Asbury Park homeowner fights Airbnb regulations

ASBURY PARK – Jon Biondo has two pricey homes he uses for short-term rentals, one at 703 Asbury Ave. and the other at 704 Seventh Ave. He's invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in them and has huge tax bills on both. 

He pays $20,000 a year in property taxes for the Seventh Avenue location.  At $1 million, it has the highest assessed value for a single-family home in the city.  The Asbury Avenue location, which is used primarily for rentals, comes with a $9,000 tax bill. 

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To help defray those costs, Biondo lists the properties on short-term rental sites like VRBO or Airbnb. The rules for short-term rentals at both properties may soon change — to the extent that Biondo might not be able to rent more than one. 

Now, Biondo is gearing up for a political fight. 

The city of Asbury Park is scheduled to vote on a new ordinance on Nov. 8 that would set new parameters on properties that can be used for short-term rentals, defined as 30 days or less. The new ordinance would preclude people from conducting short-term rentals at homes where they are not a primary resident.

In anticipation of the new city ordinance, Biondo said he's changed his primary residence to the 703 Asbury Avenue address, where he does the bulk of his short-term rentals, but argues he should be able to conduct short-term rentals at both locations. 

Rob McKeon, director of property improvement and neighborhood preservation for the city, said the measure is necessary to prevent corporations and private investors from operating what the city considers pseudo hotels.

"If left unregulated, these types of properties would have the effect of changing the character of entire residential neighborhoods over time," McKeon said.

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He added that the ordinance actually expands the number of properties eligible for short-term rentals, including letting people rent out a room in their home of primary residence. And homeowners can still rent homes where they are not primary residents for periods longer than 30 days, McKeon said. 

Those who oppose the measure, like Biondo, 44, said it clamps down unfairly on people trying to make extra income to help with the rising cost of living and property taxes. "I think I shouldn't be restricted from being able to rent out a property that I spent a fortune and life savings  improving," he said. He explains his viewpoints at the video at the top of this story. 

Biondo said the home on Asbury Avenue was previously in foreclosure when he purchased it in 2014, at a price of $239,000. He rents it out weekly during the summer for about $9,000 per month.

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He has gathered enough signatures for a petition to force city council to consider an alternative.  An ordinance crafted by Biondo, who is an attorney specializing in estate law, would allow people to perform short-term rentals at properties where they are not a primary resident. 

If the council declines to pass Biondo's ordinance, the issue will go to Asbury Park voters through a referendum in 2018, according to city attorney Frederick Raffetto. The voters get their say because Biondo collected enough signatures — more than 156 was the threshold — to force the issue.

Regulations of short-term rentals via services like Airbnb and VRBO have been contentious matters on the Jersey Shore. They vary by locality. Earlier this year Toms River passed an ordinance that restricts short-term rentals to a minimum of a 30-day stay, with the exception of the barrier islands on the Barnegat peninsula. 

During the summer, travelers flock to Asbury Park, a city of 15,800. More than 50,000 people may be in the city during most summer weekends, according to Mayor John Moor.

Currently, the city has a summer rental ordinance that allows single-family residence homeowners to pay a $250 fee between Memorial Day and Labor Day that allows them to rent it during the season without having to obtain a $100 inspection and receive a certificate of occupancy with each short-term rental.

During the rest of the year there's no prohibition on short-term rentals, but property owners have to pay for a certificate of occupancy and receive an inspection each time new tenants come into the property. 

The new proposed ordinance by the city caps the number of days a property can be used for short-term rentals during the year at a cumulative total of 180 days. The $300 permit covers the full year along with the certificate of occupancy. Renewal of the permit is also $300. Fines for violations would be as high as $2,000 per instance, per day.  

McKeon said the city's proposed ordinance grandfathers in homeowners who were eligible for summer rental permits in 2017, meaning they would not have to live at the address they use for short-term rentals. The city issued 20 of the short-term rental permits this past summer, he said. Biondo's property on Asbury Avenue could not be grandfathered in under the city's proposal because it is not a single-family home.

McKeon said there are more than 100 properties currently listed on short-term rental sites like Airbnb in the city. 

He said city officials met with a wide variety of stakeholders before the new ordinance proposal was crafted. 

"We did meet with Airbnb; they met with us back in January and had a long meeting. We also had telephone conferences and email communications as we drafted the ordinance," McKeon said. 

Raffetto said a public hearing on the city proposed ordinance and Biondo's ordinance is scheduled for Nov. 8. 

Austin Bogues 732-643-4009; abogues@gannettnj.com