Less than a full year after the Hall County Commission passed an ordinance governing short-term rentals, proposed changes to the ordinance have sparked more debate among residents.
Hall County Planning Director Srikanth Yamala said the changes, if approved, would remove some restrictions to allow any home zoned in a Residential-I or Residential-II neighborhood to apply for a short-term rental license.
Under the ordinance passed in March of 2018, owners of R-I properties can only apply if the home is in a neighborhood of less than 10 homes and are within 500 feet of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Lake Lanier property. Homes in R-II zoning currently cannot host short-term rentals.
County commissioners unanimously approved a first reading of the proposed changes Thursday, with a second public hearing and reading needing to be held on March 14 to enact them. The Thursday vote came after almost an hour of public comment, with both opponents and proponents using all of their allotted time.
Those against the changes said that short-term rentals could cause too much public disturbance in R-I neighborhoods.
"I know you're weighing out that age old battle, greater good versus individual rights," Oakwood resident Sheri Millwood said. "With Hall County's population hovering around the 200,000 mark, what is the small number of people that will benefit from your changing these rules versus the massive amount of people that are going to be harmed?"
Those in favor of the changes said the new ordinance would level the playing field for rentals across the county and potentially bring more revenue.
"When we do have people staying here from out of town, locally, that's revenue that takes away from what we have to pay as property owners in this county because they're paying sales tax, they're paying in other ways with local businesses," Oakwood resident Keith Platt said.
Platt also said that the rentals would not pose the risk to nearby property owners that opponents suggested.
"There is no research linking a rise in crime to an increase in short-term rentals," Platt said.
Several opponents disagreed with Platt's claim, citing personal accounts of short-term rentals that led to issues in neighborhoods.
"I personally have seen 25 cars up and down the side of a road that's real hard to get by, I've seen a Greyhound bus backed down the road in front of me and I can't get around it to get home," Flowery Branch resident Dennis Pritchett said. "I have seen a lot of the negative side of this...I don't think that this would help Hall County."
District Two Commissioner Billy Powell encouraged residents to continue to give commissioners feedback before the March 14 second hearing, which will also be held at the Hall County Government Center on Browns Bridge Road at 6:00 p.m.
"What was being presented (Thursday) does not necessarily mean that'll be the last version of the ordinance," Powell said. "I want to thank everybody for coming out and giving us your input, whether for or against. It really helps us when we make our decision in two weeks."
http://accesswdun.com/article/2019/3/768787/possible-changes-to-hall-county-short-term-rental-ordinance-draws-support-and-opposition