After residents on the 900 block of Lathrop Ave. shared complaints at recent village council meetings about a short-term rental property on their block, neighbors have asked commissioners to restrict such properties within 500 feet of a school and limit stays to 30 days.
Now, owners and guests of short-term rental properties in Forest Park are speaking in support of these rental homes — which have never been regulated in the village code, though commissioners say the village’s legal team is looking into potential restrictions on them.
“Forest Park is being asked to write a category-wide ordinance on the basis of a single property,” said Forest Park resident David Hudson during public comment at the April 27 council meeting. Hudson rents out the upper floor of his property and said, after searching online, there are roughly 90 short-term rental properties in the village. “Hundreds of guests have stayed with us with zero complaints from our neighbors. Hosting has actually pushed us to keep improving our property, so every guest has the best possible experience.”
Fourteen others verbalized or wrote in public comments at the beginning of the council meeting — the most who have done so in at least a year — all of them against any kind of restrictions for short-term rental properties.
Forest Park residents Amy and Geoff Binns-Calvey run an Airbnb on their property and said they’ve also never had an issue with guests, who don’t have other options when they want to stay longer than a few days in Forest Park.
“There aren’t a lot of hotel availabilities in our area,” Amy Binns-Calvey said. “We have a lot of guests who not only are coming to visit family in Forest Park. We’ve had guests come because there’s renovations happening in their homes in Forest Park, so we’re a nice resource for our neighbors.”
“There are no hotels here in town, and the unique character of a homestay rivals and outweighs a hotel stay,” said Jennifer Wolfe, who has been a Forest Park resident of 28 years and has hosted short-term guests for over a decade. “Guests stay at my home to see family, celebrate birthdays and holidays, and christenings. They come to see theater productions, concerts, try new restaurants, they visit loved ones in the hospital and attend memorial services.” She added that she’s paid about $182,000 in property taxes over nearly 30 years, and Airbnb has submitted over $40,000 in occupancy tax.
Uli Leib and her husband live in the same property where they have operated a short-term rental for over 20 years. She said she knew from her experience working in corporate relocation that there was a need for short-term furnished apartments long before Airbnb was created.
“Not all short-term rentals are party houses, and ours is far from it. Our typical tenants do not come for a weekend with a bunch of friends. They come for weeks or months at a time, and they do spend money at our local businesses,” Lieb said.
Multiple people emailed in comments to exclaim how much they have enjoyed staying with the Liebs and in Forest Park. Catherine Gaze, an Oak Park resident, emailed in a public comment after renting the Lieb’s property for 10 months in 2009 and a year in 2012 for her parents to help care for her daughters. She said they appreciated “easy public transportation and a great community, including great restaurants and shopping. I would hate to see short-term rental options limited due to concerns with one particular landlord.”
Kristin Murchison also emailed in a comment. A Texas resident, she and her husband visit her daughter’s family in Oak Park multiple times a year.
“We stay several weeks at a time and need a place to cook meals, do laundry, work remotely and live comfortably,” Murchison said. “Without short-term rentals, these long visits with our family would simply not be possible. There are no convenient hotels nearby that could accommodate a stay of that length, comfortably or affordably.” She added, “Short-term rentals are not just a convenience for some of us. They are the only way to maintain meaningful family connections across long distances.”
Karen Rozmus emailed a public comment in support of her neighbors, who have been operating short-term rentals in Forest Park since 2016.
“I have never had an issue with any tenant that they have had rent this apartment, and I have cousins who have stayed there and who have stayed in their other locations,” Rozmus said. “If the village is considering regulating short-term rental properties, I would suggest a licensing program that can be closely monitored. Laws are only as good as enforcement measures. Current laws to address parking, noise and public nuisance issues should be enforced consistently to address specific problems.”
At the April 22 town hall discussing residential zoning, head of the village’s building department, Steve Glinke, said a property could be declared a nuisance if it’s reported to police six times in 6 months.
At the end of the April 27 council meeting, when commissioners shared their individual reports, Commissioners Maria Maxham, Ryan Nero, Michelle Melin-Rogovin and Jessica Voogd thanked the 15 public commenters for sharing their opinions on potential short-term rental regulations.
“Staff is working to put together the different possibilities that there are and also looking into how we can, as a village, make some money off of Airbnb,” Maxham said. “I’ve been asking about that for a while, I’m waiting on some answers, and I’m looking forward to getting that information.”