Imagine living next door to a house with a rotating parade of guests, some of whom are loud, rude and disrespectful. Imagine a weekend-long bachelor party taking place on your block, with loud music shaking your walls and inebriated tourists urinating in your yard.
Unfortunately, this is the new reality for many residents in downtown Savannah, as short-term vacation rentals flood the local market. In a one square-mile area of downtown Savannah, there are currently 1,000 short-term vacation rentals, 800 of which are income-producing and not owner-occupied. Every day, more and more absentee owners are buying Savannah properties and converting them to short-term vacation rentals because of the lucrative return they can get on their real estate investment.
In fact, Savannah has the highest density of short-term vacation rentals compared to any other historic district in America. Nearly half of the homes on Pulaski, Washington and Warren Square are short-term vacation rentals, as are one third of the homes on Franklin, Telfair, Wright and Chatham Square.
When is enough enough? We are already past the tipping point.
If a property owner converts a house into a number of vacation rentals, that property essentially functions as an unregulated small hotel or inn, despite the fact that a “real” hotel would not be allowed to operate in a residential area because it would not comply with the City of Savannah’s zoning regulations.
Downtown Savannah is unique, historic and real, which is what attracts tourists from across the country and around the world to our city. If our downtown area transforms into a network of hotels and short-term vacation rentals, we risk losing the authenticity that makes Savannah so attractive in the first place.
Savannah’s livable downtown sets us apart from other cities, with Oglethorpe’s city plan serving as the centerpiece that attracts visitors from near and far. However, visitors will not be nearly as impressed when our local character erodes, losing the neighborhood feeling that makes downtown Savannah so appealing. The National Trust has already taken a stand on this issue, emphasizing the importance of limiting short-term vacation rentals in historic districts across America.
Savannah’s historic residential character provides an economic benefit for the entire city. By supporting smart community zoning that would limit the future conversion of residential property to commercial vacation-rental use, we can protect the historic character of America’s most beautiful city. Just as communities have the power to use zoning to ensure that liquor stores, restaurants, nightclubs and other commercial establishments are compatible with residential quality of life, the same community zoning can and should apply to short-term vacation rentals.
Current investments will not be at risk. In Georgia, once a nonconforming use has been approved and/or permitted, it can continue even after the property changes ownership, as long as the new owner reapplies for a new permit within 12 months of the date of sale.
I am proud to support a moratorium on future short-term vacation rentals in Savannah’s National Landmark Historic District, in order to preserve what makes our downtown area so special. I hope you will join me in this effort.
The real question is: would you like to have a short-term vacation rental located next to your own house? If the answer is no, please take a stand and contact your elected officials to express your concern and to request that the City of Savannah restrict future short-term vacation rentals.
NOTE: In the spirit of full disclosure, I rent several apartments above Parker’s Market on Drayton Street, which is a commercial building that is zoned for commercial use.
Greg Parker is the President and CEO of Parker’s, a nationally recognized convenience store company that is headquartered in downtown Savannah.
