EASTON, MARYLAND — Should Talbot County tighten its short-term rental licensing rules, loosen them, or leave them as they are?

In February the Council voted 3–2 to send the Planning Commission an amendment sponsored by Dave Stepp. It would revise the notice standard so applicants notify the nearest fifty properties or all owners within 1,000 feet, including line of sight across waterways — whichever is less. Current rules require notice to all owners within 1,000 feet, including line of sight across waterways. In August a licensing text amendment backed by Lynn Mielke and Pete Lesher failed 2–2 with the Council President absent. Those are two different measures.

Bill 1622, a broader restrictive package, is gone. On Dec. 9, 2025, Council members Pete Lesher and Lynn Mielke withdrew sponsorship of Bill 1622. No vote was taken. Under the County Charter, a bill without a sponsor dies. They first brought a restrictive package in May 2025; the Planning Commission sent it back substantially loosened; the numbered Bill 1622 was introduced Oct. 28, 2025. Sponsors said the draft still missed Town Residential and Town Conservation. Related coverage: Should Talbot Regulate Short-Term Rentals? tracks the same Bill 1622 timeline.

The case for tightening, as made in public: short-term rentals run as unsupervised businesses in residential zones and wear down year-round neighborhoods. Leslie Steen of Tilghman has made the community case — knowing and relying on neighbors. Charles Barranco has raised safety. Mielke has argued the rules should be handled as a whole, not amended piecemeal; Lesher has asked for a full workshop rather than fragments.

The case for loosening or leaving them: Cindy Reichart, Chairperson of the county’s Short Term Rental Review Board on the county transcript of record for those remarks, has said the current rules work and that people are working together. (The board’s current posted roster lists Hugh Smith as Chairperson and Reichart as Vice-Chairperson.) Owner Kevin Hartmann has called visitor-log requirements excessive and intrusive. Chamber president Amy Kreiner has noted that rental guests shop locally, dine out, and support small businesses. Several of those positions were reported in mid-2025.

Underneath the noise: notification decides who gets standing to object. That is what is actually being voted on. The Opinion desk wants letters, with name and town. Send letters to the Patriot.