The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Regulations on short-term rentals move forward in City Council
Food given out in 1979 was 15K lbs.; in 2021 it is 115M lbs.
There could soon be a breakthrough in the debate over how to regulate shortterm rental properties, as Atlanta City Council prepares to revisit the issue next week.
Some homeowners use websites such as Airbnb to rent for 30 days at most, which has oftentimes created “party house” nuisance complaints citywide.
The issue has resulted in dueling proposals — one calls for a ban, the other would force owners to obtain a certificate before renting homes.
City Councilman Andre Dickens sponsors the certificate legislation, which would also tax the rentals at the same 8% rate as hotels. The council’s Community Development and Human Services Committee passed the ordinance Tuesday, and the full council is set to vote on the measure next week.
Fellow Councilman Howard Shook’s proposal to ban short-term rentals in sin- gle-family neighborhoods is pending in the council’s Zoning Committee.
On Monday, the Georgia House also passed a bill to impose state and local taxes on short term rentals. House Bill 317 is currently pending in the state Senate Finance Committee.
Some residents support a ban. Others say short-term rentals generate additional income for people that would be lost with the ban.
In addition to the certificate and the tax rate, the proposed ordinance would require homeowners to install a noise monitoring device, and occupancies would be limited to two adults per bedroom.
Dickens said owners would be subject to $300 fines for violations. Owners would lose their right to operate a short-term rental for a year if they receive three violations within a year, he said.
If approved, the ordinance will go into effect on Sept. 1.
Q: I know the Atlanta Community Food Bank has been around longer than I have lived here but really never bothered to find out about this organization. Would you give me some background and tell me what they have been able to do since the pandemic?
A: The Atlanta Community Food Bank was founded in 1979 with a mission to end hunger. The organization serves 29 counties in metro
Atlanta and North Georgia.
The food bank was founded by Bill Bolling in the basement of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, according to CEO Kyle Waide.
“There were a number of organizations and churches that were trying to provide food to a growing home- less population in down- town Atlanta. He thought that together they could grow their impact if there was more access to food,” Waide said of the founder.
“If there was a centralized point for accepting food donations that could then get that food out through a decentralized network of feeding programs. In that first year, we distributed about 15,000 pounds of food.
This year we will distribute about 115 million pounds of food.”
The challenges of those in need reach beyond hunger and begin with an eco- nomic problem that morphs into issues of coping choices, health problems, missing work or losing jobs, for exam- ple, the CEO said.
“All of that puts more pres- sure financially and other- wise on these families where now they are facing even more difficult trade-off decisions,” said Waide.
“The cost for the rest of us is that there is a significant percentage of the population — one in six people overall, one in four kids — who are living with these struggles. Thus, creating more healthcare costs for all of us and a less productive workforce. It results in the kids in those households doing less well in school. All of that weakens our community collectively.”
Since the pandemic, ACFB launched the “Text for Help” phone-based platform. To use it, text “findfood” or “comida” to 888-976-2232. ACFB will respond by providing three nearby pantries and contact information.