SPEEDWAY, Ind. — The Speedway Town Council voted unanimously during their meeting Monday evening to send an ordinance proposing a plan to regulate short-term rentals forward.
There's no busier time in the Town of Speedway than the month of May, when hundreds of thousands of people come to see the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
With all those people needing to stay somewhere, renting a house near the track for the weekend is definitely an option.
"We're completely fine with short-term rentals in our community," said Grant Kleinhenz, Town of Speedway town manager.
Going forward, though, town officials want to regulate short-term rentals.
A proposed ordinance would require property owners to get a one-time permit for $150 per property that they would need to renew every year at no cost.
"One of the big purposes of the permit is contact information, phone numbers, emails, addresses, mailing addresses so if there is an issue we know who to get in contact with," Kleinhenz said.
Right now, town officials estimate they have between 100 and 150 short-term rentals in Speedway. Requiring permits would give them an exact number.
Under the ordinance, property owners would be required to give short-term renters a list of rules.
"They need to follow the same rules that all of our residents follow regarding parking, noise, maintenance of the property, and upkeep of landscaping and grass, all of those things need to be done by those owners as well," Kleinhenz said.
Speedway's town council is also considering a maximum occupancy ordinance that would go hand-in-hand with the permitting one. Right now, Speedway doesn't have the kind of ordinance that regulates how many people can sleep overnight in a home depending on its size.
"So you can't sleep 35 people in a three-bedroom house," Kleinhenz said.
The ordinance has a "three strikes you're out" rule for a property with repeated violations when it comes to noise, parking, garbage and not keeping the property maintained.
If you lose your permit, you'd have to wait a year before applying again.
"I'm thankful the town is going to put some regulations on it and require permits," said longtime Speedway resident Amy Atteberry, who has used short-time rentals before and doesn't mind them in her hometown.
Her neighbor Sally Weiss, also a Speedway native, feels differently.
"People that come in and go out. We don't know who they are. We don't know if they're going to take care of the properties and parties," Weiss said.
"We've all lived next to a property that doesn't follow the rules and that can make life very very difficult," Kleinhenz said.
That's the exact scenario town officials say they're trying to prevent by requiring permits.
“All of our neighbors are on a 'see something, say something,' if we do have a negative experience, but primarily we have great experiences," said Jayne Gauci, who owns a short-term rental. "For me, it has been not only been helping the town council understand we’re a vital business in their community that brings more business to the restaurants, to the shops but that we’re not all bad.”
Gauci told 13News she believes the ordinance will help keep short-term landlords in line.
“We do have the same goals, we just had a different way to go about getting there. We do not want rentals that are operating illegal activities, we don’t want too many people in the homes, we want it to be a safe and good experience for everyone involved and we want our homes to be taken care of, too," said short-term rental landlord Carolyn Brown. "It’s really just trying to get to the same goal in a way that works for everyone."
Brown said she and other landlords were against the provisions included in a previous ordinance brought up by the council.
"We have met with other local hosts and the town council has made a lot of the requested changes we'd made that is a more compatible ordinance between the hosts and the town council," she said.
The town council is expected to vote on the ordinance for a final approval during their meeting July 10. If approved, town leaders estimate it will take effect in the fall, likely around October.