Council Committee advances new potential short-term rental regulations

Short-term rental approximate locations in Lexington. Data from AirDNA, image from Lexington's Division of Planning.

In last Thursday’s Special Committee meeting, the General Government and Planning (GGP) Committee voted to advance new regulations for short-term rentals (STRs) in Lexington.

• Much of the new regulations are changes to Lexington’s Zoning Code. This means that Council will have initiate a Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment (ZOTA) to advance the new regulations, which would require approval by the the Planning Commission.

• The full Council will soon vote on whether to send the proposed regulations to the Planning Commission. If advanced, Planning Commission will review the proposals, potentially revise them, hold a public hearing, and send them back to Council for a final vote.

STRs are rental properties intended for short length stays of a few days, weeks, or maybe a month — these are typically operated through STR platforms AirBNB and Vrbo.

Last year, Council passed STR regulations that determined how many units could be in certain zones throughout Lexington, determined a licensing structure for STR operators, and more. Those regulations took effect in January of 2024.

New regulations being considered include:

• Reducing occupancy limits in all STRs from a maximum of 12 guests to a maximum of 10 guests

• Setting two distance requirements for STRS.

  • An unhosted STRs unit — where the operator does not live on the property — may not be located within 500 feet of another unhosted unit.

  • Unhosted STRs wouldn’t be allowed to represent more than 3% of housing units inside any 1,000 foot circle in a neighborhood.

    • Some exceptions are included for units that are directly adjacent to business zones, or when a neighborhood plan encourages unhosted STRs.

• Allowing only 1 STR unit on a single-family lot, regardless of whether the unit is hosted or unhosted.

• If an operator decides to change an STR from a hosted unit to an unhosted unit, or vice versa, they will need to apply for a new license as part of that change.

You can view the proposed regulations starting on page 24 of this packet.

You can read our coverage of past STR regulations and discussions here.

The Special General Government and Planning Committee Meeting will be held on Thursday, August 29th at 3pm in Council Chambers. You can attend in-person or watch live on LexTV.

UPDATE: Updated on August 27th to include details on proposed regulations.