Dryden discusses updates to Compression Station, short-term rentals

Maintenance work on the Borger Compression Station and new policies restricting short-term rentals were the main focus at the Dryden Town Board’s Aug. 13 agenda meeting. Also discussed at the meeting were the Department of Environmental Conservation’s proposal to sell Dryden Lake back to the town, grants for the rail trail and clarifications on how the reopening of the area’s higher education campuses will impact the town’s residents.

The Board did not vote on any items, but some will be brought to a vote during the Board’s Aug. 20 business meeting.
A proposed set of zoning laws to restrict short-term rentals was brought to the Town Board for discussion by Tony Salerno, member of the town of Dryden planning board, who has been active on the issue. Short-term rentals are defined as the rental of a residence to the same person or family for fewer than 30 consecutive days.

The reasons for a more formalized restriction on short-term rentals include concerns that short-term rentals can drive up housing costs and change the character of neighborhoods, according to Salerno. This is because some people buy property specifically to use as short-term rentals.

Short-term rentals of a primary residence are allowed for a maximum of 30 days each year, and short-term rentals of “secondary self-contained accessory apartments” are allowed for any amount of days per year, as long as the owner is present.

A room, “or portion contained inside a residence,” can also be rented, as long as the owner is present. The law also prohibits rental to more than two adults per bedroom, as overpopulated rentals have previously been an issue in Dryden, according to Town Supervisor Jason Leifer. Overpopulated rentals can cause damage to septic systems and sewer systems and can limit parking for the area’s residents.

Salerno recognized that for many residents, short-term rentals are an important extra revenue stream, which is why they are still allowed under the proposed zoning law. Salerno specifically mentioned summer vacations and college and university graduations as popular times for residents to rent their places for added income, adding that one of the primary goals for the new zoning law is to prevent people from buying houses exclusively for short-term rentals.

“It helps people pay for their vacations,” Salerno said. “We certainly didn’t want to interfere with that.”

The response from Board members to the proposed zoning changes was positive.

“This kind of checks the boxes of what I hoped you guys would do,” said Dryden Deputy Supervisor Dan Lamb. “So, it’s a step forward for the town.”

The current plan is to reintroduce the zoning law for a public hearing in October, according to Dryden Director of Planning Ray Burger.

Town Board member Jim Skaley supported giving town residents an opportunity to participate in the decision to adopt the new zoning law.

“We may or may not know what the scope of the problem is,” Skaley said.

To better gauge the extent of short-term rentals in Dryden, town officials shopped around for services that track the use of some services, such as Airbnb. But the cost — over $10,000 according to Burger — was prohibitive, at least for now.

Many municipalities have introduced permit processes for short-term rentals to generate revenue for the monitoring service. Skaley suggested that local towns and municipalities coordinate to pay for these services countywide. More information about short-term rentals in the county can be found at t.ly/H7jr.

The Board also discussed the state of Dominion Energy’s plan for maintenance work on the Borger Compression Station, which includes updating several compressors, turbines and other infrastructure.

The state of the compression station’s infrastructure has garnered concern among town residents in recent years, as the old infrastructure of the energy plant releases sulfur dioxide, hazardous pollutants, nitrous dioxide, nitrous oxide and other hazardous pollutants, which are irritants to the lungs and eyes and can cause asthma, Lamb said.

After public outcry, Dominion Energy agreed to use safer equipment that has cleaner outputs. But because of the company’s use of improved equipment, it can now apply to the state for a more lenient permit, called a small source permit, which allows it to run the equipment for more hours per year.

Calculations have shown that the new equipment run for more hours will produce lower quantities of the hazardous pollutants previously of concern but will generate significantly more carbon dioxide than the equipment that Dominion planned to use originally.

Members of the public have asked that the town move slower in approving features of the plan, but Lamb warned against moving too slowly, fearing that Dominion might back out of their promise to use cleaner equipment that is less harmful to the health of nearby residents.

“There’s a high likelihood they’ll walk away because no one’s making them do it,” Lamb said of Dominion if the approval process takes longer than one year.

Lamb added that the improved equipment that Dominion agreed to use is considerably more expensive than the equipment they were originally going to install.

The status of the Borger Compression Station will be discussed further at the Board’s Aug. 20 business meeting.