Welcome to Jackson Township, Monroe County PA! Welcome to Jackson Township, Monroe County PA!

NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING AND

NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT ORDINANCE

Notice is hereby given that the Board of Supervisors of Jackson Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, will hold a special meeting on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 5:30 p.m., at the Jackson Township Municipal Building, 2162 Route 715, Reeders, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the special meeting is to consider the enactment of Ordinance 2026-100, and the Board of Supervisors may take official action on that ordinance at the meeting. The meeting is open to the public, and the public will be given a reasonable opportunity to comment before the Board takes official action.

The proposed ordinance is titled “An Ordinance of Jackson Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Amending and Restating Part 3 (Short-Term Rental Regulation) of the Jackson Township Code.” The ordinance repeals the existing Part 3 and replaces it in its entirety with a new Part 3 governing the operation of short-term rentals in the Township. It is enacted under the police powers granted by the Second Class Township Code, 53 P.S. §§ 65506, 65517, 65527, and 65529, and is enforced under 53 P.S. § 66601. The ordinance regulates how short-term rentals operate. It does not decide where short-term rentals are permitted; that question remains governed by Chapter 27 (Zoning) of the Jackson Township Code.

The provisions of the proposed ordinance are summarized as follows:

Purpose and findings.  The ordinance states the Township’s purpose and statutory authority and sets out legislative findings on traffic, parking, noise, solid waste, sewage capacity, emergency-vehicle access on narrow Township roads, and the impacts of total persons present at a rental property.

Definitions.  The ordinance defines terms used throughout, including Bedroom, Booking Agent, Building Code Official, Dwelling Unit, Emergency Vehicle, Enforcement Officer, Local Contact Person, Owner, Permanent Household, Renter of Record, Septic Professional, Sewage Enforcement Officer, Short-Term Rental, Short-Term Rental Day Guest, Short-Term Rental Occupant, and Short-Term Rental Permit.

Permit required.  An owner may not operate or offer a dwelling unit for short-term rental without a Short-Term Rental Permit. Offering an unpermitted dwelling unit for rent is a separate violation.

Permit application.  An application must include owner and local contact information, floor plans, a site plan, county hotel tax and Pennsylvania sales and use tax documentation or a signed attestation of exclusive booking-agent use, liability insurance of at least $500,000 applicable to short-term rental activity, proof of solid waste service, the recorded deed, an exterior photograph, on-lot sewage evaluation by a septic professional reviewed and approved by the Sewage Enforcement Officer or community sewer capacity documentation, notice to any homeowners’ association, documentation of zoning status, and agreement to the inspection described below.

Inspections.  A full site inspection is a condition of initial issuance and of renewal if no full inspection has occurred in the preceding 24 months. The Township may otherwise inspect only with consent, under a search warrant supported by individualized probable cause, or in an emergency. Declining an inspection is not a violation and carries no fine; the only consequence is that the permit is not issued or renewed.

Equipment and condition requirements.  Owners must provide and maintain working smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms where required, ground-fault circuit interrupter protection where the Uniform Construction Code required it, a metal clothes dryer duct, a kitchen fire extinguisher and range anti-tip device, and sound stairs, handrails, guards, decks, and balconies. These are maintenance and equipment obligations. The ordinance does not adopt or modify a construction standard, and questions governed by the Uniform Construction Code are referred to the Building Code Official.

Issuance, term, and renewal.  The Enforcement Officer must issue a permit that complies with the ordinance and may not attach conditions. The ordinance sets deadlines for determining completeness and for issuing or denying a permit. A permit lasts one year. Renewal applications must be filed at least 30 days before expiration, and a permit continues in effect while a timely renewal application or an appeal from a renewal denial is pending. The ordinance states how changes in ownership, capacity, and administrative information affect a permit.

Posting.  Owners must post inside the unit the base overnight occupancy, the maximum total persons permitted while the property is rented, the permit number, the E-911 address, parking limits, trash collection day, a twenty-four-hour contact number, and notice that occupants and guests may be cited.

