Hamilton County commissioners have extended a temporary pause on permits for short-term vacation rentals through March 1, which is the second extension since the board established a moratorium in unincorporated areas in October.
On Oct. 19, commissioners voted to suspend new permits for 60 days, giving them time to shore up the county's existing approval process. They later extended that period to Jan. 14, and a second extension passed 8-1 on Wednesday with Commissioner David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, voting against the measure.
"We still have quite a bit of work ahead of us, but we do have a road map," said Commissioner Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, who is co-chairman of a committee on the issue alongside Commissioner Gene-o Shipley, R-Soddy Daisy. "We just need a little bit more time."
Graham said officials are trying to establish a more thorough set of ground rules for rentals and put more teeth in the county's permitting process.
"Short-term rentals are not going away," Graham said. "They're going to be here, and if we don't do something, they're going to happen illegally anyway. So we're trying to bring everybody into the fold."
Graham said in an interview that officials want to see a stronger permitting process that would ensure properties are structurally sound and have proper parking, and that buildings have appropriate ingress and egress, among other expectations.
"We're trying to get the right foundation in place so we have something to build upon," Graham said, "and we're trying to take everybody into consideration -- both the people who are for short-term rentals and the people who are against short-term rentals."
Currently, the county doesn't have a lot of requirements, Graham said. Officials are trying to ensure they have the mechanisms in place to appropriately inspect properties for safety needs, Graham said, and enforce the county's rules.
Although it's taken a little longer than anticipated, rental owner Donna Morgan is encouraged with the direction Hamilton County leaders are moving. All of Morgan's rental properties are in the city of Chattanooga, she said, but her management company, iTrip Chattanooga, is in the process of bringing on board rentals that would operate in the county.
Implementing new regulations in Hamilton County, which have been limited up to this point, will better protect Hamilton County, property owners and guests, she said in a phone call.
Last April, the Chattanooga City Council temporarily halted new permits for vacation rentals in the city that aren't occupied by the owner. The panel has since extended its moratorium through July.
City officials plan to bring on board an administrative hearing officer -- a move that will allow the city to enforce stronger financial penalties on illegally operated rentals, bringing the maximum daily penalty from $50 to $500. Council members are still ironing out how to appropriately regulate the properties in city limits.
Currently, short-term vacation rentals in Hamilton County can be permitted after a public hearing of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission providing they don't have signage, aren't rented for group events and have no more than five sleeping rooms. Additionally, permits are not transferable to a new owner if the property changes hands.
As of October, 30 short-term vacation rentals had been permitted in unincorporated parts of Hamilton County since 2009. Sharpe said in a phone call Wednesday that he doesn't see why the county needs to halt its permitting process while leaders review regulations.
"We should be able to do both at the same time," he said.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.