LaSalle residents were able to voice their concerns and likes with potentially seeing regulation around short-term rentals (STRs).
A public information session was held Thursday evening at the Vollmer Complex, where residents were able to learn more around short-term rentals, and voice their concerns with having them in the town.
Currently, LaSalle does not have a STR bylaw, meaning they aren't regulated throughout the town.
The town states they believe there are around 47 STRs operating as of 2025 - a number that has risen from 23 STRs in 2023.
The town, with help from WSP Canada - an engineering consulting firm - are conducting a study to look at ways to manage STRs within the community and could lead to changes to the official plan, zoning bylaws, and other bylaws within the town.
Janette Calandra is a LaSalle resident and a landlord within the town. She says she's not a fan of regulation for STRs.
"There's always bad actors, and I really wish they would continue to focus on the bad actors rather than painting everybody with the same brush, and just more bureaucrat, more expenses, more regulation. I've never been big on regulation although I see where there's some need for it, for sure, however I'm not sure that that's the answer."
Dave Seguin lives next to a multi-unit short-term rental and says there needs to be regulations to solve this problem.
"There's been parties there, there's beer bottles in my backyard, on at least six occasions they've come home late at night, and they go to the wrong house and they end up in my backyard. And it's just very frustrating, and right now LaSalle has nothing on the books to regulate it... it needs to be fixed."
Christina Rotaru is a LaSalle resident and says she's on the fence of if there should be a bylaw or not.
"I tend to be on the side of less regulation, if you can get away with it, but I also can understand the frustration of people who moved into a residential neighbourhood and are expecting to get to know their neighbours, and live on a quiet cul-de-sac, or whatever it is, and then they live next to a house that is a business. It's essentially running as a commercial business."
The information gathered from the public information session will be documented in a report and will be presented to council during a meeting in November.
The Town of Kingsville, the Town of Essex, the Town of Amherstburg, and the City of Windsor all have short-term rental bylaws.
The Town of Tecumseh and the Municipality of Leamington do not have bylaw regulating STRs. And the Municipality of Lakeshore banned new short-term rental accommodations in 2023, with existing STRs subject to the same regulations as Bed and Breakfasts.