The privately owned Innsbrook Corporation and the public government of the village of Innsbrook have reached a truce, of sorts, to prevent the banning of short-term home rentals.

At issue are homes within Innsbrook that are being rented out as vacation properties. Some permanent residents of the village complain that the rentals bring visitors who cause excessive noise and other nuisances.

Representatives of the village and corporation met this month and committed to adding new rules to the Innsbrook Homeowners Association to address the nuisances, said Jeff Thomsen, chairman of the Village Board of Trustees. He detailed the conversation during the village board’s monthly meeting Oct. 13.

Thomsen said the homeowners association rules would be enforced by the corporation, rather than the village, and would include having to register rental properties and being subject to increasing fines for successive disturbances.

“If you rented to a bunch of teenagers one weekend, and they’re loud and boisterous, and local residents complain about it ... that would be the first violation, and there would be proposed some kind of monetary fine against the owner of that property,” Thomsen explained. “If a second violation were to come along, there would be an increased fine. And with a third violation, it would be more serious.”

The exact terms of the rules would hopefully be settled by early next year, Thomsen said.

That solution stands in contrast to what the village board had proposed in August, which was an outright ban on short-term rentals of 30 days or less.

Although the homeowner association rules are still open to negotiation, Thomsen believes this is a better solution than the village stepping in with a ban.

Trustee Cynthia Bowers fervently disagreed.

“I applaud (the corporation) for coming forward and trying to create some regulations that might be beneficial, but ... about two-thirds of those who have responded in emails are telling us they want some regulations,” Bowers said.

She argued that the Innsbrook Corporation and homeowners association already have indentures that they don’t enforce. How can the village government have faith that the new rules would be any different, Bowers asked.

Village Attorney Christopher Graville advised that even once the village board and corporation leadership would agree to a final version of the proposed rules, the corporation would still have to get the rules approved at Innsbrook’s annual homeowners association meeting.

“I think this is a very positive first step,” Graville commented.

Despite Bowers’ objection, members of the village board agreed to put the rental ban on hold indefinitely while the rules proposed by Innsbrook Corporation develop. The vote was 5-0, with Bowers agreeing on the condition that an ordinance for the rental ban could be taken up at a future meeting.