Lakewood Mayor Randy Holcomb, and Trustee Ellen Barnes conduct business Tuesday at a Board of Trustees meeting. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

LAKEWOOD – Three special-use permit applications for short-term rentals were approved Monday by the Lakewood Board of Trustees.

Three public hearings were held to address short-term rental applications.

The first hearing was for a residence located at 133 W. Summit St., which was approved by a 3-2 vote; the second hearing for a residence at 32 Chautauqua Ave. was approved unanimously; and a third hearing was for a residence, located at 262 E. Fairmount Ave. also was approved unanimously.

In April 2024, trustees approved a new short-term rental law. Permits are prohibited in districts, R-2, multiple family, and R-1, single family, which is where 133 W. Summit St. STR is located. In May of 2024, trustees approved application fees. As part of the annual special-use permitting process, the law calls for application fees of $500 for Lakewood residents; $1,000 Chautauqua County residents; and $1,500 for people who live outside the county.

Trustee John Shedd, Trustee Ben Troche, and Mayor Randy Holcomb voted in favor of the 133 W. Summit St. short-term rental while Trustee Ellen Banes, and Trustee Nancy Jones voted in opposition. The other short-term rentals are not located in residential districts R-1 or R-2.

Barnes noted even though the owner of the STR, Paul Sass, followed the process of obtaining a variance, she gave a reason for why she would not be in favor of his STR.

“My decision is not a reflection on you or as a person or landlord. … However, the short term rental law enacted in 2024 prohibits short term rentals in the R-1 district for a variety of reasons that I believe in,” Barnes said. “I believe that upholding the original law is the best interest of the village as a whole, and unfortunately, I will not be supporting your special use permit request.”

Shedd also gave his reason for why he voted in favor of the short-term rental. He noted that there is a law in place; a variance process in place, and each variance case is reviewed individually.

“That’s the whole intent behind the variance allowance. And so when we review cases one by one, we look closely at the circumstances. … And I just want you to know that in this case, it’s a particular case that I’m aware of, and I’ll be voting for it,” Shedd said.

Sass said that he has done everything to comply with the regulations.

“I’ve done short term rentals before the law was enacted, and I followed the process after the law got passed,” he said. “I felt that I did all the things that I was supposed to do to be able to continue to do what I do. … You have to take it as an individual one by one scenario, and I don’t think that I’ve done anything that is taken away from the community.”

Former Trustee Richard Fischer also chimed in as he was on the board when the short-term rental law was enacted. At the board’s April 2024 meeting, Fischer did vote in favor of the short-term rental law. He just wants to see the law upheld, and wants the village to continue to be a residential community.

“If the zoning board and certain members of the village board are going to continue to allow short term rentals special use permits and experiences, we are going to see anybody that previously had a permit come before the boards and say ‘you gave one to them, so you should give one to me,'” Fischer said. “If that winds up being the case, why did the village board trying to uphold the law waste their time and thousands of dollars that were supposed to help the full time residents who voted you into office?”

At the April 15, 2024 public hearing, Planning Project Manager Molly Gaudioso, of Colliers Engineering and Design defined a short-term rental. Gaudioso said a short-term rental is a dwelling unit and includes any surrounding land area, essentially the property as a whole in whole or in part that may be rented out for a period of less than 30 days. She added that motels, hotels, and bread and breakfast buildings are excluded from the definition.

In other business, the board will hold a public hearing on Sept. 8, at 6:40 p.m. for a special-use permit submitted by Benjamin Ludwig, proposing the construction of a duplex at Winchester Road and First Street.