ONEONTA _ The five aldermen present for Tuesday night's Common Council meeting agreed on an amendment to a motion changing the city's summer-rental ordinance.
But City Attorney David Merzig advised that inserting the word "documentable" in a paragraph regarding potential rental complaints was a substantial enough change to warrant removing the motion from consideration.
The motion is expected to be brought up again Sept. 2.
The Common Council was poised to adopt changes to its summer-rental ordinance that would have placed the authority to review new rental applications in the hands of aldermen. For the last two years, the city Planning Commission has approved or denied new applications.
The changes also include clarifying that the term "renewal" applies only to rentals approved during the previous season. The Planning Commission wrestled with that definition twice
this year as it considered renewal applicants who had been turned down by the city clerk because their properties had been rentals in prior years, but not during last year.
But Tuesday night, Eighth Ward Alderman Kevin Hodne successfully sought an amendment on a portion of the ordinance that had not been debated this year by aldermen "" a section dealing with a permit denial based on "reasonable and rational factors or combination of factors that would cause a clearly detrimental impact on the neighborhood where the permit is to be issued."
Hodne said concern from Oneonta resident Nathan Batalion, who owns several summer rentals, prompted his seeking the change.
"It's just to ensure that if someone complains, there is something to back up the complaint," Hodne said after the meeting.
But Merzig sparred with Hodne over what would constitute a "document."
Merzig said a piece of paper in his back pocket could be considered a document.
However, Hodne said a document should be considered something substantial like a photograph or a police report.
Merzig said regardless of what is or isn't a document, the change in the motion under the amendment was substantial enough to remove it from consideration, at least for that night's meeting.
"It's not a technical change," Merzig said. "I see no question about this."
Had it been considered a technical change, aldermen could have voted on the motion.
Instead, it was referred back to the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, where it originated.
First Ward Alderman and IGA Chairwoman Maureen Hennessy said the amended motion would likely be brought back for the next Common Council meeting.
The city has had a summer-rental ordinance requiring permits since 2000, and the permitting process has been overhauled several times. Since 2007, the Planning Commission has been the body that reviews new permits because of concerns the process would be too time-consuming for the Common Council.
If the changes to the ordinance are approved, summer-rental renewal applications would continue to be reviewed by the city clerk's office.
There are about 30 permitted summer rentals in the city, viewable online in map form at www.thedailystar.com/summerrentals.
The Planning Commission is an unpaid board of appointed city residents tasked primarily with conducting site-plan reviews for proposed businesses and other planning-related work. The Common Council is an elected body consisting of one representative from each of the city's eight wards and the mayor.
Third Ward Alderman Erik Miller, Fourth Ward Alderman Mike Lynch and Fifth Ward Alderman Rodger Moran were absent from Tuesday's meeting.
Renting weekly in the summer, especially to the families of baseball-camp attendees, has been a growing business within the last decade with the opening of Cooperstown All-Star Village, Cooperstown Baseball World and Cooperstown Dreams Park.
Those opposed to summer rentals have said they are concerned about traffic, noise and other quality-of-life issues during what is normally a quieter time in Oneonta.
However, property owners in the summer-rental business contend they are improving properties when they renovate them to rent to families in the summer, and that they provide a service that bolsters Oneonta's tourist economy.
Mayor John Nader has previously said the city has received very few complaints about summer rentals in recent years.
In other business Tuesday, the Common Council unanimously:
Voted to appoint Kathy Ann Wolverton as personnel director, at a salary of $65,000. Wolverton, 44, is an attorney specializing in school, labor and employment law and graduated from Oneonta High School. The personnel director handles human resource matters at City Hall and assists in the oversight of a 135-member, full-time work force. She is replacing John Insetta, who retired March 1.
Awarded a bid for the replacement of a Wilber Park footbridge to Eastman Associates of Oneonta. The bridge washed out during the June 2006 flooding. The roughly $150,000 project would be funded by state and federal disaster funding.
Approved parking changes in the city municipal parking garage. The changes designate 73 spaces as two-hour parking; 45 spaces as four-hour parking and 13 spaces as no parking between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.
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