An amendment to Hall County's zoning codes that will govern short-term rentals at residential properties was approved Thursday night by the county commission.
The 12-page amendment puts several regulations on rentals, including restrictions on what zonings rentals can be held in, minimum and maximum stay lengths for renters and a three strike system for violations at a property. Hall County Commission Chairman Richard Higgins made the motion to approve the amendment, which featured several changes added by the commissioners that were revealed at the meeting.
It passed four-to-one, with District Four Commissioner Jeff Stowe being the only no vote. He said after the meeting that he wanted the vote to be tabled to a later date.
"I just felt we had so many changes, I thought we should have tabled it and allowed citizens to actually take in everything that we changed," Stowe said.
The new codes will allow for rentals to be held in Vacation-Cottage zonings. If property owners want to host short-term rentals in Agricultural Residential III, Agricultural Residential IV or Residential-I, they will first have to be approved by the Hall County Planning Commission.
A late change to the amendment by District Two Commissioner Billy Powell added that any short-term rental will have to stay for a minimum of two days. An existing clause in the proposal already set a maximum stay length of 30 days.
The amendment also sets penalties for violations of the new codes. One violation could result in a fine of up to $250, while a third violation within a year could result in the owner's business license being revoked.
The vote followed more than 40 minutes of public comments on the amendment, with several residents speaking both for and against the new codes. Opponents of the new codes, like rental operator Margaret Platt, said the county shouldn't deter the business the rentals bring.
"We don't have hotels on the lake," Platt said. "Especially in Gainesville, you know, they can go down to the big thing at the islands, but to bring revenue to our community, it's these lake homes."
Others, like Oakwood resident Sheri Millwood, said that the rentals created a risk for nearby home owners, like noise and community disruptions caused by parties.
"I suggest that we nip this nuisance in the bud now, and don't allow short-term rentals in any R-I zoned property," said. "This is not Panama City, it's not Daytona, it is not Hilton Head. Hall County is a very desirable place to live."
Higgins introduced the motion saying that he felt like the commission had found a good balance between promoting business and protecting nearby property owners.
"We must be able to properly balance enforcement, economic growth and the quality of our neighborhoods. Once the new ordinance is in place, staff will closely track violations and complaints," Higgins said.
Powell said that he felt confident that the amendment addressed most of the concerns surrounding the issue.
"Hours and hours have been put into this from staff and commissioners," Powell said. "The biggest point, I think, of all this is you're going to have people who are going to get a business license and be in compliance, and those that are not."
He added that citizens need to be involved in reporting violations to county officials.
"No matter how many regulations we have, if we don't know that it's going on, we can't enforce it," Powell said. "We have beefed up the complaint section in this new ordinance."
The amendment went through several changes over more than a month.
