Raccoons frolic in garbage at Markham short-term rental

Yorkregion.com
July 7, 2017
By Tim Kelly

A Markham home once derided as an "Airbnb party house" now appears to be a short-term rental home where garbage is dumped at the curb that raccoons can rip open and frolic in.

While the drinking, marijuana-smoking, and illegal car-parking is gone, garbage being left at the curb for a week — where it is subject to the whims of wildlife — creates an entirely new problem, unhappy neighbours say.

"Last Thursday, garbage was put out, a toilet was left out, and garbage day wasn't until the following Friday" eight days later, said the neighbour.
The home at 31 Snider Dr. in the Raymerville neighbourhood is owned by overseas residents who stopped using it for Airbnb rentals after protests this past spring. Loud parties were held there consistently from November 2016 to March 2017, neighbours had complained.
But now, the torn trash creates a new issue.

"It's devaluating the neighbourhood. Just think if my house was for sale and you looked at the neighbourhood and see garbage all over the place," said the neighbour.

Ward 4 Councillor Karen Rea, who was upset about the party house, is also frustrated about the short-term rental and garbage. She has brought it to the attention of the city's bylaw department.

But she said the real solution will come this fall when city staff and council debate the wider concern of secondary suites, rooming houses — and short-term rentals.

"If the bylaw passes, short-term accommodation will not be allowed," Rea said.

Rea believes the city should declare rentals be for a minimum of three months and will push for that minimum in any bylaw.

"The bylaw that's coming in the fall cannot come quick enough. It's not acceptable to residents to put up with this nonsense," said Rea.

As for enforcement, Rea believes residents would police their own neighbourhoods and would complain about short-term rentals to either staff or councillors.

"I have residents emailing me all the time saying this is being rented out per night, here's the party house, here's the house that's being rented out, here's the car that's being parked on the front yard," she said.