BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Bethlehem City Council on Tuesday held a hearing on a package of zoning ordinance amendments. Among them were measures that would reinforce restrictions on short-term rentals in the city.
According to Cathy Fletcher, the city’s director of planning and zoning, one area Tuesday’s amendments address is transient rentals where stays shorter than 30 days are permitted. Fletcher said adoption of the amendments works to ensure that short-term rentals such as Airbnbs are only permitted where hotels are currently permitted.
Fletcher said the city currently treats Airbnbs as hotels rather than family residences, which is permitted by Pennsylvania zoning case law, but that approach hasn’t been clearly codified in the city’s zoning ordinance…