Montgomery board moves toward short-term rental law, lowers lot-size rule

A two-acre barrier for short-term rental permits in Montgomery is now a one-acre threshold, with smaller lots pushed into an appeal process before the town’s zoning board of appeals.

The Town Board of the Town of Montgomery moved the draft law forward at its April 1 meeting, where members focused on how the new rules would land on existing neighborhoods, subdivision lots and older parcels that do not fit neatly into a blanket acreage test. Town Supervisor Steve Brescia proposed cutting the minimum lot size to one acre and allowing owners of even smaller parcels to seek relief through the Town of Montgomery Zoning Board of Appeals. Councilman Mark Hoyt said the board needed to think harder about whether the town should build in an appeal process or reduce the acreage rule, noting that some properties predate modern zoning patterns.

Town Attorney William Frank said owners seeking relief from sleeping-capacity limits, parking-capacity requirements or other standards would have to go through the ZBA. By the end of the discussion, the board had settled on the one-acre standard and allowed appeals for anything smaller, setting the stage for a public hearing on April 15 before any adoption. That hearing will give residents a chance to argue whether the law protects quiet neighborhoods or creates a path for more Airbnb-style rentals in places where parking and lot size are already tight.

The short-term rental proposal is not new. A late-2025 notice introduced Introductory Local Law No. 7 of 2025, which would create Chapter 186, “Short-Term Rentals,” in the Town of Montgomery code and regulate the use and safety of these rentals to promote public health, safety and welfare. The April 1 revisions show the board still trying to strike a line between property rights and local control rather than impose an outright ban.

The meeting also covered day-to-day town business. The board approved grant contracts with the Coldenham Fire Department, Maybrook Fire Department, Montgomery Fire Department and Walden Fire Department, signed onto support for a Farmland Protection Implementation Grant and accepted the STOP-DWI Grant. The agenda also included a February financial report, underscoring that the rental fight is moving alongside the town’s broader budget and emergency-services work.

Montgomery’s debate echoes an earlier fight in the Village of Montgomery, where trustees weighed Airbnb regulations in 2018 and a local property owner argued short-term rentals should meet the same fire, health, accessibility and parking standards as bed-and-breakfasts. In a town of just over 20,000 people, the outcome of the current law could shape not only who can rent, but how closely the town can police noise, parking and overcrowding on residential streets.