Operational standards.  The ordinance limits overnight occupancy to two persons per approved bedroom plus two, capped at 14 persons, and reduces the number of paying occupants permitted by the number of other persons staying overnight. While a rental is in effect, total persons present may not exceed that base number plus four. Bedroom counts are limited by sewage capacity, with separate rules for on-lot and community sewer systems. The ordinance also addresses parking on approved on-site areas, unreasonable noise and disorderly conduct under an objective reasonable-person standard, owner responsibilities including written rules and a thirty-minute response requirement, prohibited uses such as outdoor overnight sleeping, fireworks, floating lanterns, burning barrels, off-road vehicles, and subleasing, obstruction of emergency vehicle access, retention and limited production of rental records, and the duty of the local contact person to be reachable and to appear at the property when directed.

Fees, marketing, and enforcement personnel.  Permit fees are set by resolution and must reflect the reasonable cost of administration and enforcement. Advertising may not promote occupancy levels, bedroom counts, or prohibited activities, and every listing or advertisement must display the Short-Term Rental Permit number. The Zoning Officer and Assistant Zoning Officer are the Enforcement Officers, and the Board may authorize police officers to issue citations.

Enforcement and penalties.  The ordinance creates two enforcement tracks. Violations that continue and can be corrected require written notice and a cure period of 10 to 30 days. Violations that are complete when they occur, such as exceeding occupancy limits, unlawful parking, prohibited conduct, obstruction of emergency access, and renting without a permit, may be cited immediately and are prosecuted as summary offenses before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. The ordinance limits when an owner may be cited for a violation committed by an occupant or guest. Fines are $300 for a first violation, $600 for a second, and $1,000 for a third or subsequent violation at the same property within any rolling eighteen-month period, plus costs.

Nuisances.  The Township may abate a nuisance in fact, in equity or after notice to abate, and must prove that the actual conditions constitute a nuisance. The ordinance does not declare any conduct to be a nuisance per se.

Revocation, suspension, and appeals.  The Enforcement Officer may issue a notice of proposed revocation after three qualifying violations within eighteen months, or after a single severe incident. A permit remains in effect during a timely appeal. A permit may be suspended immediately only on written findings of an immediate and substantial danger, with a hearing within 10 days. Appeals are heard by the Board of Supervisors, or by an independent hearing officer, under the Local Agency Law, with separation of enforcement and adjudicatory counsel, recusal requirements, a complete record, assigned burdens of proof, and written findings.

Transition and effective date.  Permits valid on the effective date remain valid until they expire, subject to the new operational and enforcement provisions, with a 60-day period before certain new requirements are enforced and with record-keeping duties applying only to rentals beginning on or after the effective date. The ordinance includes severability and repealer provisions and becomes effective five days after enactment.

This notice is a summary. A complete copy of the proposed ordinance is available for public inspection and may be obtained at the Jackson Township Municipal Building, 2162 Route 715, Reeders, PA 18352, during regular business hours, and is also available on the Township’s website. A complete copy of the proposed ordinance has been provided to this newspaper. Persons requiring special accommodations to attend the meeting should contact the Township Secretary at least 24 hours in advance.

WEITZMANN, WEITZMANN & HUFFMAN, LLC

By:  Todd W. Weitzmann, Esquire

700 Monroe Street

Stroudsburg, PA  18360

Solicitor, Jackson Township Board of Supervisors

Township Hours of Operation:

Zoning Office: Monday 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM, Tuesday & Thursday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Wednesday & Friday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Sewage Office: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Road Dept. 6:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Secretary & Treasurer 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM

The offices of Jackson Township are closed on the following holidays:

• New Years Day
• Martin Luther King Day
• Presidents Day
• Good Friday
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day and the day after 
• Christmas Day

Physical Address:

Jackson Township
2162 Route 715
Stroudsburg, PA 18360

Mailing Address:

Jackson Township
P.O. Box 213
Reeders, PA 18352

We are located in the same building as the Reeders Post Office

PUBLIC NOTICE

The JACKSON TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS and other bodies will hold their public work sessions/meetings at the Jackson Township Municipal Building, 2162 Route 715S Reeders, PA 18352 at 7:00 PM as noted below (or as otherwise advertised):

1st Thursday @ 7:00 PM – Supervisors’ Work Sessions

2nd Thursday @ 7:00 PM – Supervisors’ Business Meetings

3rd Thursday @ 6:00 PM – Planning Commission Meetings

Weekly, Mondays @ 7:30 AM – Department Work Sessions

Zoning Hearing Board Hearings will be conducted as needed, after public notice

 

If you require special accommodations to attend or participate in these public meetings, please contact the Township at 570-629-0153, at least one business day in advance.

 

Renee Miller

Secretary

Publication dates: Jan. 12, 2026