Several voice concern, disapproval at Ellijay City Council meeting
The Ellijay City Council passed an ordinance for short-term rentals at a well-attended meeting where several citizens had comments and questions.
Almost 30 attended the Monday, Feb. 21, meeting at City Hall, with several taking to the podium during citizens’ input to voice disapproval of the ordinance and other city matters.
Pam O’Dell, executive director of the Short-Term Rental Owners Association of Georgia, told Mayor Al Hoyle and councilmembers Sandy Ott, Tom Crawford, Kevin Pritchett, Katie Lancey and Al Fuller she feels Ellijay’s short-term rental owners are being “violated” by the ordinance.
“In reasonable government, when you have an ordinance, you explain it to folks. You form a task force of stakeholders and have them meet so they feel involved,” she said.
O’Dell urged councilmembers to put the ordinance on hold and form a task force to address any problems. She said there seems to be more of a problem with long-term rentals.
“When you have a problem, you have a solution. All solutions should emanate from a problem. Why are you here? You have no problem,” O’Dell said. “Before you ever start a short-term rental ordinance, you should have (an) ordinance that talks about long-term rentals.”
O’Dell said property rights are basic, fundamental rights. She believes those rights are being infringed on by the ordinance, which limits short-term rentals in R1 residential areas and requires residential property owners seeking a conditional use permit to first notify all owners of residential property within 500 feet of the proposed short-term rental.
“I am deeply concerned about this idea that you have to get permission from your neighbor to operate a short-term rental. That upsets not only me, but the gentlemen and ladies of the Georgia Assembly,” she commented.
Property owner Brian Graffius also spoke about his disapproval of the ordinance, as well as not being able to communicate with councilmembers or Hoyle. Graffius said he bought property last year that’s been used as a short-term rental.
“We have no phone numbers. We have an email that none of them respond to except for one. How are we supposed to interact with the city council?” he asked.
Hoyle told Graffius he did not want to be on Graffius’ bad side, but when you email someone and say “I’m going to sue you, you pretty much shut people down.”
Graffius said he’s contacted the attorney general about the city’s website not being kept up to date with current meeting information, which he said violates “a lot of the Sunshine Laws.”
When voting on whether or not to approve the ordinance, Pritchett suggested reducing the $1,000 yearly license fee for short-term rentals to $150.
That motion was seconded by Crawford, who called the $1,000 fee “exorbitant” and said the lower fee would put short-term rentals more in line with a bed-and-breakfast or hotel.
“This has been a tough one. It has been very tough because it’s balancing a group of people who want short-term rentals and citizens that live in residences up the hill that may not want a short-term rental next to them,” he added.
Crawford said without an ordinance, short-term rentals would not be allowed at all. He noted the difference between short-term and long-term rentals is that the state has laws already applying to long- term rentals and short-term rentals are m Pam O’Dell, executive director of the Short-Term Rental Owners Association of Georgia, ore of a commercial enterprise.
“A state law was passed where hotel-motel taxes have to be gathered for those properties. We’re not against short-term rentals. We have to have an ordinance that will meet that happy medium between residents who live in a residential area and people that would like to have a short-term rental and do it in a responsible way,” said Crawford before the ordinance was passed.
After a brief executive session, the council reconvened, but did not take any action. Hoyle said after complaints about the city’s website were heard, they are going to look into having a website administrator make improvements.