Groton — The Town Council will hold a public hearing Wednesday on a draft ordinance that would require short-term rental owners to register with the town.

The hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3, at the Groton Senior Center or via Zoom. People who wish to speak via Zoom should sign up by emailing council@groton-ct.gov or contacting the town manager's office, according to the public notice.

Groton Planning and Development Director Jon Reiner said the goal of the draft ordinance, as it currently stands, is to create a registration system so that the town can have contact information for all the short-term rentals and also understand how many there are and where they are located.

The town is asking owners to provide their name, address and phone number and locations of available parking.

The town also wants to ensure that all owners of short-term rentals display within the unit itself their phone number or their agent's phone number, along with local rules such as about noise and maximum occupancy, parking locations, location of trash receptacles and the emergency contact information for the area.

"It is the intent of this Ordinance to accommodate the desire of some property owners to rent their residential dwelling on a short-term basis but to establish appropriate requirements to mitigate the disruption that short-term owner-occupied and vacation rental dwellings may have on neighboring properties and a neighborhood," the draft document states.

Town Mayor Patrice Granatosky said the Town Council has been working on the short-term rental issue for years. She said the town moved the issue to the back burner during the COVID-19 pandemic, but is now at the point where it is moving forward on regulation in a measured way.

“We interviewed people concerned with the rentals and people who rent their properties, including people who have had their property in Groton for generations. We also had discussions with the city, Noank, and Groton Long Point,” she said. “Town staff in conjunction with the town attorney developed a draft ordinance which would take the first step in regulation. A registry would be created, with application process, and registration fee."

"The draft ordinance is the result of careful deliberation to protect the rights of property owners, while also protecting our unique neighborhoods," Granatosky added. "I look forward to receiving feedback from the public at the public hearing.”

Reiner said the draft ordinance, as it is currently written, would not apply to Noank, Groton Long Point or the City of Groton.

The ordinance states that the penalty for a first offense will be a written warning, and the penalty for a second offense within a 12-month period will be a fine of $100. The penalties then would escalate to $250 for a third offense within a 12-month period, and $500 for a fourth and subsequent offense within a 12-month period.

After the hearing, depending on the feedback received, the council can either make changes to the draft document or vote to adopt the ordinance, Reiner said. If the council plans to make substantial changes, it likely would review them at a Committee of the Whole meeting and hold a second public hearing at a later time.

At the hearing on Wednesday, the council also will seek comments on a tree removal proposal for 151 River View Road.

k.drelich@theday.com