Short Term Rentals Regulation Proposal

On Tuesday, November 29th, there was a Special Planning and Public Safety (PPS) Committee Meeting, Councilmembers to discuss a Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment (ZOTA) that would create regulations for Short Term Rentals. Short Term Rentals are units rented for limited amounts of time, generally by tourists — typically, these are AirBNB or Vrbo rentals.

This Short Term Rental ZOTA establishes several regulations, licensing fees, and approval processes to streamline the creation and use of Short Term Rentals in Lexington. Here are some of the big changes it would makes:

• Requires Short Term Rental operators to register their units with the city

• Sets maximum occupancy rates for each Short Term Rental

• Prohibits Short Term Rentals from being used for private or commercial special events

• Gives the Administrative Hearing Board subpoena authority over Short Term Rental operators

Lastly, the ZOTA distinguishes “hosted” Rentals from “unhosted” Rentals: hosted Short Term Rentals are units where someone lives on the property, whereas unhosted are units where no one lives on the property.

• Hosted Short Term Rentals will be allowed as an Accessory Use in residential zones — this means that as long as someone lives on the property, the property can be used as a Short Term Rental with relative ease

• Unhosted Short Term Rentals will be a Conditional Use in residential zones, meaning that each unhosted unit must be approved for operation by the Board of Adjustment. Unhosted units in business zones that allow residential units and hotels will be permitted as an Accessory Use.

The public comment portion of the meeting went on for nearly 2.5 hours, with the overwhelming majority of speakers being STR operators speaking against the proposal. Concerns raised ranged from confusion around vague licensing requirements, the price of the operation and licensing fees, and the Conditional Use process for unhosted rentals.

Councilmembers James Brown and Liz Sheehan, who have been stewarding this STR proposal, will bring a second draft of the proposal to the new General Government and Planning Committee in January 2023.

You can watch the recording of the meeting on LexTV. You can also read the draft ZOTA here.