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.
“This is really clearly providing that definition to better enforce these uses,” Fletcher explained.
The proposed amendments modify the definition of “hotel” in the zoning ordinance to include transient stays, defined as rental lodging for fewer than 30 consecutive days. The amendments would have the effect of excluding short-term rentals in residential districts where hotels are prohibited.
The amendments would also update the boarding house definition, expand the city’s workforce housing incentive to the Limited Commercial (CL) zoning district and prohibit more than one single-family detached dwelling on a single lot.
Bruce Haines, managing partner of the Hotel Bethlehem, urged council to approve the changes, saying they would reinforce existing ordinances rather than create new restrictions.
Haines said the hotel has spent years pursuing legal action against properties operating as short-term rentals in the city’s historic district, describing enforcement as a “whack-a-mole” process that has required three to four years to resolve in some cases.
He said the revised definitions would strengthen the city’s legal position and discourage attorneys from taking cases challenging enforcement.
Haines also said the amendments are especially important as the Hotel Bethlehem continues to promote itself nationally as a top historic hotel. He argued that increased publicity attracts investors looking to convert homes into short-term rentals, threatening the character of surrounding neighborhoods.
Resident Mike Stauffer also voiced support for the proposal, calling the Hotel Bethlehem “a jewel” and expressing concern that increasing residential density could change Bethlehem’s character. He urged city leaders to balance housing development with preserving residents’ quality of life, saying growth should not come at the expense of the qualities that make the city an attractive place to live.