CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — UPDATE: We touched base with Mayor Tim Kelly about Tuesday’s council meeting and the ordinance around short-term vacation rentals.
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH THE MAYOR BELOW:
EARLIER:
A short-term vacation rental ordinance failed in the Chattanooga City Council meeting Tuesday due to a lack of motion to vote.
We are unsure what happens next, but Henderson told us this afternoon they would likely draft a new ordinance as a compromise.
EARLIER:
The future of short-term vacation rentals in Chattanooga is still up in the air, but a vote at Tuesday’s city council meeting could be a step forward in the process.
The council’s latest ordinance contains new regulations for the city to consider.
We spoke to one councilman who explained to us why he thinks the ordinance won’t pass.
Councilman Chip Henderson says he understands how short-term vacation rentals can hurt the property value in local neighborhoods, but he doesn’t see the rentals going away anytime soon.
“I think the local STVR owner who is managing their property locally, has been the one to suffer here,” says Melissa Rettig-Palmer.
Chattanooga AirBnB owner Melissa Rettig-Palmer believes parts of the new short-term vacation rental ordinance are targeting many STVR owners.
“The local STVR agent is not being taken into consideration,” says Rettig-Palmer.
The Chattanooga City Council will be voting on STRV buffering zones Tuesday night.
The ordinance would not allow new short-term vacation rentals within 1,000 feet of each other that are single family homes where the owner does not live on site.
Past STVRs will be grandfathered in and can remain.
City Council Member Chip Henderson believes in the STVR buffer zone, but thinks 1,000 feet is too much.
“We really felt like we had hit a good compromise,” says Henderson. “And when this council voted last week to expand that buffer zones, then they really kicked the Hornet’s Nest, which essentially, will shut down any new permits in the overlay.”
And just because single family homes could see restrictions, it doesn’t mean multifamily STVRs are exempt.
If the ordinance is passed, multifamily homes, like apartments, will have a 5% density cap, with a minimum of 1, on which units can be an STVR.
This would mean in a building with 60-79 units, only 3 units would be eligible for a short-term vacation rental.
Henderson said he believes short-term vacation rentals are essential for Chattanooga, but we need to protect the neighborhoods as well.
And his prediction on the meeting tonight
“This ordinance will go down in flames tonight. And we’ll have to go back to the drawing board and put something together that we all can live with,” says Henderson.
Rettig-Palmer agrees.
“You know, I think there’s better ways to go about what is being done at the moment,” she says.
Along with the ordnance, City Council Member Chip Henderson said there would be an increase in the initial permitting fee as well as the annual permitting fee.