Norris meeting to address short-term rentals in the city
Norris City Council members plan to hold a “listening session” on Jan. 8 to get community input on a proposed ordinance to regulate so-called short-term housing rentals in the city.
Short-term rentals are defined by state law as being overnight accommodations of at least one night, but no longer than 30 nights. They have become popular worldwide through such online services as Airbnb and Vrbo (Vacation Rental by Owner).
While the council set the date for the session during its November meeting, the purpose and structure of the meeting was determined during Monday night’s December council meeting.
Rather than having just a council “workshop” session to discuss the ordinance, the council decided, on the recommendation of Mayor Chris Mitchell, that the public would be invited to take an active role in the discussion.
The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. on the second Saturday of January, and will be conducted by Mitchell and other council members, who hope to hear from Norris residents about what the ordinance should include.
When a draft ordinance was presented to the council at its October meeting by the city’s Planning Commission, the council voted to table the measure for further study after Mitchell and Councilman Will Grinder expressed opposite views on it.
Grinder said the ordinance was too strict, while Mitchell said he felt it was too lenient.
Mitchell told The Courier News that he wants the ordinance to be strict enough to stop investors from buying multiple properties to set up short-term rentals as a sort of “hotel” in the city. On Monday night, he reiterated his position.
“There will be a day you will be driving down the road looking for a hotel or an overnight rental,” he said. “Some of this is happening now.”
He said there already are Airbnb and Vrbo rentals available in Norris, and that the issue is important to the city.
“This [will have] probably the biggest impact to the quality of life … that we have in Norris,” Mitchell said of uncontrolled short-term rentals.
“I want [public] involvement in this [ordinance],” he added. “This impacts your life. … I think this [Jan. 8 meeting] is the start of the conversation.”
Grinder did agree that short-term rentals need to be controlled.
“I would personally not like to have a short-term rental next to me,” he said.
Larry Beeman, a former council member and Planning Commission chairman, said: “There are consequences of doing nothing.”
The draft ordinance can be found online at cityofnorris.com.
