The Planning Commission for the City of Blue Ridge recommended denial of the College Street rezoning request at the December 3 meeting held at City Hall.
The request of Nathan Fitts and Robert Matthew Hallmark for a special land use permit was denied by the commissioners citing there were a lot of people who spoke out against having 26 College Street be a short-term or nightly rental.
In the staff analysis, Planning, Zoning and Project Manager Jeff Stewart said he had no issue with it but he mentioned the city council had passed a short-term rental ordinance stating the rentals were to only be allowed in the commercial zones. He also said there was an exception to the ordinance via a special land use permit.
Fitts said the application had indicated a desire to change from the Residential zone to Commercial, however he said that was in error. The house would remain in the residential zone but simply have a special land use permit in order to legally operate a short-term rental. Fitts also clarified the rental business would be in the name of Davinci Consulting, LLC.
He said he’d be living in the Overlook at Blue Ridge which is just above College Street so he’d be able to keep an eye on what was going on and that he bought it with the intention of having it as a short-term rental.
Commissioner John Soave asked about the shared driveway and said that it appears to have significant water run off damage and needed to be widened. Fitts said he and others were aware of the issues and that a solution was being worked on.
Josh Brown, the neighbor who shares the driveway, spoke in favor of the rental saying they trusted Fitts implicitly. “We trust him implicitly and know it would be utilized exceptionally,” he said.
Resident Lynn Doss also spoke in favor saying she was for anything that increased the foot traffic in the area. “I much rather have short-term renters. The people that come are paying a premium to be there. They don’t usually come during the week so it doesn’t impact my traffic ... It’s been my personal experience, both having people rent and then going to and from, they are usually nice people, they’re cordial, if they stop you for anything it’s usually to ask which way something is. ... I’m for anything that increases foot traffic in the area because it helps all of us tax dollar wise.”
Several neighbors spoke in opposition to the short-tern rental. College Street resident Marion Merritt said he didn’t want strangers night after night and that he wanted a “nice, peaceful, quiet neighborhood.”
Francis Burdick, resident of Overlook at Blue Ridge said he’d gathered 17 signatures from folks who didn’t want the rental. He said, “We’ve seen the devastation short-term rentals can do to a neighborhood and can have on the fabric of a community.”
He said investors catch wind of it and begin to buy up properties and eventually the fabric of the neighborhood is changed. “It’s no longer about residents anymore, it’s about transients,” Burdick said. “We feel like if we grant this special permit this time, we’re already immediately starting to chip away at the ordinance that the city council had the foresight to put in.” He also mentioned how the sound of everyday, normal conversations easily travel up to the houses of the Overlook.
Fitts spoke up and said, “Might I suggest you don’t live in a community that the houses are so close because I could put a long-term tenant in there that has two screaming kids and you’re probably going to hate it a lot worse than having a short-term tenant in there. ... You have to look at the alternative.”
Michael and Janet Hughes, also of Overlook, expressed their concern as well. Margaret Tilley Middleton said her father helped build Blue Ridge and that she was “very, very concerned we’re losing the charm of Blue Ridge” and that the residential areas were being encroached upon.
The commissioners mirrored some of the concerns during their discussion. Soave said this was the first time this many people spoke against a rezoning request. Commissioner Mark Engledow said, overall, if short-term rentals started spreading out into residential areas it’d get harder and harder for residents to find affordable places to live. “We don’t want to lose Mayberry,” he said.
Soave made a motion to recommend denying the request. Kay seconded and Trimble agreed. Engledow recused himself citing that he was a neighbor.
City council members will hold the second hearing at a special called meeting later in December.