Special Norris council meeting set Feb. 28 on rental ordinance
The Norris City Council has set a special meeting for 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, for a first reading on the city’s proposed ordinance governing short-term residential housing rentals.
Mayor Chris Mitchell made the motion during Monday night’s regular council meeting to call for the special meeting, to speed up the process of getting the ordinance passed.
He said he believes there is some urgency needed in approving the ordinance, considering that many people in Norris have been receiving mail asking them if they want to sign up to begin renting out their houses.
“Let’s proceed,” he said. “Let’s not let this drag out.”
City officials have sent a revised draft ordinance on the rental issue to the University of Tennessee’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service for review of its legality, but as of Monday had not yet heard back.
Mitchell suggested that even if MTAS had not cleared the ordinance by Feb. 28, the council still could pass it on first reading so it could be heard and voted on during second and final reading during the next regular council meeting March 14.
After receiving approval on first reading, city ordinances don’t receive final approval until second reading, which comes after a public hearing. That would mean that even with the first reading coming on Feb. 28, the earliest the measure could be finalized would be during the March council meeting.
Short-term rentals are a controversial issue in the city, with considerable opposition to the idea of allowing such rentals.
Short-term rentals are defined by Tennessee law as being overnight accommodations, other than hotel and bed-and-breakfast lodgings, 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).
The draft ordinance, submitted to the council in October by the Norris Planning Commission, would regulate such rentals, including imposing allowable taxes on them and putting some limits on them.