Concerns over how changes to the short-term accommodation industry is impacting cottage communities will soon be addressed at Madawaska Valley council.
A motion on the agenda for the Tuesday, Nov. 21 meeting calls for the municipality to ask the province to step up in regulating the industry.
The motion explains that the traditional cottage-rental industry has changed with the growing presence of “third-party” companies such as Airbnb.
If the motion passes as presented, Madawaska Valley will ask the province to create legislation that will force brokerage companies to abide by several new rules.
That would include registering the rental on a system that its municipality is aware of. A rental could then be removed if the municipality identifies “nuisance infractions” such as noise or fire safety issues.
The motion before council comes from recommendations Madawaska Valley received from other municipalities, including Wawa, Greater Napanee and Burlington.