Jim Thorpe Borough Council voted to advertise a zoning ordinance amendment Thursday night that will regulate where future short-term rentals can be located in the municipality, and lists requirements both current and future short-term rental owners need to meet.

“While most of these units operate without a problem, there have been numerous complaints to the borough regarding excessive noise, parking, litter and concerns regarding septic capabilities, security, public safety and trespass,” the proposed ordinance reads.

The ordinance has been under consideration by council for the past several years.

In May, council heard three-and-a-half hours of public comment mostly centered on where short-term rentals would be permitted to exist. At the time, the R4 and C3 zoning districts were under consideration, but that has since been expanded.

According to the proposed amendment, existing short-term rentals will be grandfathered in terms of location. New lodging will be restricted to the C1, C2, C3, R4 and special zoning districts and owners will need to go through the borough’s special exception process. Owners hoping to open a short-term rental outside of those zones would need to receive a variance.

“I’m delighted to hear that current short-term rental owners will be grandfathered,” Chris Prokop said. “I don’t, however, think this is the best way to zone. If future short-term rental owners are in the permitted zones, I don’t think they should have to go through the special exception process. It is expensive for the person applying for it and it’s burdensome on the municipality.”

Within 90 days of ordinance adoption, any current short-term rental owner must register their business via a change-of-use application with the borough. They will also have to renew a short-term rental permit annually.

One of the major issues over the years has been parking. The advertised ordinance requires short-term rental owners to provide one parking space per bedroom in the unit they are renting.

While Thursday’s public hearing on the amendment was much shorter than May’s session, some owners questioned why the borough isn’t opening up every area of town to future short-term rentals. Trouble properties, they added, account for maybe 1 or 2 percent of rentals in the municipality.

“This has been a several-year process,” Greg Strubinger said. “We’ve had several public meetings and there have been many pros and cons hashed out during that time. In the end though, we are a zoned community and there is a reason for that.”

A permit revocation for a first violation of the ordinance will be three months. A second violation within three years of the first conviction will result in a one-year permit suspension. A third violation within three years of the first violation is cause for a permanent revocation of the permit, according to the ordinance.

Jim Thorpe isn’t the only local community looking to get verbiage on the books regarding short-term rentals. Eldred and Polk townships in Monroe County adopted regulations in 2020, while Penn Forest and Towamensing townships in Carbon County have also considered their own ordinances.

The full Jim Thorpe ordinance amendment can be viewed on the borough website, www.jtborough.com.

With the borough advertising the amendment this month, council would be able to take a vote on whether or not to adopt it in March.

Both the Carbon County and Jim Thorpe planning commissions have recommended approval.