CARMEL, Ind. -- Renting out private swimming pools and pickleball courts in Carmel could be a thing of the past.
City leaders are considering cracking down on short-term property rentals. These backyard rental parties are nothing new, however. In fact, city leaders said they have been going on for nearly three years now.
"An example of that is swimming pools, pickleball courts, basketball courts, trampolines, those kind of things," described Carmel City Councilor Jeff Worrell.
Worrell told FOX59/CBS4 these private property side hustles started getting out of hand in neighborhoods like Springmill Ridge.
"I became aware of it when a community, an HOA, a neighborhood, typical Carmel cul-de-sac neighborhood had a problem with a pool being rented on a website called 'Swimply,'" Worrell said. "And things got out of control."
FOX59/CBS4 knocked on several doors in the Springmill Ridge neighborhood to try and learn more about the issue. While many neighbors were not home at the time, some did speak to our crews, but they did not go on camera.
While some neighbors said property owners should be able to make decisions for themselves and should be able to rent out their properties freely as they so choose, others said they were aware of "nuisances" in the neighborhood that resulted from these so-called backyard rental parties.
Some neighbors said they had heard loud music. They also said they have watched large crowds of people wander from one property to another. Those bothered by the issue said it "disturbed their peace."
Councilor Worrell said these issues eventually were brought to his attention.
"People going into someone else's garage and going into a beer fridge because they needed more drinks or doing photo shoots on other people's property," he described. "And so it just became inappropriate. We realize everyone has the right to do certain things with their property, we get that, but in this case it went too far."
But Cindie Sartino, who has received complaints after renting out her pool in the Springmill Ridge neighborhood, said there is more to the story.
"It's mostly families and children and pets," she described of her short-term rentals. "I had kids' birthday parties here many times, but those weren't loud, you know. They were a bunch of kids and parents. There were maybe two or three times where a party may have seemed loud to somebody, but there were none of those last year at all."
Sartino said she was always home during the rentals and would always abide by the website's rules.
"They have to be out of there by 10 o'clock at night," she said. "I don't ever have anybody there before 11 o'clock in the morning."
Sartino said she not only received complaints from neighbors but also said someone from her neighborhood vandalized her pool.
The new proposal would not outright prohibit these types of short-term rentals, but it would set specific restrictions like hours of operation and number of guests.
"Just like anything else government does, we're trying to set some standards and set some guidelines and try and keep everybody in their lane," said Worrell.
Homeowners would first need permission from their HOA and then they would have to apply with the city.
As for Sartino, she said it does not matter either way because her neighborhood has since banned short-term rentals. Still, she hopes it does not limit other homeowners' ability to rent their property if they so choose.
"I just hope people can still do it because there's a need for it," she said. "A lot of people want to come and it's not dangerous. If I thought it was dangerous, I wouldn't have allowed people to come to my home."
The Carmel Plan Commission will make a decision on the proposal during a meeting on May 21. If the plan commission approves the idea, it will then go to the City Council for a public hearing and final approval.
Councilor Worrell said he hopes Carmel City Council will vote on the issue by July.