Red Bank city commissioners are discussing what regulations the city may impose on short-term vacation rentals. City Manager Randall Smith said he brought up the subject at the commissioners' Sept. 19 work session because of a citizen's recent request for a business license for her short-term rental property.
The city did not issue the permit, Smith added.
Based on the city's zoning regulations, short-term rental properties are considered transient lodging and are not permitted within the city's residential zones, said Smith. He asked commissioners if they wanted to pass an ordinance limiting short-term rentals to areas zoned for commercial use.
In researching several short-term rental websites, Smith said he found more than 10 properties advertised that were scattered throughout Red Bank, all in residential zones.
Mayor John Roberts said he has mixed feelings about short-term rentals, as he has used them himself. He said that in his experience, property owners seem to be very selective in who they allow to stay at their properties, adding that he was rejected by a property owner who didn't want Roberts' 5-year-old son staying in their home.
Public Works Director Tim Thornbury said the law currently allows up to three non-family members to live in a single-family home - so homeowners who choose to rent out rooms in their own homes aren't breaking the law.
"What we don't want is unsupervised houses where the owner isn't interested in the community," said Commissioner Terry Pope.
In June, the city of Chattanooga voted to establish a special district for short-term rentals, running from Lookout Valley in the west to Missionary Ridge in the east. The district includes a large portion of the North Shore, but cuts out Glenwood in East Chattanooga and pockets including land opposite Moccasin Bend in the west.
Interested property owners inside the new district will need to purchase short-term vacation rental permits, according to a new Chattanooga law that goes into effect Oct. 1. Owners who do not live on such properties are subject to city council approval if neighbors voice opposition, forcing a public hearing. Owner-occupied permit seekers do not have this hurdle.
The new law does away with longstanding regulations requiring short-term vacation properties be zoned R-3 or R-4, which also allows for office and apartment uses.
Red Bank is not currently proposing an ordinance to address short-term rentals.