LETTER: Danger of commercial Airbnbs confirmed by Belgium arrest

A Sheboygan man has been charged with felonies police said were committed in this house in a lakeshore neighborhood along Country Club Beach Road in the Town of Belgium. The house is one of several in the area that have been turned into Airbnbs operated by commercial businesses soliciting short-term renters. The charges against the man who occupied the house with a large group of people include possession of an illegal automatic handgun, child enticement and sexual intercourse with a minor. Ozaukee Press photo
To Ozaukee Press:
On Dec. 17, a dangerous situation unfolded over a number of hours at the
Airbnb in our quiet neighborhood in the Town of Belgium. It confirmed all the concerns and reservations the residents have had about these unsupervised tourist hotels, also known as short-term rentals.
Neighbors had already shared their concerns this fall at a town meeting about the inherent safety risk of allowing these commercial enterprises to operate in residential neighborhoods. An academic study was presented at the meeting that showed that an increase of criminal activity follows the introduction of unsupervised Airbnbs into a neighborhood.
Fortunately, what had the potential to erupt into violence was contained. We would like to express our great gratitude to responding officers from the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office, as well to those from the Mequon, Port Washington, Saukville and Sheboygan police departments who provided backup support. They put their lives on the line and managed through their professional conduct to resolve this tense situation without gunfire or injury.
This high-risk situation unfolded over four hours starting at 11 p.m. on Sunday night. It involved 15-20 people in the house, including several children. Five of the people had outstanding arrest warrants.
Child enticement, sexual intercourse with a child, an automatic gun with a magazine that held 31 rounds of hollow-point bullets and people who were high on an assortment of drugs were some of what our law enforcement personnel encountered and had to deal with.
We give these brave responding officers a standing ovation, and we desperately hope that our governing officials in the Town of Belgium find a way to restrict the unfettered expansion of these unsupervised short-term rentals in residential communities.
We want neighbors, not nightmares.
Jill Kunsmann
Town of Belgium
The letter was also signed by “concerned neighbors from Country Club Beach subdivision.”
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Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
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