A Jim Thorpe developer is asking Mahoning Township officials if short-term rentals will be allowed on his property next to the Flagstaff ballroom.

Jake Arner, president of Awesome View Properties Inc., told supervisors at Wednesday’s meeting that he is in discussion with Berks Homes.

Arner asked supervisors if short-term rentals would be included on his Sierra Vista property, which is located in an R-3 zone.

“My goal is to not fight the township,” Arner said. “My goal is to get along with the township.”

“We’re not proposing anything that would not be attractive,” he said. “It would be very attractive.”

Board Chairman Robert Slaw said the matter is still in discussion.

Slaw added that the board hasn’t said no to doing short-term rentals, nor has it said yes to doing them.

Township solicitor Tom Nanovic added, “We’re going to have short-term rentals. But, nothing’s etched in stone.”

Arner then asked if the township would have a problem if Berks Homes decided to put central water in.

Nanovic responded that it’s in the ordinance, and that if it says you can do it, then you can do it.

Arner has received multiple time extensions for his proposed Sierra Vista planned residential development in the township.

He has planned residential developments in Mahoning and Jim Thorpe.

Sierra Vista Estates has 104 units on Flagstaff Road right next to the Flagstaff ballroom and has been approved as a residential development in the township.

Canyon Rim Estates, Arner’s residential development in Jim Thorpe, has 270 units and was approved for short-term rentals, a winery, a tram and a camping facility.

Last March, Arner asked the board if it felt there’s any additional room for tram parking in the township and whether they could approve it.

However, Slaw told Arner that he objects to anything that it is not zoned for, and told Arner that he would have to go before the township’s zoning hearing board.

Arner would like to offer short-term rentals at Sierra Vista.

Earlier that month, supervisors authorized Nanovic to draft an ordinance similar to what Penn Forest Township supervisors previously adopted.