MetroCreative

CALUMET — An April 17, 2019 Harvard Business Review article titled ‘Research: When Airbnb listings in a city increase, so do its rent prices,’ says that according to Airbnb, its increasing popularity brings more money to cities, in the form of both rental fees and the money that renters spend during their stays.

The report goes on to say that critics have argued that home-sharing platforms like Airbnb raise the cost of living for local renters.

“There is not much evidence to support this claim one way or the other,” the article asserts, “though a study focused on Boston found that an increase in Airbnb listings there was associated with an increase in rents.”

By making short-term rentals easier, the article speculates, Airbnb could cause some landlords to switch their properties from long-term rentals, which are aimed at local residents, to short-term rentals, which are aimed at visitors. Cities and towns have a finite supply of housing, so this process would drive up rental rates over time.

That is just one of the issues confronting Calumet at this time. As the village and areas around it are developing, economically available housing is becoming nearly impossible for potential new residents to find.

Village Council President pro ex tempore, Pamela Que said the problem is reaching a crisis point.

“They keep taking over all of our vacant housing, any place we can house long-term residents,” said Que, “and we have no control over when they’re buying them, or when they’re opening them up to be Airbnbs.”

When the Village Council drafted its Master Plan in 2018, that was not a problem. Limited areas exist in the Village for construction of new housing, the plan states.

Included in the 2018 Master Plan were justifications for short term rentals.

“The development of commercial land uses in the residential area should not be allowed. Exceptions would include certain home occupations, where the business is conducted entirely within the home; vacation rentals by owner and bed and breakfast establishments, which are generally compatible with, and desirable in an historic community.”

While STRs are, according to Que, removing more and more potential long-term housing from the area, it is becoming a complex problem for the village.

The Master Plan states that the Village is completely built out, however, there are a number of vacant lots available for infill development, or to accommodate parking for the redevelopment of adjoining or nearby properties. It goes on to say, that limited areas exist in the Village for construction of new housing. Vacant land at the north end of the Village could accommodate some housing units.

Que said the Village has requested a voluntary survey, asking property owners: what they are renting short-term, what they are renting long-term, what housing could become available to the village in a range of time.

The purpose of the survey is provide the council with information on where new residents can be housed, and the number of residents the village can anticipate sheltering.

“I can’t even know where to start an inventory if I don’t have an inventory to start with,” she said, “so, we’re asking people to voluntarily tell us what they are doing with their homes.”

However, very few people are responding to the survey, because the village does not currently have provisions on the books for property owners to operate STRs in the village.

The STR issue is more complex than just zoning issues, however. As the village, and the surrounding areas within the township are working toward economic and industrial expansion, any such efforts are challenged by potential employees and families not being able to obtain housing, and the cost of what housing is available may be artificially inflated by the increase in properties being purchased and converted to STRs.