Proposals for short-term rentals in rural Fayette County

In Tuesday’s General Government and Planning (GGP) Committee, Council will hear about  the Rural Land Management Board’s recommendations for how to regulate short-term rentals in rural Fayette County.

Lexington’s current short-term rental regulations only apply to zones within the Urban Service Boundary; Council chose to task the Rural Land Management Board, which advises on rural issues, to bring regulation ideas for rural short-term rentals to Council.

In May, Purchase of Development Rights Director Beth Overman presented ten recommendations to the GGP Committee.

Council-members shared several concerns, including prohibiting property owners from adding new buildings to be used as STRs and only allowing hosted units in rural zones. There does not appear to be a substantial difference between their initial recommendations and the recommendations included in this packet.

The Rural Land Management Board’s recommendations will be presented again in this meeting, some of which include:

• Requiring all rural short-term rentals to obtain a conditional-use permit from the Board of Adjustment.

• Only allowing hosted short-term rentals (”hosted” meaning that the operator lives on the property).

• Setting an occupancy limit of two people per bedroom.

You can view the recommendations starting on page 14 of this packet.

The General Government and Planning Committee will meet on Tuesday, September 10th at 1pm in Council Chambers. You can attend in-person or watch live on LexTV.