Property owners throughout Halifax County shared their thoughts on the county’s proposed regulations on short-term rentals at a Tuesday evening Halifax County Planning Commission meeting.
Several of the property owners implored the planning commission to reconsider the proposed regulations which they deemed rigorous, prompting the commission to delay a decision on the matter to allow time for further review.
The proposed change to the county ordinance allows the operation of short-term rentals in all zoning districts of the county, whereas the county’s current zoning ordinance only allows short-term rentals in a B-2 business district. The proposed amendment also imposes a list of 18 regulations on short-term rental properties, including submitting a property management plan to the county zoning administrator, limiting the number of short-term renters to two per bedroom, providing onsite access to a local phone line, and carrying a $1 million general liability insurance policy.
“I think some of these regulations may have some validity in having them. The concern I have is the rabbit trail we seem to be going down with short-term rentals,” said Scot Westbrooks, a local contractor who operate Airbnb sites. “I’m going to tell you there are a lot of long-term rental houses that are very unsafe in this county. For some reason somebody has put the hammer down on short-term rentals.”
Westbrooks requested the supervisors to “maybe go back and reconsider some of these things that we need to do. Maybe this is a little too stringent.” The property owner also voiced his opinion that the proposed $75 annual registration fee for short-term rentals reaches “a little too far into the pockets” of the property owners who are already paying taxes. Westbrooks added he and his wife Kristin have “invested a lot of money” into their Airbnb to make them a nice place for people to stay.
“We take pride in these homes,” Kristin Westbrooks said, noting the proposed regulations make it seem that there is “not much trust” in property owners’ management of their own residences. Kristin Westbrooks added she and her husband Scot’s vetting process for the people who stay in their Airbnb is “very high.”
“We have very quality people who come,” Kristin Westbrooks related. “I’ve hosted people from all different countries. It puts South Boston a little bit more on the map.”
Before the period of public comments, Halifax County Administrator Scott Simpson explained to the commissioners that the proposed ordinance is designed to accommodate those wishing to operate short-term rental properties while also placing some restrictions on those rentals and keeping in mind the impact of those short-term rentals to neighbors.
“We tried to come up with something that would try to be fair to everybody that would be affected by short-term rentals,” Simpson explained. He said the proposed ordinance allows short-term rentals by right in every district if there is not another dwelling within 1,000 feet of that short-term rental. If there is another dwelling within that range, short-term rental is allowed only with a conditional use permit, which requires a public hearing to obtain.
“I think when you try to make a regulation that makes one size fits all, you’re making a mistake,” said Christopher Robinson, who also operates short-term rental property, during the public comments. “Regulations take away freedom. I appreciate the freedom that I have in this country. The more regulations, the less freedom.”
On the other hand, Ray Weiss, who owns an Airbnb with his wife, Susan Black, said he thinks regulations overall are “good.” However, he said he thinks some of the proposed regulations on short-term rentals are “arbitrary” and that the restriction on length of stay for short-term rentals should be longer than the proposed 29 calendar days.
“We frequently have people who want to stay longer than that,” Weiss told the commissioners. “If it were me, I would say more like 45 to 90 days.”
Mary Jo Stevens, who operates two Airbnbs, also urged commissioners to reconsider some of the regulations and restriction on length of stay, noting solar farm construction workers are taking advantage of the short-term rental opportunity that she offers.
“I want you to stop and reconsider some of these regulations,” Stephens asked the commissioners. “We are respectful. We vet out our rentals. We stay in contact with our neighbors to make sure they know what is going on…We have followed everything by the T. We pay property taxes, we pay Airbnb taxes.”
Offering another viewpoint, Nathalie property owner William Bushway spoke against the operation of short-term rentals, said his neighbor has operated a short-term rental since September in violation of the county’s current ordinance. He said it has caused a “general feeling of uneasiness” in the gated community where he lives and disrupted the activities in his daily life.
Bushway related that his neighbor called law enforcement on him on a day that he went about everyday activities including spending time shooting his rifle at a target on a range, riding his ATV and mowing grass for a neighbor. Bushway added that his neighbor is only interested in creating a quiet environment so he can get “five-star reviews” for his Airbnb without regard for his neighbors’ rights to do the things they enjoy.
Bushway’s neighbor, Kenneth Cantrell, countered that on the day he called law enforcement on Bushway, he was shooting his rifle “400 feet in front of my house” at approximately 7:20 in the morning, scaring his wife, and later that evening spotlighting into his house while riding his ATV. Cantrell also noted that his Airbnb property is “at the end of the road,” “surrounded by woods” and the property does not give the outward appearance of functioning as a short-term rental.
“They don’t even know I’ve rented anything unless they look on Airbnb and look at the calendar,” Cantrell said, adding, “The people who come to see us are high-caliber folks.”
After hearing the public comments, ED-1 Commissioner Pete Riddle concluded, “I think we need to table it and drop back and punt.” Riddle then made a motion to refer the proposed regulations on short-term rental properties back to the ordinance committee.
The county’s planning and zoning administrator Detrick Easley recommended having a couple of members of the planning commission present during the ordinance committee meeting because they had heard the public comments regarding short-term rentals at Tuesday’s meeting. Riddle and ED-4 Commissioner Donald “Will” Reese Jr. volunteered to sit in at the ordinance committee meeting.
In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, the planning commission voted to recommend approval of a conditional use permit for the operation of an auto repair garage, Hite Property Maintenance, at 4237 Old Cluster Springs Road, to the board of supervisors. The applicant, Charles Hite, told commissioners he has experience working on “everything from power wheels to bulldozers and everything in between” and wanted to open the auto repair garage on his property so he can have a “more family-oriented” work schedule.
Easley noted Hite had requested being allowed to have 12 vehicles on site at one time instead of the five recommended in the conditions of the permit. Commissioners agreed with that alteration, with Riddle noting he thought five vehicles was “too few” to allow at one time because in today’s world, Hite could be waiting a lengthy amount of time to receive parts he needs for repairs after ordering them.
ED-6 Commissioner John Beard made the motion to recommend approval of the permit and his motion was met with unanimous approval from fellow commissioners.
