SOUTH FORK — During the regular meeting of the South Fork Board of Trustees on Dec. 13, board members voted to approve Ordinance 22-04, an ordinance providing rules and fees for short-term rentals within town limits with some additional changes.

The ordinance was presented to the board for discussion by South Fork Town Administrator Hank Weber who opened the floor for further discussion.

According to the document, “The Town of South Fork (which is primarily funded by tourism) has experienced an increasing number of short-term rental development within town limits. It is the town’s intent to ensure that State and local laws and regulations are followed, while preventing hardships on local ownership of such properties. The Town of South Fork encourages private enterprise within town limits, and seeks to support the growing tourism industry without adversely affecting the character and small-town environment of residential areas that the citizens of South Fork enjoy and expect.”

Throughout the document it explains that this ordinance will not only protect short-term rentals in the area but serve to help protect businesses throughout the town as well by implementing regulations and fees for short-term rentals. Town officials broke the town into divisions and the ordinance caps fees at 13% of the total number of housing units within divisions with exceptions in more dense areas.

South Fork Mayor Pro-Tem Sarah Sparrow made a request to change wording to section D-8-C, requesting that the wording be shortened to include that the ordinance would be reviewed annually by the sitting board when needed.

“The only thing I would ask be added to that would be wording that says the board would look at the cap as well during that review,” she said.

Board members also chose to remove wording that required potential short-term rental property owners to place signage notifying the division in which they reside that the intent was to create a short-term property in the area.

Other regulations included that the property owner possess a business license that would be renewable annually for every year the property would be considered for short-term rental and that it was subject to approval or denial through the process outlined by the ordinance based on the criteria submitted by the board.

The ordinance was passed pending amendments approved by the board and is available for viewing on the town’s website at www.southfork.org.