With members stating that they would prefer to see the properties situated in commercial rather than residential zones, the Chattanooga City Council has delayed for two weeks a vote on proposed updates to the city's rules concerning short-term vacation rentals.
The panel now expects to take up another version during its meeting Feb. 28.
"(My district) is still going to have to deal with a lot more short-term vacation rentals, which we do not want," Councilwoman Marvene Noel, of Orchard Knob, said during a discussion about the proposed rule changes Tuesday. "The constituents have made it plainly clear. They have blown my email up. They have blown my phone up. They don't want them anymore. They are done with it."
The panel was considering an ordinance sponsored by Councilwoman Jenny Hill, of North Chattanooga, and Councilman Chip Henderson, of Lookout Valley, that would increase the cost of new short-term rental certificates, set density requirements, impose stiffer penalties for illegally operated properties and create a designated citizen board that would hear appeals and moderate disputes.
The council did, however, opt to approve on first reading an ordinance that would empower an administrative hearing officer to review short-term vacation rental violations, which would allow the city to boost financial penalties.
Under the suggested rule changes, no more than 5% of units in a multifamily dwelling could be reserved for absentee short-term vacation rentals, and no new absentee permits would be allowed within 500 feet of another vacation rental in a single-family detached zoning district.
The proposed ordinance divides the properties into two categories: Absentee rentals are those where the owner doesn't live onsite, and homestay rentals are those where the owner does.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County commissioners extend short-term vacation rental pause to March 1)
The city has been under a moratorium on all new absentee short-term vacation rentals since April, a temporary pause that is set to end in July.
Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod, of Eastdale, said she empathized with Noel's concerns.
"Our areas are saturated with it," Coonrod said. "Why? Because a majority of the people that are renters and investors are coming into our communities because they're so distressed and impoverished. It's easier for them to buy a block at a time."
At the same time, the city shouldn't be dictating how homeowners use their properties and should be sensitive to residents who want to supplement their income, she said.
Chattanooga has a designated overlay where short-term vacation rentals are allowed in the city, which mostly excludes the districts represented by Council Chairman Darrin Ledford, of East Brainerd, and members Ken Smith, of Hixson; Isiah Hester, of Washington Hills; and Carol Berz, of Brainerd Hills.
Whether to keep that district has been a consistent part of discussions over the past several months. The ordinance council members were set to vote on Tuesday states that the panel would consider lifting that overlay a year after passage, allowing rentals citywide.
A draft ordinance city staff brought to council members in November would have eliminated that overlay and instead regulated rentals based on zoning, permitting them in multifamily and commercial areas.
While residents in his district have persistently had reservations about allowing short-term vacation rentals in neighborhoods, Ledford said, they have not objected to them being in commercial zones.
"I think we've had some really good conversations," Ledford told his colleagues, "but I'm also hearing some pain. I'm hearing of what we inflicted into neighborhoods, probably not knowing. I would hope that we would at least continue that conversation to maybe address that because this is real, and this is going on around the country."
Likewise, Noel said in an interview that voters in her district would rather have short-term vacation rentals positioned near other businesses rather than in a residential area.
"They want to have people next door to them that are neighbors -- people that they know and that they can see on a regular basis," she said. "Not a different face every weekend."
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6249.