WEST WINDSOR — Shortly after the West Windsor Selectboard approved a new short-term rental ordinance in September, Anne Yates got to work collecting signatures to repeal it.

Even though she collected the signatures last fall, Yates, who owns a short-term rental in town, wanted to wait for Town Meeting instead of asking for a Special Town Meeting where the repeal could have been discussed sooner.

“I felt like from what I heard from people I know and other people who have short-term rentals that we just want more information,” Yates said. “It was a way to wait until Town Meeting so we could all talk about it.”

It will now be up to voters at Town Meeting on March 4 to decide whether to uphold the ordinance.

Town Meeting voting, which in West Windsor is done on the floor, will take place at Story Memorial Hall, starting at 9 a.m. The vote on repealing the short-term rental ordinance, which needs a simple majority to pass, is the fifth article on the warning.

If the repeal fails, the ordinance will go into effect May 1.

Short-term rentals have been a contentious topic in Upper Valley towns — especially those that tend to draw tourists.

Supporters of rules argue that it’s vital to keep homes available for year-round residents to help alleviate the ongoing housing shortage. Opponents maintain that short-term rentals boost tourism and homeowners can use the income to help pay property taxes.

At a Special Town Meeting last February, Fairlee voters upheld the town’s short-term rental ordinance. In Woodstock Village last summer, voters approved a short-term ordinance, while town residents rejected it.

As of last August, West Windsor had about 40 short-term rentals, according to the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, which compiles town-by-town data at housingdata.org/profile/housing-stock/short-term-rentals.

That’s up from fewer than 10 in 2017, the year the agency started gathering data.

“It’s been a pretty drastic increase here in town,” Selectboard Chairman Mark Higgins said.

Higgins does not take issue with residents who have short-term rentals on their properties and use them to make a little extra income. Higgins is more concerned about unhosted short-term rentals and their impact on West Windsor’s already tight housing supply.

“These are empty buildings that are being run as investment properties,” Higgins said. “They should be held to a higher standard.”

In 2023, median cost of a home in the town of roughly 1,300 residents, was $377,500, compared to the statewide median of $325,000.

“If you want to build a vibrant community you need people,” Higgins said. “If you have empty homes without people participating in the community, you don’t have a community.”

The ordinance approved by the three-member Selectboard in September requires short-term rental owners to apply for a town license.

Owners would also have to pay fees: $150 per year, per bedroom advertised for short-term rentals where owners are onsite. The fee increases to $300 per year, per bedroom for property owners who live elsewhere.

As part of the licensing process, owners would also have to prove they are following occupancy qualifications listed by the Vermont Department of Health and the Division of Fire Safety, as well as proof that they are paying taxes levied by the Department of Taxes.

The town could levy fines of up to $800 a day for not complying with the ordinance.

“We’ve had a bunch of people ask about it, but the official application isn’t ready yet,” West Windsor Town Administrator Matt Frederick said. “I don’t want a lot of people to go through the trouble of doing that and then have it get repealed at Town Meeting.”

Should the ordinance go into effect, the money collected from fees would go toward purchasing software to track West Windsor’s short-term rentals. While state data can tell town officials how many short-term rentals are in town, it does not provide addresses for where they are located.

“To enforce the ordinance, we need to know which properties (they are) to ensure their compliance,” Higgins said.

Yates said she is not opposed to the idea of a short-term rental ordinance so that town officials have an idea of how properties are being used. But she is concerned about the fees short-term rental owners have to pay and the penalties they’d be exposed to if they do not comply with the ordinance.

Last spring, Yates converted an apartment attached to her home from a long-term rental to a short-term rental. She put it on pause when her son and daughter-in-law needed a place to stay for the summer, then resumed renting it out as a short-term rental in the fall. The apartment sleeps three comfortably, Yates said, and she charges $200 per night.

She switched to a short-term rental model because it allows her more flexibility.

“I have two married sons and we like to have a place for them to stay sometimes,” Yates said. “We use it for us and sometimes for people to come visit our town.”

She’s rented it out about 10 times so far. Some of her guests have been skiers and people who come to visit family during holidays. Last fall, someone participating in an endurance race rented the space.

Citing concerns about property taxes, Yates said, “It’s another way to hopefully make money.”

Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.