County Commission members on Wednesday indicated they are not ready to put new controls on Short Term Vacation Rentals (STVRs) out in the county.
Commissioner Jeff Eversole proposed an amendment that would require those planning to open a new STVR to post a sign in the yard for 30 days to alert neighbors. Those opposed could ask for a hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Commissioners Eversole and Steve Highlander said the amendment would give nearby residents a voice in the process.
However, Bryan Shults of the Regional Planning Agency said an 800-foot rule out in the county would eliminate many properties as possible rental sites. He said in some cases houses might be 5,000 feet apart.
He said, “This would effectively prohibit them in subdivisions.”
Mr. Shults said the amendment “would shift the burden to the Board of Appeals, and it would be very difficult to enforce.”
He said someone planning to open a rental would have to wait at least 30 days and possibly up to three months to go into business.
Ronnie Blaylock, director of the county building inspection department, said the move would throw a host of new complaints onto his office and burden the Board of Zoning Appeals with hours of hearings. He said it was already hard to get individuals to serve on the board.
He said, “I’ve got no right to enforce this whatsoever.”
Mr. Blaylock said certified letters have been sent to 31 county STVR owners telling them they need to meet the requirements of the STVR resolution recently passed by the commission. It requires owners to meet certain safety and sanitary requirements.
The county plans to install the Granicus system to determine who in the county may be operating an STVR without seeking a permit.
Commissioner Gene-o Shipley said steps need to be taken to require compliance with the new rules. He said, “I’m very disappointed that we have not given out the first permit. We need to rattle their cages.”
Commissioner Shipley said in one recent case there was an all-night party at a Sale Creek STVR. He said, “About 10 o’clock about 20 cars rolled in. The party was starting.” He said the Sheriff’s Office was called, but the party resumed and went on until 4 a.m. after a deputy asked the group to quiet down.
Commissioner Shipley said, “We need to help the citizens that want to live in peace.”
Instead of passing the amendment, commissioners indicated they will be evaluating how the new ordinance is working over upcoming months.
The proposed amendment says: “Upon receiving an application from a property owner seeking a certificate to operate a Short Term Vacation Rental (“STVR”), the applicant shall be given a sign to be posted in a location clearly visible from the street where said property is located giving notice of the pending application. No certificate for a STVR shall be issued by Hamilton County until said sign has been posted for no less than thirty (30) days prior to the issuing of a certificate; neither shall a certificate for a STVR shall be issued by Hamilton County for any property that lies within eight hundred (800) feet in either direction (property line-to-property line) of another STVR as certified or pending certification. Any and all complaints and/or objections received by the County’s Building and Zoning Department from neighbors to a subject property seeking certification or re-certification shall be forwarded to the Board of Zoning Appeals for a determination as to whether said certificate shall be granted to a property that otherwise satisfies the hereincontained requirements. Any person(s) aggrieved by the decision of the Board of Zoning Appeals shall have the right to appeal said decision to the Chancery Court of Hamilton County for a decision as to the issuing of said certificate.”