County Commissioner Gene-o Shipley said Wednesday there are a number of problems that have arisen with Short Term Vacation Rentals (STVRs) in the county, and it may be necessary to limit them to commercial zones.
He said an incident in East Brainerd where 60 shots were fired and bullets went into nearby homes and cars happened at a STVR.
A person was abducted at another local rental unit, he said.
Commissioner Shipley said, “People don’t want them in their neighborhoods.”
He added, “New York City, of all places, is talking about slowing down on STVRs.”
A meeting of the commission committee dealing with the rentals was set for after the commission meeting in two weeks.
Commissioner Joe Graham, who has talked of the benefits of STVRs in the past, said the only group he had heard against the rentals was several people who were at the commission meeting. He said, “They have been very vocal and been very ugly.”
He said the county was close to have a Granicus system in place that could identify illegal STVR operators.
Cathy Faulkner said the group had obtained 1,100 signatures on a petition against STVRs being allowed in neighborhoods.
She said under the current county setup “there is no notice and no right to oppose.”
Jean Howard-Hill cited issues of noise and of “transients” causing security problems.
Terri Bevil said at some STVRs there had been an accumulation of garbage, setting up of meth and prostitution houses, fights and introduction of child predators.