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Marathon to consider short-term rentals

Marathon to consider short-term rentals Marathon to consider short-term rentals

Village of Marathon City administrator Andy Kurtz gave Plan Commission members a “heads up” last week Wednesday that they may need to decide whether the village will allow short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods.

Kurtz said he has been approached by a village homeowner who wishes to rent out a home as an Airbnb unit. He said the village’s current zoning code allows “rooming houses” in its downtown commercial district but not shortterm rentals in residential neighborhoods.

Kurtz said, however, it may be the case the state legislature passed a law forbidding municipalities from not allowing the short term rentals. The legal issue is being explored, he said. Any state prohibition would be more significant in the town of Rib Mountain, he said, where there are many short-term rentals to people who use the local ski hill.

Members of the village board took opposite sides over whether short term rentals should be allowed.

Trustee Mark Ahrens said he would not appreciate having a constant churn of new neighbors if a short term rental was next door. “I wouldn’t want to live next to something like that,” he said. “I think it would hurt my property value.”

Village president Dave Belanger said he saw little harm in having only one or two short term rentals, especially if they were properly managed. He said that homeowners would likely rent out their buildings responsibly. “They own the properties,” he said. “They have skin in the game.”

Belanger also said that homeowners that charged a lot of money for their rentals would likely do a better job managing the rentals.

Kurtz stressed that the state government may have taken away the village’s ability to control short-term rentals.

“We may not have as much control over this as we would like,” he said.

In other business, the plan commission voted to vacate streets near Marathon Cheese Corp. and Marathon High School as part of a traffic rerouting plan.

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