The Ellijay City Council began discussion of developing an ordinance to govern short-term or “vacation” rental properties when meeting Monday, May 17.
Councilmember Tom Crawford said there are several downtown Ellijay homes currently being used as airbnbs. Referencing the lodging website of the same name, “Airbnb” is the term frequently used to describe a house that can be rented for a short-term stay, often by vacationers.
“We’ve got to address this sooner or later. It’s already here whether we want to think it’s here or not. There are already several residents here who are doing it. They have wonderful homes and no problems. There’s a simple reason for that. A management company handles it,” Crawford said.
“Airbnbs are good for this city. I think it’s the right thing to do, but we’ve got to be careful doing it, ” he added.
Allowing short-term rentals gives investors opportunities to buy and fix up previously unmaintained homes, Crawford noted.
“The ones that have been refurbed downtown are in the $300,000-$500,000 range. Before, you had an old shack sitting there that wasn’t up to code. In the downtown area, it makes perfect sense because that’s where people want to be,” he added.
Mayor Al Hoyle said anyone currently using an R1 residential-zoned home for short-term rental purposes is violating a city ordinance. That’s one reason that residential and commercial zoning was introduced in the city limits, he noted.
“We’ve had it for years, and they thought about it then. That’s why you have to have a conditional use to have a bed and breakfast home. It has to be in a different zoning classification other than R1, (which) is for single family residential,” said Hoyle. “My interpretation of a short-term rental is it’s commercial in nature. It’s like a motel or a hotel. It’s not single family residential.”
Councilmembers Sandy Ott and Katie Lancey disagreed about leaving supervision of short-term rentals to management companies.
“That management company is there to make money. They’re not there for the city or the residents and citizens of Ellijay. There’s certainly no guarantee a management company is going to control a situation,” Lancey said. “If we felt like we needed to control it, I (like) the rule that if you live full time in that house, then you can make it an airbnb. The problem is the absentee landlords doing airbnbs whether it’s run by a management company or not.”
“If you own the property, you have more of a commitment to (it),” Ott added. “We need something in place, but we need to consider the neighbors and adjacent property owners. If it’s going to be an area with revolving occupancy, what do the adjacent property owners (think)?”
Crawford noted that limiting short-term rentals to individual property owner would prevent investors from buying and fixing up homes.
“I want what I’m seeing now to continue with these new houses being built, not these old rental properties that are run down and not up to code. Are we going to leave it just the way it is or are we going to be a little progressive and let people who want to invest invest?” he asked.
Hoyle said the city council doesn’t work for investors, but for the citizens who put them in office.
“You’re here to protect them and their quality of life. I’m fine with investors, but when they come to town they need to follow our rules. We don’t need to bend rules and make new rules to accommodate investors,” he added. “I’m not against short-term rentals. I’m against having them rammed down your throat when you live in a residential area and having the city council say you’re going to have it there.”
Hoyle said, if short-term rentals are to be allowed, there should be an application and public hearing process similar to what’s done for a zoning change, variance or annexation.
“You have a public hearing. Letters go out to the adjoining property owners and they have input into it. It allows public involvement and protects people and their quality of life,” he added.
Hoyle said Blue Ridge currently has an ordinance that allows short-term rentals, just not in R1-zoned areas.
“You have a specific zoning district where it’s allowed,” he added.
Crawford suggested not allowing short-term rental stays for under three days.
“That would span a weekend and keep it from being a party house where somebody wants to come up and rent a house for the weekend. The management company kind of nips that on the bud,” he said. “It’s worked out very well in other cities, especially a lot of cities that are destinations. Ellijay is becoming a destination city.”
Ott said there were 127 locations listed for Ellijay on the Airbnb webpage the week before the council meeting. Some of those were in the county area, she noted.
When asked for her input, real estate agent and Ellijay Downtown Development Authority member Melinda Hadden said Ellijay is at a turning point in regard to addressing short-term rentals.
“If you don’t get a handle on it, it will get really out of control. I think to protect the value of your R1, you do need to define where your rental areas are,” she said.
Councilmembers didn’t take any action on drafting a short-term rental ordinance or decide which criteria to include, but the topic will likely be revisited at future meetings.