Short-Term Rental Office asks for public comment
After a nearly a year, it’s clear that Gilmer’s short-term rental ordinance can be improved.
“As industries grow and things change, regulation occurs,” Short-Term Rental Department (STRD) Director Mary Abernathy said.
Abernathy is calling for public comment so amendments to the ordinance can better address the needs of Gilmer County residents.
While short-term rentals help the economy and are welcome in Gilmer, they need to be regulated so they benefit residents.
“We’re here to maintain the integrity of the residential neighborhoods that are here for the residents who are here,” Abernathy said.
Law is often an inexact science. Even the best new laws often require a little revision to best serve the interests of the community.
Before she makes suggestions to the County Commissioners, Abernathy said she wants to hear from the public.
“I welcome talking to people who want to make suggestions,” she said.
Well-considered community feedback can make laws better for everyone in the long term.
Anyone with thoughtful suggestions can email the STRD at strentals@gilmercounty-ga.gov.
A few ideas are already a top priority.
“There’ll be just general commonsensical things,” Abernathy said.
One is to make it mandatory for short-term rental owners to provide bear-resistant trash cans.
Scattered trash after a bear gets into garbage is a common sight in Gilmer, Abernathy said.
Often, people from out of town don’t know how to handle trash in bear country, Appalachian Friends of the Bears founder Gerald Hodge said.
“You can’t teach every tourist every weekend when they come,” he said.
If bears learn to eat trash, it can put people in danger and sicken the animals.
Better trash cans are one of the easiest ways to handle this problem for county visitors.
“I did a jig right there in Walmart when I heard the news,” he said. “It’s great to have that ordinance change.”
Abernathy also plans to emphasize that short-term rentals must obey Gilmer’s outdoor lighting code.
It’s illegal to have outdoor lights on after quiet hours, she said.
Short-term rentals must keep noise to a minimum between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Sunday to Friday, and 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. Friday to Saturday. But the rules on lights can be made clearer.
“Leaving lighting on all night in the woods is not environmentally friendly,” Abernathy said. “Not to mention that if you leave your floodlights on and they happen to shine in a neighbor’s bedroom window.”
Another issue the ordinance may address is trespassing.
“People will think that they can just cut across somebody’s property to get to the creek or river or whatever it is they’re going to fish,” Abernathy said.
While trespassing is already illegal, changes to the short-term rental ordinance law might make it clearer to tourists what rules they should follow.
The parking code for rentals might also be updated, Abernathy said.
She hopes the ordinance will go public at the July or August meeting of the Gilmer County Commissioners.
The changes could be in place by October or November, with time for public comment at the meetings as well.
“We’re here as public servants, so we will help you as best we can,” Abernathy said. “I personally do care, because this department is going to take a while to get up and running smoothly.”