Waynesville planning board continues wading through vacation rental rules

Apr. 20—Waynesville's planning board is still weighing whether short-term vacation rentals should be regulated and limited in town — with plans to examine the issue more thoroughly before making a recommendation.

Proposed changes from the town's Development Services Department would ban some short-term vacation rentals in certain neighborhoods while also imposing parking and garbage regulations on vacation rental sites. But the planning board last week decided to form a committee to further study the issue before holding a public hearing later this year.

The working group will include planning board members Travis Collins, Michael Blackburn and John Baus. It will also include short-term vacation rental owners and citizens concerned about the exploding vacation rental industry and how it is affecting the supply of affordable housing in Waynesville.

"We still haven't defined anything yet," Blackburn said. "We need to have some deep conversations."

The working group should include young people who are looking for affordable housing in Waynesville, said Planning Board Chair Susan Teas Smith.

"There is a lot here," Smith said of the proposal. "I think it is unfortunate we didn't hear from people about the lack of affordable housing. They are probably at soccer games and working late."

Should the planning board recommend proposals to regulate vacation rentals, the plan would need approval by the Waynesville Town Council.

'Grandfathered' sites

Town officials were quick to point out that if any changes were adopted by town council, the current owners of vacation rentals would be grandfathered in, meaning that they could continue operating. A short-term rental would continue to be grandfathered in even if the current owner sold the property to a new owner who intended to maintain it as a vacation rental, said planning board attorney Ron Sneed.

"It's a use that runs with the land," Sneed said.

That was good news to short-term vacation rental property owner and developer Jackie Cure.

"I was coming here for a fight, to be honest with you," she said. "A lot of my questions were answered during the meeting."

Homestays

Under the proposed changes, there would be two types of lodging accommodations within a single-family home, duplex or townhome or apartment available for rent for less than 30 days.

One would be a "homestay," which would be the rental of a room or rooms in a dwelling where a permanent resident resides. The permanent resident would be present in the home during the time of the homestay. It could also apply to an accessory unit on the same property.

"This is a definition that has been used in other municipalities," said Development Services Director Elizabeth Teague. "No meals or other services are provided by the owner or host. This is a distinction for bed and breakfasts. By restricting meals and other services, that is one way we can do that."

Under the proposed regulations, homestays would be permitted in all districts where residential dwelling uses are allowed.

Short-term rentals

The second type of vacation rental classification would be a "short-term vacation rental" (STR), which is commonly associated with Airbnb, Vacation Rentals by Owner (Vrbo) and other similar platforms.

"The distinction there is, we actually think having (a homestay) rental on your property, renting a basement apartment, renting a garage apartment, renting a bedroom, that is a very good way for our locals to make money," Teague said. "We want to protect that. Allow it anywhere in town because we know there are owners who are there managing their property."

By contrast, STRs under the proposed language are "not necessarily owner occupied," Teague added.

"They are usually stand-alone homes," she said. "They are often managed by a local management company. They may be owned by some other group. They may be owned by another person who doesn't live in town. We have a lot of good, responsible, local short-term rental owners. But we also have a lot of absentee short-term rental owners."

Town board decisions

Under the proposed regulations, Waynesville leaders would decide which districts would allow STRs.

Teague said more work is needed to determine which neighborhoods within the town's zoning categories should be considered for prohibition of STRs, if any. But she recommended to the planning board that they be allowed in commercial and business districts, in low density districts around golf courses and in the proposed "Railway Corridor Overlay" district.

Tourism is a big economic driver in Haywood, and a recent study by Tourism Development Authority found that 53% of visitors to the county last year stayed in short-term rentals. Those vacation rentals are an important part of the community's tourism industry, Teague said.

"Those room taxes are supposed to help with tourism development, with infrastructure that supports our towns, and also with special events," Teague said. "They go to help support community activities."

Balancing needs

It is important that Waynesville balance the economic benefits of vacation rentals with neighborhood concerns about overflow parking onto streets and trash management as well as adhering to the town's Comprehensive Land Use Plan's goal of providing housing not just for tourists but for the "workforce of the Waynesville community," she added.

Like the rest of the country, Waynesville is experiencing an increase in the number of short-term vacation rentals, and those units are expanding into the town's traditional neighborhoods of workforce and lower income households.

Some of those neighborhoods include the sections of Hazelwood along Brown Avenue, Westwood Circle and Elysinia. Other areas where vacation rentals are increasing include Sulphur Springs Road, the Pigeon community area, East Street neighborhoods and along Oakdale.

"We have a concern about gentrification and competition in the real estate market between people who want to live and work in Waynesville and business investment groups," Teague said. "Those are our traditional older neighborhoods. Prices are going up on single-family homes and single-family lots."

New development in town has been approved in part with the goal of creating housing opportunities for a variety of income levels, and there is a concern that some of those dwelling units will become vacation rentals.

"All of those plans were adopted with the consistency statement that it supports (affordable) housing," Teague said. "We are not tracking who is buying the houses. But I will tell you that in Valleywood, there are some lots that have been sold to LLC's. That could be an investment group, and it would really be a shame if the new housing inventory is taken up by short-term rentals when the intent and purpose was all about meeting the comprehensive plan goal of providing housing."

Parking rules

The proposed language for parking for "homestay" definition rentals states that there must be adequate off-street parking for guests in addition to the spaces required for the property's uses as a residence. A remote share-parking arrangement such as rented parking on private property or at a public or private parking lot would also be an option.

For short-term vacation rentals, a minimum of one off-street parking space per bedroom will be required under the proposed language. Shared parking or rented parking spaces in a private or public parking lot can be used to satisfy the parking requirement.

No one in Waynesville wants to ban short-term rentals, Teague said, but added she is worried "people will jump to conclusions" about possible changes. She said the current land development standards do not define or address vacation rentals as "we currently understand them."

"There is something that we do need to do in this process which is to clarify how we define short-term rentals," Teague said.

Contact requirements

One challenge that sometimes arises with vacation rentals is that absentee owners or corporations are often difficult to contact when issues arise with law enforcement or code enforcement, she added. To remedy that, the proposed regulations include the posting the name and telephone number of the operator. The required post would also include such information as the number for the police department, the number of maximum overnight guests allowed and that parties, receptions and other large gatherings are prohibited.

"If you have something happen, it is not always easy to find out or contact the person who is responsible," Teague said. "So, they (renters) call Town Hall, they call our police department. They will call 911 if it snows and they have trouble getting down the street. That is an issue for us."