Jim Thorpe Borough’s zoning hearing board voted unanimously Wednesday to deny short-term rental approvals for three apartments at 66 Broadway. The rejections covered both parking variances and special exceptions sought by Wathohuck LLC for the historic Charles Albright Mansion downtown.

In a split outcome, the board voted 5-0 against the company on three of four matters before it. On the fourth, it voted 5-0 to overturn a zoning enforcement notice that had originally triggered the dispute.

Charles Laputka, a real estate and finance attorney and managing member of Wathohuck LLC, testified that he and his partners purchased the building at a sheriff’s sale in February 2023. He described a blighted but storied property; a four-story half-double running between 6,000 and 7,000 square feet, bearing a historic plaque noting visits by Presidents Grover Cleveland and Ulysses Grant.

“All of the windows were broken out,” Laputka said. “The front door was rotting. There were holes in it around the back. We purchased this property at sheriff’s sale because we loved it. We wanted to be part of the community, and we wanted to rebeautify the historic Broadway of downtown Jim Thorpe.”

After extensive renovations under permit, the borough issued a certificate of occupancy. The building now houses a restaurant on the first floor still being remodeled, two law offices on the second floor, and three one-bedroom apartments; two on the third floor, one on the fourth. Once the certificate was issued, Wathohuck listed the apartments on Airbnb, VRBO and Expedia with a two-night minimum stay and 4 p.m. check-in.

Parking notice

The company’s first rental, Laputka said, was April 24, 2026; three days after zoning officer Joshua Jacobs sent the owners an enforcement notice alleging short-term rental operation without proper permits. Jacobs testified he sent the notice based on complaints received by the borough but acknowledged he had no documented names, emails or vehicle specifics tied to the complaints.

Wathohuck appealed the notice and sought board approval to continue operating the units as short-term rentals, launching a hearing that extended into its third session Wednesday.

Parking stood at the center of the case. Borough ordinance requires one space per short-term rental unit within 300 feet of the property. The building, Laputka said, has no available parking.

“Zero. There’s not even a curb cut,” he added.

Wathohuck secured three weekend parking spaces through a lease with Carbon County in the lot near the train station and is on a waiting list for full-week spots. Laputka testified that lot falls outside the 300-foot threshold and that other options had been exhausted.

“I actually looked around and had a family member look around to see if there was any vacant lot we could buy to make into a parking lot,” he said. “The only thing that I cannot comply with, because I physically can’t, is the parking requirement.”

The company also argued the apartments constitute a lawful pre-existing non-conforming use, meaning the short-term rental operation should be able to continue regardless of current parking rules.

Laputka pointed to MLS listings going back to 2003 marketing the building as a bed-and-breakfast and multi-unit property, and argued that short-term rentals were never explicitly restricted until December 2023; nine months after the company purchased the building.

“These were apartments that have been used as rentals for years,” Laputka said. “I don’t know how far back. I can see back in the records at least 30 years.”

Background

The previous owner, Bart Springer, had been living in London while leasing the space to restaurateur Tony Stella, whose eatery closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. When Wathohuck purchased the property, knives and forks were still on the tables, Laputka testified, but the roof had partially caved in and the building had gone to sheriff’s sale.

Borough solicitor James Nanovic rejected the non-conforming use reasoning in a closing statement to the board. Short-term rentals were not a permitted use anywhere in the borough before a 2021 ordinance change, he said, so the property could not claim lawful non-conforming status under that use.

He also dismissed the MLS listings as evidence of actual use.

“Realtors put things on listings to sell properties,” Nanovic said. “If I’m going to buy the property, I’m going to put a contingency in my agreement of sale that I can do this. I’m going to go to the zoning officer and get my permit. That’s not what was done here.”

On the variance, Nanovic argued the applicant had manufactured its own hardship.

“It doesn’t need to be used as a short-term rental,” he said. “It could be used as a long-term rental, and if it’s used as a long-term rental, the variance would not be required. They are creating the hardship. They are not entitled to the variance.”

‘Enforce parking’

The lone public speaker reinforced that position. Kate Troxell, general manager of the Y on Broadway at 69 Broadway, the former YMCA directly across the street, urged the board to hold firm on the parking standard.

“We’re fortunate that we’re able to offer a parking spot for every single room in our hotel,” Troxell said. “Opening this up, granting a variance for this particular case, would open it up to everyone in downtown Jim Thorpe as short-term rentals.”

Troxell referenced a Race Street resident who had sought a short-term rental permit and been denied for failing the same parking requirement, accepting that outcome. She also said guests from 66 Broadway had attempted to park in the hotel’s lot.

“They’ve been renting out these short-term rental units without proper permissions for months,” she said. “What’s going to happen next if you allow this to continue?”

Laputka, who said he lives in Orefield, Pa., noted he could reach the property in about a half hour if problems arose. He also disclosed he is a partial owner of a brewery and restaurant chain based in Allentown, and said the first-floor restaurant will be an outpost of that operation once renovations are complete in about six weeks.

The board voted 5-0 to grant the appeal of the April 21 zoning enforcement notice, then 5-0 to deny the non-conforming use interpretation, the parking variance and the special exception for each of the three units. Voting yes on all motions were members Eli Skrimcovsky, August Long, James Igoe, Roxanne Long and Chairperson Michael Huber.

A written decision will be issued within 45 days. A 30-day appeal window follows before the ruling takes effect.