How many short-term rentals does Oglesby need? Council divided on new applications

Oglesby officials this week approved a short-term rental property – but not two – and expressed misgivings about adding new ones.

The Oglesby City Council on Monday approved in a 3-2 vote a short-term rental application for 544 Korter Ave. Commissioners Austin Cullinan and Hilary Moyle voted no.

Then, the council denied an application for 125 Oakwood Court. The vote was 4-1, with Mayor Jason Curran voting against the denial. (Objectors had surfaced for the Oakwood proposal but not for Korter.)

Curran noted that the homeowners completed all the necessary steps required by the city and said he had no concerns about the city’s ability to deal with nuisances.

“I feel confident we have the ability, if it becomes a nuisance property, we can shut it down,” Curran said.

But Cullinan and Moyle expressed concerns over adding short-term rentals, which could negatively affect neighboring property values.

Cullinan said there might be merit to capping the number of short-term rentals but he was reluctant to impose a limit and guess wrong. He further noted he opposed converting any single-family home into a short-term rental.

“If we allow too many, I’m worried about housing prices going up too much,” Cullinan said, “and if we allow just a few, I’m worried about the adjacent property values going down.”

In other matters, the council:

- Approve agreement with JLN Holdings LLC to provide parking for Summer Fun Fest

- Tabled awarding a bid for phase 1 of the waste water treatment plant

- Approved a modification to the travel reimbursement ordinance