AMHERST — A new local option community impact fee will be assessed on some residents and other property owners who rent rooms in their homes through short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo.
The Town Council voted 12-1, with only District 2 Councilor Patricia DeAngelis opposed, to impose the 3-percent fee on what state law calls “managed apartment building” sites. The fee goes beyond the 6-percent local lodging excise tax Amherst already collects on these rooms, as well as hotels and inns.
At-Large Councilor Andy Steinberg, who chairs the Finance Committee, said the committee determined that the fee should be imposed because these properties have impacted infrastructure services and likely have also had an effect on housing availability.
The Community Resources Committee also recommended the fee, which will be imposed on professionally managed units, which are rented out by an owner who is not also an occupant of the building, and to some Airbnbs where the homeowner is renting two or more rooms at a time in the dwelling.
The council will set aside 35 percent of the fee collected for affordable housing and local infrastructure projects, which is the minimum required by the state law.
DeAngelis opposed the measure because the percentage to be set aside for affordable housing and infrastructure projects was not higher.
Steinberg said the Finance Committee also recommends that the fee be incorporated into planning for future town budgets.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said he does not have an estimate for how much the fee will bring in, though pegged it at more than $10,000. He added that any source of new revenue is valuable for the town.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
