Hall County commissioners unanimously approved a set of changes to the county's short-term rental ordinance at their meeting Thursday.
The updated ordinance will now allow owners of properties in any residential zoning to apply for a short-term rental license without needing approval from the Hall County Planning Commission. It also set standards for maximum occupancy of a short-term rental, allowing up to two adults per bedroom plus three more adults per property.
District Two Commissioner Billy Powell made the motion to implement the changes. He said county officials had been spending the past year watching short-term rentals to look for possible improvements to the original ordinance, which was approved in March of 2018.
"We said last year that we will look at it for a year, because at that time when we passed it, we were starting from ground zero. We didn't know what we didn't know," Powell said.
Several commissioners said that enforcement of the rental rules will be important to make sure the rentals don't negatively impact nearby residents.
"Last March we spent a lot of time on this, and in the last month we've spent a lot of time on it, trying to figure out the right thing to do," Commission Chairman Richard Higgins said. "(short term rentals) are so pervasive now, our best option is to regulate it as best we can and weed out all the bad actors, people who are nuisances to neighbors...We're not going to stop it."
The changes include increased fines for violations of the ordinance. First-time offenders will now be charged $500, second-time offenders will be charged $1,000 and a third offense within a year will bring a $2,000 fine and the owner's business license being revoked.
Hall County Planning Director Srikanth Yamala showed a map to commissioners detailing the current short-term rentals in the county. He said that while there were over 130 properties being advertised, only 14 actively had permits. He said 10 total complaints were received about rental properties last year, with seven of those drawing citations from authorities.
No public hearing was held before the vote Thursday because commissioners had already held two public hearings as required by law. Both of those hearings drew many people both for and against the changes.
