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Short
term rental (STR) is a type of business that rents out rooms or houses to transients through online
market places such as Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO etc. to guests for less than 30days.
A permit is required prior to operating a
STR or advertising on an online market. The permit is valid for 365 days and annually
renewable with
conditions. STR operators must meet all the requirements before a permit is issued.
The original Short
Term Rental Properties (STRP) regulation allowing STR businesses to operate in
all zoning districts that allow residential use, was approved in February
2015. Since that time, nearly 5000 applications were submitted, and more
than 3,500 permits have been issued and renewed. Currently there are three
types of permit,
·
Type
1. Owner Occupied (single-family, duplex or multi-family) 1,364 permits – Owner must
reside where STR is being operated or at the same lot
·
Type
2. Not-Owner Occupied (single-family or duplex) 1,093 permits – permit is limited to 3%
within census tracts
·
Type
3. Not-Owner Occupied Multi Family (Multi-family apartment or condominiums) 1,126 permits
The original STR
regulation was created based on a home sharing idea that allows travelers a safe
accommodation while contributing to the local economy, also providing homeowners
an opportunity to hold property in difficult economic circumstances. However, investments of STRs along with non-permitted STRs has exploded beyond anybody’s
imagination and we are challenged with better regulations and enforcement on
STR.
Four STR ordinances
will be considered for the third and final reading by the Metro Council on January
16th.
BL2017-608 would create two uses: STRP
(Owner-Occupied) and STRP (Not Owner-Occupied). STRP (Owner-occupied) would
remain an accessory use to residential uses. STRP (Not Owner-Occupied) would be
a commercial use that is permitted with conditions in zoning districts where
multi-family residential uses and hotels are permitted. This ordinance would
allow STRP (Not Owner-Occupied) permits issued under previous regulations in AG,
AR2a, R, R-A, RS and RS-A zoning districts to be renewed prior to their
expiration until June 28, 2020.
I am one of the co-sponsors of
BL2017-608. I believe this ordinance is the best compromise on STR regulation. This
ordinance will preserve the original intent of home-sharing business model in any zoning
district where residential use is permitted while strengthening and exploring
better enforcement to ensure preservation of neighborhoods and quality of life.
BL2017-937 would create two uses: STRP
(Owner-Occupied) and STRP (Not Owner-Occupied). STRP (Owner-occupied) would
remain an accessory use to residential uses. STRP (Not Owner-Occupied) would be
a commercial use that is permitted with conditions in the same zoning
districts. This ordinance would allow permits issued under previous regulations
to be renewed including in AG, AR2a, R, R-A, RS and RS-A zoning districts. Additionally,
this ordinance would also allow new STRP (Not Owner-Occupied) permits in
Single-Family and One and Two-Family zoning districts with the following
regulations:
·
there
must be permits available within the census tract limitations of 3% within the
UZO and 1% outside of the UZO,
·
the
property proposed for STRP must not be located within a radius of less than one
thousand three hundred twenty (1,320) linear feet from the property line of
another property upon which another STRP - Not Owner-Occupied use is located - applies only to new permits.
·
occupancy
is twice the number of sleeping rooms plus four, or ten occupants, whichever is
less – reduced maximum occupants from twelve
to ten.
·
the
number of violations for a permit revocation decreases from three to two.
·
a
waiting period of one year is required for permit applications for properties where
permits have been revoked or properties found to be operating without a permit.
I oppose BL2017-937. I believe
this ordinance will diminish the intent of residential zoning and land use policy
if adopted. Commercial Use is not permitted in a residential zoning district under
the existing land use policy except Community Garden use. Hotel/Motel Use is
only permitted in Mixed Use, Office, Commercial, Downtown, Shopping Center and
Industrial zoning districts. I believe one specific business use should not preempt
and overturn the land use policy.
BL2017-981 would create two uses: STRP
(Owner-Occupied) and STRP (Not Owner-Occupied). STRP (Owner-occupied) would
remain as an accessory use to residential uses. STRP (Not Owner-Occupied) would
be a commercial use that is permitted with conditions in zoning districts where
multi-family residential uses and hotels are permitted, which does not include
AG, AR2a, R, R-A, RS and RS-A zoning districts. This ordinance would allow STRP
(Not Owner-Occupied) permits issued under previous regulations in AG, AR2a, R,
R-A, RS and RS-A zoning districts to be renewed prior to their expiration.
I oppose BL2017-981. I believe
this ordinance is premature for our us to consider at this time. We need to focus on enforcement of current regulations
before we consider grandfathering-in commercial use in residentially zoned area.
BL2017-982 revises the Zoning Code to allow a
permanent resident-owner of a unit in a two-family dwelling to obtain an STRP
Owner-Occupied permit for the other unit of the two-family dwelling under
common ownership.
I may support BL2017-982 with
further clarification and amendment.
 Please report unpermitted short-term rentals or short-term rental related nuisance issues at hostcompliance.com/tips or by calling the hotline at (435) STR-HELP (787-4357). The call center is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
 hubNashville is a convenient tool for you to report non-emergency issues
to Metro without needing to know which department to contact. Trained
representatives are available to answer questions, record feedback and
help users request services from the appropriate departments by calling 311 or online at hub.nashville.gov
As always, I welcome your input. Please feel free to call me or e-mail me with any suggestions or questions. |
