was a neighbor who had mostly positive things to say about Jason Beckmann’s Airbnb but did ask the town to institute clearly-defined rules related to short-term rentals.

After the hearing was closed, Chairwoman Elizabeth Lott said, “We are all, of course, town residents, and we would probably like the board, the town board, to consider writing a code. But, in the meantime, our job is to make an interpretation. And procedurally, we do have the violation, and now it’s up to us to make an interpretation based on the code that exists today.”

Lott then put it to a roll-call vote. 

Sharon Cupoli said, “Short of changing our zoning code and town law,” she was in favor of upholding Efaw’s determination. 

Kevin McDonald said, “Due to the vast amount of gray area here and that Airbnbs are kind of new to the scene, I’m not in favor.” He then said he’d “like to make a recommendation to our town board to work on regulations regarding [Airbnb].”

The other members in attendance, Richard Villa and Lott, voted to uphold the determination. So, by a vote of 3 to 1, it was decided Beckmann could not use his Becker Road property as an Airbnb.

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Jesse Sommer writes a column for The Altamont Enterprise, “So swears the New Scot.”