Airbnb may go back to Canton Planning Commission

A conditional-use permit is the obvious way, and the easiest way, that the city of Canton could allow Airbnb rentals to operate in single-family neighborhoods. But it may not be the only way.

Some members of Canton City Council want an accomodation for Aribnb and other Internet-booked rentals in single-family neighborhoods. Expect council to vote at its next meeting in early June to send the issue back to the Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission in March sent council a recommendation to clarify the existing prohibition  of room rental in single-family homes. Council in April paused and gave itself two months to further consider the issue.

At City Council’s meeting on Monday, one alternative seemed to be conditional use. A single-family homeowner who wanted to rent a room through Airbnb could apply for a conditional-use permit, which the Board of Zoning Appeals could grant after an application and a fee and a public hearing that would allow neighbors to comment.

The Plannning Commission may consider conditional use, but also may consider other alternatives or study legislation created by other cities to manage the terrain between individual property rights and neighborhood zoning. The commission’s next scheduled meeting should be June 12. It no longer meets in the City Council chamber because it now has a conference room on the sixth floor of City Hall.