Avondale Estates sends infringement notices to owners of homes listed on Airbnb, VRBO – Decaturish

This story has been updated.

Avondale Estates, Georgia — The City of Avondale Estates recently issued about 11 violation notices to residents who rent properties or secondary suites on a short-term basis, using services like Airbnb or VRBO, in violation of the city’s zoning code.

“The letter serves as an official notification advising the party that it is their duty to contact the city to correct the violation,” a city spokesperson said. “Failure to respond and demonstrate compliance with the zoning ordinance may result in the issuance of a citation and penalties outlined in the code.”

In some cases, short-term rentals are prohibited in the city. The city commission began a discussion on March 23 to clarify rules around short-term rentals in the city and consider whether council wants to change the zoning code.

The Avondale Estates City Commission updated its zoning code in 2021. Prior to the rewrite of the zoning code, residents were not allowed to rent any part of their property for any length of time. Under the new zoning code, short-term rentals are limited as follows:

– Short-term rentals of less than 30 days for secondary accommodation are prohibited.

– Short term whole house rentals are also not permitted.

– But with a Conditional Use Permit and Business License, owners who use their home as their primary residence, are on-site, and serve a meal can rent space in that home for shorter periods and operate as a room of hosts.

“These people doing this, can advertise on any medium they want, like Airbnb or VRBO or whatever, and if granted conditional use [permit] and the business license can do that within the confines of our existing code,” City Manager Patrick Bryant said during the March 23 City Commission business session. “It’s hard for us to enforce this until we get information from the people running them, after we send our warning letters. The benchmark for enforcement staff is: If someone advertises on Airbnb, we’ll send them a letter and then address them on a case-by-case basis. »

To qualify for the Conditional Use Permit and Business License, the owner would need to be on hand to rent their space.

“For example, right now the code doesn’t allow you to go out of town and rent your space. You have to be there to qualify for the conditional use and commercial license component,” Bryant said.

There is a distinction to be made. If a secondary suite does not have a separate kitchen, it may be considered a candidate for short-term rental. But if an ADU has a separate kitchen, it can be rented for 30 days or more, but not less than 30 days.

“The process for people who meet the definition of regular BnB would only have to apply for a conditional use permit, which would be at the discretion of the board, and then apply for a business license, which can be managed by staff of the city,” Bryant said.

Mayor Jonathan Elmore said he brought up the topic of short-term rentals at the meeting to give the city manager a chance to clarify what the zoning code contains, because “I think it’s confusing for a lot of people. people,” he said.

He also asked council if they would like to consider allowing short-term rentals in secondary suites with kitchens. If the city commission wants to relax the rules for short-term rentals, it will have to change the zoning code. However, the board has no plans yet to change the code.

Some concerns have been raised about allowing short-term rentals in ADUs with kitchens. Commissioner Lisa Shortell said she would approach the subject with great caution.

“We have to think about what’s right for our city,” she said. “I’m sure the staff approached this thinking how can we better control this in a way, without totally limiting it completely.”

She was hesitant to allow these short-term rentals and have neighbors complain about parties or noise.

“I think we’re setting up a situation where we’re asking residents to constantly have to flag their neighbors, and people haven’t moved into our residential area only to have short-term rental issues next to them. People have moved into our residential area to be in a generally peaceful environment [area and] know your neighbours. »

“I don’t want to change that yet. I think we should give it time,” she added.

Separate kitchen facilities in the ADU could lead to a larger group of people coming in, hanging out and partying, and generating more trash, Shortell said.

The city spokesperson told Decaturish that parties are not an issue the city is struggling with.

“Over the years, the city has received calls from residents complaining about noise from rented homes,” the spokesperson said.

Commissioner Dee Merriam was pleased with what city staff and consultants had proposed regarding ADUs as part of the zoning code rewrite, but was concerned about the impact of short-term rentals “where you have different people, different cars on your street,” she mentioned.

“I know my street, we know each other, we know what cars are going to be on the street and we watch each other,” Merriam said. “When you start having a lot of regular people who are there for one or two days, you kind of lose that cohesion. But we allow it for bed and breakfast.

The impact isn’t the same in Avondale as it is in other cities struggling with Airbnbs and party homes, Pro Tem Mayor Brian Fisher said.

Resident Ryan Wiles operates about 16 Airbnbs in different states and cities. He said the commissioners’ concerns were reasonable to some degree.

“I have locations in St. Augustine, Florida and Jacksonville Beach. I have maybe, I think in 10 years, had two instances where I had to quit parties,” Wiles said. “These areas are much more party-friendly than Avondale Estates. No one comes here to party.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the number of violation notices sent. The story has been updated with the correct information.

If you appreciate our work, please become a paying supporter. For as little as $3 a month, you can help us keep you up to date with your community. To become a supporter, click here.

Want Decaturish delivered to your inbox every day? Subscribe to our free newsletter by clicking here.