At its May 4 meeting, the Town Board of Gardiner voted in favor of a stop-gap law for short term rentals while the panel continues to collect data, as well as complete other impending municipal projects.

The temporary measure would “eliminate grandfathering going down the road,” according to Town Supervisor Marybeth Majestic. It does not, however, address residency requirements or place a cap on the number of units or number of days the unit can operate.

Councilman David Dukler was the lone councilmember to vote against the motion, stating that he “couldn’t imagine that this is more wrong.”

The decision to suspend short term rental discussions was raised at the board’s April 13 meeting. Majestic believed work, research and feedback from the Comprehensive Plan, which is in its early stages and expected to be completed before the end of the calendar year, could influence the short term rental law. Ulster County is also conducting data collection for its Housing Action Plan, which could also significantly impact short term rentals in Gardiner.

The stop-gap law would direct short term rentals in the interim. Majestic circulated a draft bill that mimicked one used by Lakewood Village of Chautauqua County. There was missing information on the draft law that needed the eyes of the town attorney, but a public hearing will take place some time in June once completed.

Dukler disagreed with the Lakewood replication in April, and reiterated his disappointment last week.

“Abandoning a cap [on days] is the height of irresponsibility,” he said last Tuesday.

Dukler had circulated his own proposal, which he compiled from his own research and after speaking with other community leaders. He believed a cap on the number of days, as well as restrictions on who can operate during the interim, should be enforced. By excluding a cap, he argued, rental owners are being allowed too much freedom from the get-go and will be nearly impossible to scale back on in the following year.

“The discussion was, ‘How can we create structures to address the problem that we’ve heard about, especially about quality of life from other communities?’” Dukler said. “Now what we’re saying is, ‘All bets are off. Let the people do whatever the hell they want. Then we’ll figure out what we need to do.’ … It flies in the face of what we were trying to do.”

The topic was heavily debated, as most of the short term rental discussions over the past several weeks have proven, but ultimately the measure was passed, 4-1. The bill would not be the end of the road for short term rentals, the deputy supervisor clarified, but would act as an effective placeholder as the council becomes better informed.

“We’ll gather information and then tighten it up,” Majestic said.