Short-term rentals and a new budget
Just two of the items Rocky Top City Council will address Thursday
Final reading and expected passage of an ordinance to regulate short-term residential housing rentals is on the agenda for Thursday’s (May 19) regular meeting of the Rocky Top City Council, scheduled for 6 p.m.
The council unanimously passed the proposed ordinance on first reading on April 21, with no input from any residents – the opposite of a similar measure that passed recently in Norris after massive blowback from the community.
Also on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting is approval of Rocky Top’s fiscal year 2022-23 budget ordinance on first reading. Second and final reading would be held during next month’s council meeting, June 16, in plenty of time for the new budget to take effect July 1.
Under the Rocky Top proposal, owners of short-term rental properties would be required to pay a $100 application and permit fee to operate those units inside the city, and to follow other rules, including safety and health requirements.
The ordinance is similar to one already in place in Caryville, Rocky Top officials said.
City Manager Michael Foster said that unlike Norris, which would like to discourage such rentals, Rocky Top wants to encourage them to help attract visitors to the city.
That’s in accord with the city government’s recent push to develop Rocky Top as a tourist destination, taking advantage of Norris Lake to the east and the Windrock off-road vehicle park to the west of town.
Unlike Norris, Rocky Top will not hold a public hearing prior to consideration of the ordinance Thursday night, but the audience will be allowed to speak about any issues at the beginning of the meeting.
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.
Such rentals have become popular worldwide through such online services as Airbnb and Vrbo (Vacation Rental by Owner). Tennessee law does not permit cities or counties to ban such rentals, but it does allow private homeowners’ association to prohibit them.
About five years ago, Rocky Top began allowing unlicensed all-terrain vehicles to use certain city streets to come into town from Windrock to eat and shop. Two campgrounds/recreational-vehicle parks are currently under construction in Rocky Top – one on each side of the city – to help accommodate more tourism.
Rocky Top’s short-term rental ordinance will require only one permit per property, rather than per unit. City officials said some existing properties contain more than one residential unit.
Rental units will be inspected for safety, and will be required to have fire, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and fire extinguishers.
Owners and operators designated by property owners will be required to be able to respond to problems and emergencies within two hours, with designated contact numbers available to renters at all hours of every day.
Each applicant “must provide a valid Anderson County/Campbell County and City of Rocky Top Business License,” the ordinance states. The owners/operators also must pay all “applicable taxes, including, but not limited to, Hotel Occupancy Privilege Tax, local option sales tax, and gross receipts tax to the city, sales tax to the State of Tennessee, and gross receipts tax to the State of Tennessee,” the ordinance says.
Maximum occupancy allowed will be “four transients per bedroom,” and there “must be a minimum of one parking space per bedroom,” the measure says.
“[City staff] will review parking layout and reserves the right to limit maximum occupancy based on nuisance potential to surrounding neighbors,” it also states.
Operating without a permit will result in a fine of $50 per day per unit.
Permits will be valid for one year, and must be renewed annually for a fee of $100, the ordinance says.
When the ordinance receives final approval by the council, it will go into effect after 30 days.