Niagara Falls property denied chance to convert to Vacation Rental Unit

An application to convert a residential property into a Vacation Rental Unit was shut down by Niagara Falls City Council on Tuesday (July 11) night.

Council’s decision went against a staff recommendation to allow the change to the property at 5014 Willmott St. Council decided, instead, that the neighbourhood’s residential zoning should stay intact without this exception.

Staff suggested the applicant, Omar Tyndale, had requested “to have a Special Policy Designation applied and the lands rezoned to a site-specific R2 zone to permit a Vacation Rental Unit.”

Staff noted that while Vacation Rental Units (VRUs) are not permitted in residentially designated lands, they added that in 2018, Council passed an Official Plan Amendment which stated VRUs may be considered within residential areas of the City, adding such requests are to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Interestingly enough, the property was up for sale this time last year, listed at $499,900. It was marked as “sold” but it’s not certain that Tyndale was the purchaser.

The listing described the 5014 Willmott St. property as a “two-storey house,  built in 1918, with over 1,500 square feet. There are four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fenced yard, and a detached garage. The main floor hosts the primary bedroom & laundry. Tons of updates here including the roof, furnace, A/C, some electrical, kitchen and bathroom.”