No Airbnb in Clearview

Short term rentals are not allowed in Clearview township, except in licensed hotel and bed and breakfast establishments. That reminder comes from Mara Burton, Director of Community Services. Marketing materials for the new Brix Condo development promote the investment potential of the 70 plus units, saying Creemore allows for an all-year round vacation investment…. There is very little “down season” for vacation rentals in this location and you can Airbnb all year round. Airbnb is a popular online marketplace for short term rentals. 
Representatives of MDM Developments, the builder behind The Brix could not be reached for comment, but as of press time, the reference to short term rentals remains on their website. 
Short term rentals have been prohibited in the township since enactment of the Consolidated Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw in December 2017. The full bylaw is available in the Building and Planning section of the Clearview.ca website. Burton says the ban on short term rentals, defined as fewer than 30 consecutive days, is intended to protect the supply of housing stock. The township recognizes housing as a human right, and short-term rentals decrease the supply of housing for people who actually make their homes in the community and contribute to our neighbourhoods. While tourism is vitally important to the local economy, having neighbourhoods become commercialized is not desirable. 
Burton cites research presented by David Wachsmuth, Canada Research Chair in Urban Governance at McGill University to the Ontario Professional Planners Association. Wachsmuth has studied the impact of short-term rentals (STR’s) extensively and reports that they often yield two to three times the income of comparable conventional rental units. For that reason, they are a vector for financialization of residential property, and therefore a vector for evictions, gentrification, and housing instability. 
Wachsmuth’s research found that currently two thirds of STRs are owned by commercial ventures versus individual homeowners and that trend is growing at an alarming rate. He says STRs are making housing scarcer and more expensive, and housing vulnerability drives community concern about STRs. 
The demand is not limited to traditional resort areas. Burton is aware of subdivision homes in Stayner which were purchased for the express purpose of short-term rentals. 
Burton says investors are welcome to purchase dwelling units in the township for rentals to long- term tenants. The concern is short-term rentals which remove those units from the stock of available housing. Clearview has started including a reference in development agreements prohibiting short term rentals. By having that restriction registered on title, the township hopes to eliminate confusion about what is and is not permitted. 
Township residents seeking to supplement their income through short term rentals will have to comply with zoning rules for bed and breakfasts. These include having the owner or long-term tenant on site during all rentals and ensuring that the residential character of the building and the neighbourhood are not compromised. 

Clarification

The developer of the Brix condo project is not promoting the potential for short term rentals in connection with the Creemore project. An article in last week’s Echo cited marketing materials from the website thebrix-condos.ca. Doug Gray, a principal of MDM developments clarifies that this site is operated by a third party marketer. The official MDM website is granitecondos.com , which makes no mention of short term rentals at The Brix.
Gray says MDM is a responsible developer with a history of cooperating with local governments and businesses in the communities where they build. They have completed projects in many small towns including Tottenham, Alliston, Bracebridge, Parry Sound and Haliburton.
Phase 1 of The Brix, consisting of 36 units is already 65 per cent sold, and Gray says the goal is to commence construction in early spring of next year.