City sends "cease and desist" letters to vacation renters

The city has ordered property owners who have been renting out their houses as vacation homes to stop doing so or face criminal charges.If a neighborhood isn't zoned properly, renting to someone for fewer than 30 days is not allowed under Sandusky law.Twenty-one letters including "cease and desist" orders went out to 12 property owners on Thursday.Several of the vacation homes listed on a website for rent were still posted five days later.Sandusky police and an outside attorney started investigating the alleged zoning violations about a month ago, after city commissioners raised concerns at a meeting, interim city manager Don Icsman said.Attorney Michael D. Kaufman, who sent out the letters, was hired by the city to investigate the alleged violations alongside Sandusky police Detective Gary Wichman.Kaufman charges a standard fee of $100 an hour for any work he does for the city. He has not yet turned in any invoices or provided the city with time estimates.Investigators found many of the homes on Vacation Rentals By Owner, vrbo.com. The letters, notifying the owners of zoning violations, noted that failure to comply with the order could be a misdemeanor crime, punishable by a $250 fine or 30 days in jail.Each day the homes continue to be rented after owners receive the letters will be considered separate offenses.Read more in Wednesday's Register, and see the PDFs of the letters below.Who's being investigated:Ann and John Arnold, 719 Curran St., owners of 710, 717, 720, 723 Curran StreetRobert Critchfield, of Barberton, 731 Cedar Point RoadDouglass C. Ebner, 1007 Cedar Point Road, owner of 107 Lane D, 225 Cedar Point Road, 1007 Cedar Point Road, 229 Cedar Point RoadJulia Ebner, of 108 Lane D, owner of 107 Lane D, 225 Cedar Point RoadMark D. Ebner, 1007 Cedar Point Road, owner of 229 Cedar Point RoadCynthia Epler, of Bexley, owner of 1825 Cedar Point RoadDonald Epler, of Columbus, owner of 1825 Cedar Point RoadJoseph Faggionato, 1025 Chalet Drive, owner of 114 48th St.MEM Properties Ltd., of Medina, owner of 633 Cedar Point RoadSun A. Nishida, of Huron, owner of 119 E. Madison St.Joseph A. Viviano, of Wever, Iowa, owner of 721 Cedar Point Road