A Lower Towamensing Township resident continues to push for action against short-term rentals.

Resident Steve Meining said at last week’s board of supervisors meeting there are two short-term rental permits anticipated to be collected this coming year, but that there were 17 short-term rentals still going on.

“I’m very disappointed how you can let something like that continue to happen,” Meining said.

Supervisor Michael Takerer told Meining that the board directed the township’s code enforcement officer to look into the matter.

“This continues to go on and on and on, and never seems to reach an end point,” Meining said. “He (the township code enforcement officer) reports to you, so I guess I’d like to see a little more pressure (put on).”

Meining added that the matter of short-term rentals has been an ongoing issue for several years.

“I still will not rest until we are at home base,” he said.

The township has budgeted for two short-term rental fees.

In October, Brent Green, township code enforcement officer, told supervisors that there’s been roughly 15 complaints this year.

Board Chairperson Connie Brown asked Green if he’d received any complaints on short-term rentals.

He said the township has gotten complaints on everything but short-term rentals.

Green said at that time 14 notices had to be mailed out for the short-term rentals.

The township’s yearly fee for short-term rentals is $1,050.

Meining has been asking the township to get the short-term rentals registered and legal per the township’s short-term rental ordinance.

He asked if a spreadsheet could be developed to track short-term rentals.

However, township solicitor Jim Nanovic suggested to Green that he not go that route.

Meining said his long-term goal is to keep the township under control.

Green previously noted that the township has been trying to keep short-term rentals in the dense population areas of the township.

He said the intent was to have notice to all adjoining property owners, and added the township was one of the first to come up with regulations.

Since the majority of the property owners of such rentals aren’t local, Green previously said that issuing a notice of violation and sending them to the magistrate would be difficult.