Present for the Tuesday, Sept. 9, Planning Commission meeting were, from left, Scott Osterholm, Gavin DeVore Leonard, Stephen Green, Susan Stiles and Planning and Economic Development Director Meg Leatherman. (Video still)
Planning Commissioners vote ‘no’ on new Airbnb distance regulations
- Published: September 26, 2025
At the most recent Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 9, commissioners had before them several zoning code amendments, most of which were housekeeping measures to clarify and specify otherwise confusing language in the code.
By unanimous votes of 4–0 — with Gary Zaremsky absent — those text amendments passed, insofar as Planning Commissioners agreed to recommend approval to Village Council, which ultimately has the final say on changes to the Village code.
What proved to be somewhat divisive, however, and ultimately died on the table, was an amendment to the section of the code that deals with the distance between transient guest lodgings, or TGLs, in Yellow Springs.
More specifically, the aim was to modify the zoning code provision that prohibits a TGL from being closer 500 feet than to another TGL, as measured from the closest property line to closest property line. The proposed amendment read: “The [500-foot] measurement shall be taken along the street right-of-way, as the shortest distance between the nearest points of the front property line.”
The discrepancy, in other words, is should TGLs be spaced 500 feet as the crow flies, or 500 feet as one would walk the adjoining roads?
By a vote of 2–1, the motion to recommend the former option failed; Planning Commissioners did not recommend approval of that text amendment to Council. Owing to his ownership of a TGL, Council liaison Gavin DeVore Leonard recused himself from the vote.
As Planning and Economic Development Director Meg Leatherman noted in a memo penned ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, the proposed text amendment to TGL regulations was the latest in the year-long effort to “review the effectiveness” of the Village’s TGL program “since some members believe the regulations are too stringent while others believe they are too relaxed.”
Currently, there are 40 TGLs in Yellow Springs, down from a high of 53 in 2021.
Per past News reporting, Commissioner Zaremsky took the lead on the review earlier this summer by comparing Yellow Springs’ TGL rules and regulations with those of other comparable municipalities.
In speaking with the News following Tuesday’s meeting, Zaremsky said his intention behind the text amendment to modify the 500-foot rule — that is, measuring that distance from the road, rather than property lines — was an attempt to “reduce redundancy” and minimize wasted time and efforts of both TGL applicants and Village officials.
From his perspective, the final say in approval or disapproval for TGL applications rests with Planning Commission, and an applicant going before the Board of Zoning Appeals to seek relief or a variance from a TGL regulation, such as the distance from another, is a redundant exercise.
“TGLs are always conditional approval, so they’ll always come before Planning Commission in the end,” Zaremsky explained, and added that he didn’t believe his proposed text amendment would lead to an uptick or greater “clustering” of TGLs.
“If a variance is needed, like for the 500-foot rule, then you have to go to the [Board of Zoning Appeals], then Planning Commission,” he said. “The application on Tuesday was a perfect example.”
Zaremsky was referring to the request from villager Jennifer Berman to operate a TGL at her home on Whiteman Street.
Before going to Planning Commission last Tuesday, Berman had the previous week sought a variance from the BZA because her requested TGL was 128 feet from the nearest TGL on Davis Street — a measurement made from the edges of the two property lines. As such, it fell short of the 500-foot rule. However, if that distance had been measured from the roads, it would have been in compliance with the rule, and Berman wouldn’t have needed to first get BZA approval.
While Planning Commissioners unanimously approved Berman’s request to operate her TGL, despite the proximity to another one, they were of differing minds on how best to regulate short-term rentals in Yellow Springs moving forward.
“I’m really concerned about neighborhoods having too many,” Chair Susan Stiles said. “I like our current regulations.”
Commissioner Scott Osterholm echoed her, and suggested that loosening the ways in which new TGLs are measured from existing ones could lead to rapid proliferation.
“I’m not inclined to change it at all and leave it as it is,” he said.
Commissioner Stephen Green appeared to favor deregulating TGLs, and pointed to Berman’s request — noting that as a longtime Yellow Springs resident, Berman is using her TGL to subsidize her ability to continue living in the village.
“This was a perfect example of the good side of TGLs,” Green said. “They can help people stay and live here.”
In the end, Green said “yea” to the text amendment to measure by the road, and Osterholm and Stiles said “nay” to the change.
Village Council will review and vote on the recommended updates to the zoning code at the group’s next meeting on Monday, Oct. 6.
*Ed. Note: Jennifer Berman, the individual who sought approval from Planning Commission for her transient guest lodging request, is the spouse of YS News staffer and co-owner, Matt Minde.
The Yellow Springs News encourages respectful discussion of this article.
You must login to post a comment.
Don't have a login? Register for a free YSNews.com account.
No comments yet for this article.