Council approves home rental district
Chattanooga will have a new special district for shortterm home rentals in place on Oct. 1.
The district overlays the city core and more, running from Lookout Valley in the west to Missionary Ridge in the east. It includes a large portion of the North Shore, but cuts out Glenwood in East Chattanooga and pockets including land opposite Moccasin Bend in the west.
The council has struggled for almost a year with how to regulate the residence-based lodging economy, which has grown by leaps and bounds through the use of internet-based booking sites such as Airbnb.
Tuesday night, the council voted 7-1 to enact the proposed district plan, championed by Councilman Chip Henderson. Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod cast the only “no” vote and Council Chairman Jerry Mitchell was absent.
“This has been a long process this council has been involved in,” Henderson said. “I appreciate the input from the community and from the council.”
The council batted away two amendments supported by various members of the public. Henderson urged his colleagues to avoid weighing the legislation down with so many amendments it would ultimately undo it.
“It may not be a great piece of legislation, but it’s a good piece of legislation,” Henderson said.
Councilman Darrin Ledford made a motion to include lots measuring 10 acres or more as part of the district, even if they weren’t inside the district boundaries. Ledford represents District 4, which he has said, as a whole, is not in favor of shortterm rental operations.
“It would seem that proximity was a big concern for most
people, and I think that this 10 acres not only addresses the challenge or concern, it totally eliminates it,” Ledford said.
The council voted 5-3 against the amendment, with Coonrod and Council Vice Chairman Ken Smith supporting it.
In a reversal of her request to remove Glenwood from the district in May, Coonrod asked the council to put the neighborhood back in the short-term rental district. The council voted 5-3 against the motion to amend, with Smith and Ledford supporting.
A number of Glenwood residents claimed opposition to the neighborhood’s inclusion was driven by two people, and not the community as a whole.
“It has been a very hard decision with the shortterm rental issue,” Coonrod said during a midday discussion with her colleagues.
The council delayed a planned vote on June 13 after private school officials asked for buffers to be placed between shortterm rental properties and educational facilities. No council member put forth an amendment in support of that request.
The new rules do away with long-standing regulations requiring short-term vacation properties to be zoned R-3 or R-4, which also allows office and apartment uses.
Inside the district, property owners will need to purchase shortterm vacation rental permits. Owners who do not live on such properties are subject to city council approval if neighbors voice opposition, forcing a public hearing. Owneroccupied permit seekers do not have this hurdle.