Roselle may impose zoning to limit short-term rentals

Roselle officials are considering new rules under which short-term rentals would be allowed but face restrictions.

The move comes two months after a shooting spree during a party at a rented house on Picton Lane where more than 60 shots were fired, one person was killed and six were wounded.

The case remains unsolved.

Under the proposed zoning changes, houses for rent on services like Airbnb and VRBO would have to be owner-occupied principle residences, owners would have to register with the village, the property would be subject to a safety review, and rentals would have to be for at least three days but no more than 29 days. After the home is registered, the village would notify residents nearby that the unit is a short-term rental.

A draft of the new rules will be presented at a village board meeting Sept. 14 and a public hearing is planned for Sept. 21.

Trustees Bruce Berkshire and Patrick Devitt, who are leading a committee on the issue, say Roselle can't ban short-term rentals because the village lacks home rule powers, which are granted automatically to larger towns in Illinois but require a referendum for towns below 25,000 population.

"We can never tell someone they can't put something on Airbnb but what we can do is ... look at what opportunity we have to limit them," Berkshire said.

Discussions arose between Trustee Lee Trejo and village attorney Jim Knippen about collecting hotel and motel taxes on the properties as well, which they said could require a separate zoning ordinance.

The village also plans a referendum next year asking voters if they want Roselle to be home rule, which grants more powers, including taxation.

Naperville recently banned short term rentals after numerous complaints stemming from a "party house" on Santa Maria Drive. Short-term rentals are prohibited in Barrington Hills, where a man was shot and killed during a March house party, officials said. Four years earlier, Lake Barrington officials imposed a similar ban after a shootout along Route 14 in Barrington involving guests who were leaving a party at a short-term rental property.