Zoning Enforcement Officer Jack Demirjian and Commissioners Kevin Cornell and Jay McGuire discuss the proposed effective ban on AirBnBs. A New Haven suburb effectively banned AirBnB-type rentals this week, after neighbors complained that guests were turning a luxurious house owned by a New Haven -based investor into “party central.” The new zoning law was approved by all five members of Orange’s Town Plan and Zoning (TPZ) Commission Tuesday night at Orange Town Hall. The new law goes into effect on Dec. 9, and prohibits rentals of less than 30 days in residential zones. Residents will still be allowed to rent out their rooms or homes for more than 30 days. In a phone interview with the Independent on Wednesday, Orange First Selectman Jim Zeoli said the new rule was prompted by complaints from “a large group of residents” about a two-bedroom ranch house at 473 Ridgeview Rd. “It was causing a lot of commotion in this neighborhood — a quiet neighborhood — where it was being” made into “a party central for four days at a time,” said Zeoli. “We were having problems with noise, trash,” and “emergency services.” During Tuesday’s TPZ meeting, Commissioner Kevin Cornell said the new rule would prevent people from “running businesses out of a single-family home.” While the commissioners didn’t discuss the reasoning for the new law that night, when the idea was first floated in 2021, Chair Oscar Parente stressed that the town is not, and should not become, a tourist destination. Meanwhile, a Change.org petition calling to prohibit short-term rentals received 305 signatures and focused primarily on 473 Ridgeview Rd. The petition criticizes the AirBnB for “blatantly abusing our town’s zoning laws” and for accommodating over 16 people at a time. The author, who lives on Ridgeview Road, said she’d seen “drunk individuals roaming the street,” “broken glass and overflowing trash cans,” “men screaming sexually inappropriate things,” “excessive traffic disrupting the peace,” “constant noise at all hours,” and “frequent visits from [the] police and fire department[s].” The AirBnB had been listed for only three months. It’s no longer available on the website. According to the town’s online property database, the home that inspired the ban is owned by CLSE Holdings 3 LLC. That holding company bought the two-bedroom home — a modern ranch with an indoor pool — for $615,000 in August 2024. The most recent appraisal of the property for tax purposes was $478,100. State business records show that CLSE Holdings 3 LLC is controlled by Chaya Mushka Lipszyc of New Haven and Avraham Yaffe of Guilford. The LLC is registered to 315 Front St. in Fair Haven, a popular office address for local real estate investment companies. State business records also show a connection between this LLC and Shneor Edelkopf, who shares the same Ellsworth Avenue address as Lipszyc, is married to Lipszyc, and has associations with similarly named local LLCs. Edelkopf, an active investor in New Haven real estate, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Zeoli told the Independent that the two-bedroom house at Ridgeview Road had been listed as a six-bedroom rental and modified without town approvals, contributing to neighbor’s complaints. Around the same time the Change.org petition was created, on Aug. 25, the Orange TPZ issued a cease-and-desist order against the property. Zoning Enforcement Officer Jack Demirjian told the commission that he’d issued a violation on July 1 after seeing the home being operated as an AirBnB. He said his inspection had revealed that several changes were made to the property without city approval. CLSE Holdings 3 LLC appealed the citation, but no one from the company argued in support of the appeal. Seven residents spoke in favor of the citation, and one spoke against. All five commissioners voted for the “immediate cessation of all impermissible commercial activities at the property.” Zeoli emphasized that the decision to regulate AirBnBs shouldn’t be interpreted as “arrogant” or “snobby,” and that there are many options for affordable, longer-term housing in Orange. “Most municipalities will let things go unless it becomes a problem in a neighborhood,” said Zeoli. “Then, you have to take action.” In a statement emailed to the Independent, a spokesperson for AirBnB said, “Banning short-term rentals in Orange only harms local residents who rely on home-sharing for supplemental income, eliminates affordable options for families looking to stay closer together, and threatens small businesses that depend on visitor foot traffic, with guests across Connecticut spending an average of $657 on local goods and services.” He noted that parties at AirBnBs are rare, and that the company has implemented several policies to discourage disruptive gatherings, including reservation screening to block high-risk parties, a Neighborhood Support Line for residents concerned about an AirBnB, a 24-hour safety line for hosts and guests, and a dedicated portal and response team for law enforcement. City Has 945 Short-Term Rentals, No Short-Term-Rental Regs According to AirDNA, a third-party data source that compiles data from Vrbo and AirBnB, there are 945 short-term rentals in the city of New Haven. In the town of Orange, meanwhile, there are no rentals currently listed on the AirBnB or Vrbo websites. New Haven Assistant City Plan Director Esther Rose-Wilen told the Independent that the city does not have zoning regulations about short-term rentals but is “regularly” monitoring their impact. She noted that Vision 2034 includes the goal of preventing “displacement” from short-term rentals “by ensuring residents can continue to live in their neighborhood of choice as housing costs rise.” Across the country, cities and towns have been considering new rules on short-term rentals amid rising housing costs and a constrained housing supply. In addition to Orange, nearby towns like East Haven, West Haven, and Milford all recently tightened restrictions on AirBnBs. And, on a much larger scale, New York City cracked down on non-owner-occupied rentals of less than 30 days back in 2023, leading the city’s AirBnB listings to drop by over 90 percent. The post Suburb Boxes Out AirBnBs Due To City Landlord’s “Party” House appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less