[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Town
of West New York 1-18-2018 by Ord.
No. 35/17. Amendments noted where applicable.]
WHEREAS, the Town of West New York ("Town") consists of just
1.3 square miles, which is home to an estimated 54,000 residents;
and
WHEREAS, the Town's primary housing goals include preserving
its housing stock and preserving the quality and character of its
existing single- and multifamily residential neighborhoods. In order
to continue to flourish, the Town must preserve its available housing
stock and the character and charm which result, in part, from cultural,
ethnic, and economic diversity of its resident population; and
WHEREAS, the Town must also preserve its unique sense of community
which it derives, in large part, from residents' active participation
in civic affairs, including local government, cultural events, and
educational endeavors; and
WHEREAS, operations of vacation rentals, where residents of
the Town rent out entire units to visitors and are not present during
the visitors' stays, are detrimental to the community's
welfare and are prohibited by local law, because occupants of such
vacation rentals, when not hosted, do not have any connections to
the Town community and to the residential neighborhoods in which they
are visiting; and
WHEREAS, the presence of such visitors within the Town's
residential neighborhoods can sometimes disrupt the residential character
of the neighborhoods and adversely impact the community; and
WHEREAS, judicial decisions have upheld local governments'
authority to prohibit vacation rentals.
WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of the Town of West New
York finds it to be in the best interest of the Town and its citizens
to adopt an ordinance to prohibit such short-term vacation rentals
in residential properties that may jeopardize the community's
welfare and degrade the quality of life within the Town:
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A marketplace in whatever form or format which facilitates
the vacation rental, through advertising, matchmaking or any other
means, using any medium of facilitation, and from which the operator
of the hosting platform derives revenues, including booking fees or
advertising revenues, from providing or maintaining the marketplace.
A person who occupies a dwelling unit or accessory building
or structure, for at least 60 consecutive days, with intent to establish
that unit as his or her primary resident and may be an owner or a
lessee.
Rental of i) any dwelling unit, accessory building or structure,
garage, attic, or basement, in whole or in part; or ii) any furniture
within any dwelling unit, accessory building or structure, garage,
attic, or basement, within the Town of West New York, to any person(s)
for exclusive transient use of 30 consecutive days or less, regardless
of whether one of the dwelling unit's permanent residents is
on site, in the dwelling unit, throughout the visitors' stay,
and whereby the unit is only approved for permanent residential occupancy
and not approved for transient occupancy by this chapter. Rental of
units within Town-approved hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfasts shall
not be considered vacation rental.
No person, including any hosting platform operator, shall undertake,
maintain, authorize, aid, facilitate or advertise any vacation rental
activity that does not comply with this Code.
A.
The Board of Commissioners of the Town may promulgate regulations,
which may include but are not limited to permit conditions, reporting
requirements, inspection frequencies, enforcement procedures, advertising
restrictions, disclosure requirements, or insurance requirements,
to implement the provisions of this chapter. No person shall fail
to comply with any such regulation.
B.
The Board of Commissioners of the Town may establish and set all
fees and charges as may be necessary to effectuate the purpose of
this chapter.
A.
Violation of any provision of this chapter shall be cause for a Municipal
Court summons to be issued by the Police Department, Code Enforcement
Official, or Health Officer.
B.
Violations of the provisions of this chapter shall be punishable
for the first offense of a minimum fine of $500. Every subsequent
offense shall be punishable by a minimum fine of $1,000, payable through
the Municipal Court Violations Bureau.
C.
Any person convicted of violating any provision of this chapter in
a criminal case or found to be in violation of this Chapter in a civil
case brought by a law enforcement agency shall be ordered to reimburse
the Town and other participating law enforcement agencies their full
investigative costs and remit all illegally obtained rental revenue
to the Town so that it may be returned to the victims of illegal short-term
rental activities.
D.
Any interested person may seek an injunction or other relief to prevent
or remedy violations of this chapter. The prevailing party in such
an action shall be entitled to recover reasonable costs and attorney's
fees.
E.
The remedies provided in this section are not exclusive, and nothing
in this section shall preclude the use or application of any other
remedies, penalties or procedures established by law.
