Vacation rentals limited by code, critics say |
| Vacation rentals limited by code, critics say Posted: 27 Dec 2010 07:44 PM PST By Juan Castillo AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF When the city Planning Commission voted in July to explore how to possibly regulate the fast-booming business of short-term, or vacation, rental homes in Austin, city officials said there is nothing in the current code that addresses the length of a residential lease. But some who don't want rental homes in their neighborhoods increasingly are disputing the city's contention. Opponents say that the city's Land Development Code already prohibits rental homes in neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes, and they want the city to enforce the rules now. They cite a section in the code that allows two types of uses in single-family zoned neighborhoods: residential and bed-and-breakfast. And they cite Section 25-2-3 in the code, which says, "Residential uses include the occupancy of living accommodations on a nontransient basis." There's nothing ambiguous about the meaning of the word "transient," say opponents like Maurice Anderson, who lives across the street from a vacation rental home in the Allandale neighborhood in North Central Austin. Anderson thinks short-term rentals are commercial enterprises that shouldn't be allowed to operate in residential neighborhoods. The Planning Commission's July vote triggered a city study that will extend into next year. Short-term home rentals are a fast-growing business boosted by the advent of listing sites such as those run by Austin startup HomeAway Inc., which lists more than half a million vacation rental properties in 120 countries. In August, the company said it had about 400 Austin properties listed on two of its websites; in 2006, it had just six Austin properties listed on its site. The ascent of short-term rental homes appears to have caught the city off guard. When it voted to ask the city staff to begin reviewing short-term rentals, the Planning Commission noted the lack of oversight and complaints about noise, parking, trash and other issues such as the rapid turnover of renters. Some residents complain that turnover occurs often, disrupting the traditional way of life in their neighborhoods, and that in many cases property owners do not live on-site, making it difficult to resolve problems. "We don't have neighbors, real neighbors. We have strangers coming in just about every weekend. Sometimes they're large groups," said Leslie Rosenstein, whose family lives next to another vacation rental home in Allandale. "The city comes up with things like, 'We don't have a definition of transient or temporary,' but why is that word in the code then?" HomeAway Inc. co-founder Carl Shepherd has said that the city should not penalize owners who already invested in their properties. He said that prohibiting the homes outright would drive rentals underground. Robert Heil, a senior planner with the city's Planning and Development Review Department, said the question it is investigating is, "At what point does a residential lease become so short that it should be considered transient?" Heil said the answer is a policy decision the City Council will make early next year after the city staff's review; meetings with business owners, residents and neighborhood groups; and a public hearing. Heil said that some property owners lease homes or rooms for special events only once or twice a year — a common practice in Austin, where demand is high during big events such as the South by Southwest and Austin City Limits music festivals — and others rent them out frequently with "very short-term" leases. "So it's not just an issue of the duration of the lease but also the frequency with which the property is rented," Heil said. Heil elaborated on that point at a November planning commission subcommittee meeting where about a dozen people voiced their displeasure with the short-term rental homes in their neighborhoods. "It's acknowledged that there is a point where the leases become so short that the residential properties take on the characteristics of a business," Heil said then. "When that occurs, should additional regulations come into play?" Heil said the ongoing city study will look at different options that could address how short-term residential rentals and vacation rentals "can work well in Austin." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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