As members finalize new rules in unincorporated areas, Hamilton County commissioners have again extended an ongoing pause on new short-term vacation rental permits — this time through April 20.
It’s the third such extension since commissioners approved a two-month moratorium in October. The two commissioners leading a rewrite of the county’s guidelines — Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, and Gene-o Shipley, R-Soddy-Daisy — are optimistic it will be the last such extension necessary before proposing a new set of regulations to the full commission. Shipley had initially suggested a six-month moratorium in the fall.
“I believe this last extension will probably get us to where we need to be,” Graham told his colleagues Wednesday. “I think you all will be pleasantly surprised … with all the hard work we’re doing.”
Commissioners approved the extension 9-2 with commissioners Warren Mackey, D-Lake Vista, and David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, voting against the measure.
“I support very small government,” Mackey said. “I don’t want government telling people how to live their life and what they can do with their private property.”
“I agree with you,” Graham responded. “One hundred percent I agree with you, but … they’re already doing it illegally anyway.”
In unincorporated areas, Graham said, some homes are being advertised for up to 15 or 20 guests even though the properties rely on septic tanks rated for only four people. In some cases, windows and decks aren’t up to specifications, he said, and renters are taking up neighborhood parking spaces normally available to permanent residents.
In an interview, Shipley said officials want to be sure homes meet appropriate safety expectations with up-to-date wiring, smoke detectors, fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Currently, he said, the county doesn’t complete inspections of those properties.
Under the proposed rules, owners would be required to have a sign out front identifying their properties as short-term vacation rentals, Shipley said. There would also be limits on the number of people allowed in a rental property, and there would be a process for revoking permits if they receive too many visits from police.
Currently, there are 31 legal short-term vacation rentals permitted to operate in unincorporated parts of the county, Shipley said, but he estimated the number of illegal rental properties is probably triple that amount.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Commissioner Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, speaks during a Hamilton County Commission meeting on Jan. 18.“We’re trying to get it right the first time if we can,” Graham said about the upcoming changes. “We’re trying to build a good foundation. It’s going to be tweaked going forward.”
The updates would not supersede regulations that already exist in incorporated parts of the county. The city of Chattanooga is in the middle of rewriting its own short-term vacation rental rules and has had a moratorium in place on permits for certain rentals for more than a year.
In a split vote Tuesday evening, the Chattanooga City Council approved a new set of rules on first reading, which include density requirements for absentee rentals in multifamily dwellings and the single family detached zoning district.
The county is also looking at hiring a company that uses an algorithm to identify illegally operated short-term vacation rentals, Graham said. Placing those properties on the books would create new revenue for the county, he said. The service would cost less than $10,000 a year.
Under existing rules, 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. The County Commission can revoke a special permit if the property has two documented county or state violations within a 12-month period.
Although he opposed extending the moratorium, Sharpe applauded the efforts of Graham and Shipley, adding he believes the commissioners are putting in place a better process.
“I just don’t see why we can’t do both at the same time — allow people who are doing things the right way to do things the right way while the new system is being put together,” Sharpe said.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Commissioner Gene-o Shipley, R-Soddy-Daisy, asks a question during a Hamilton County Commission meeting on Dec. 14.