A Special Land Use Permit to allow short-term rentals was approved during a Blue Ridge City Council meeting Tuesday, December 7.
The permit will allow for short-term rentals at 529 East Second Street.
Council members Rhonda Haight and Mike Panter oppose, while Nathan Fitts, Robbie Cornelius and Harold Herndon voted in favor.
The property is managed by Willow Creek Cabin Rentals, and they provide regular maintenance and cleaning after every stay as well as pre-screening of guests prior to bookings.
Through the company, each guest is required to book a minimum of three nights.
Donna Nichols, the owner of the home, referenced the Planning Commission’s recommendation to deny the request as well as her neighbors being in favor.
No one from the community spoke in opposition.
Despite having applied for the permit, the company and owners have been renting the home out since May, which the appropriate taxes has been paid and is up to date. Because rental companies do not break down the Hotel/Motel Excise Tax that they pay to the city, the city was not able to catch the fact that the home was being rented out until citizens made them aware.
The owners claimed that as they had applied early in the year, and never received any confirmation on approval or denial of the permit, they began renting the home out.
“One of the things that the ordinance says,” Nichols said. “‘In the event an owner or the owner’s agent is currently operating a short-term rental property, which is not within a category eligible for the issuance of a short-term rental certificate and has been paying monthly Hotel/Motel Taxes required by law, said operation shall be considered to be grandfathered and allowed to continue operations until there is a change of ownership of said property.’
“Now while that was intended, and I know, immediately after the ordinance passed to properties that were currently operating vacation rentals, the spirit of it still applies in this case, we believe. We believe we were in compliance for applying for short-term rentals certificate, regularly paying our lodging taxes, doing everything we needed to do.”
Haight questioned why the rental company did not inform the owners that the property couldn’t rent without a permit as well as why the company proceeded to rent it without one.
Nichols confirmed that the company did tell them they needed to apply for the permit, which they did.
“We did what we thought was right,” Nichols said. “We expected ... not knowing anything different and filed the application, and then not having heard anything for months.”
Nichols also explained that the city clerk made the process difficult saying, “She had told me that she would send the paper work ... and it took me a couple of times again to get that information from her.”
Haight suggested the rental company be fined for allowing the home to be rented, but no decision was made on the matter.
Downtown Business Owner Angelena Powell spoke to address the need for officers to patrol the downtown street.
The city’s Police Department is short staffed and have not been able to provide the coverage, Fitts said.
“I was told that from the officers that we had a theft problem downtown, a shoplifting problem by the officers this weekend, and I said, ‘Since when? I haven’t heard it,’” Fitts said. “So I’ve got all of the reports right here through the Police Department showing there is no theft, there is no shoplifting, nobody has reported it.
“We as the council can’t make decisions such as keeping the downtown duty if we don’t know the facts. Like if somebody says that to y’all (that a theft has occurred) you need to come back and report it to the chief or whoever, and say, ‘Hey, this person said they had a theft,’ even though they didn’t call to make a report so we as a council on making decisions in the future, we can take those things into consideration.”
The city also approved to pay $1,700 for portable restrooms used during the weekend of December 4.