Short Term Rental Changes for Nelson County?
Wintergreen Resort STRs could dodge proposed changes.
You might recall this year’s shake-up in the Nelson County Planning Commission surrounding the Wild Rose Solar Project that triggered the sudden resignations of two of its members, Mary Katherine Allen (South District) and Robin Hauschner (Central District). The outcome of that process demonstrated that even if the Commission recommends doing “A,” the Board of Supervisors can vote to do “B.”
Last night, the Commission met to discuss the future of Short Term Rentals. With tourism being Nelson County’s main economic driver, this is a pretty big deal. With Hauschner and Allen now off the Commission, the group now includes two new members, Richard Averitt (Central District) and Gary Scott (South District). The group, with Averitt absent from the meeting, reviewed recommendations made by The Berkley Group. Below are their redlines:
That’s quite a bit of red ink, eh? You can read the report in its entirety here.
What you won’t see in the above report are notes circulated by Board of Supervisor Chair Ernie Reed in advance of the meeting, recommending an entirely new process of establishing STRs.
Key takeaways from Reed’s notes:
Short Term Rental Caps and Lottery:
“I suggest that the # of strs in the county be limited/restricted in number to those legally in place at the date of adoption the ordinance. Give each of them a 3-4 year eligibility permit. Any other applicants can be put on an “eligibility waiting list” (requiring proof of residency).”
Yearly inspections:
“Allow for inspection once a year.”
Non-transferability of Grandfathered permits
“Grandfathered permits would be non-transferable.”
Wintergreen gets a pass:
“All permit applicants (not grandfathered at time of adoption of ordinance) must be county residents. (This requirement would not apply to Wintergreen and Residential Planned Community Districts)***”
The Commission lightly touched on Reed’s notes but with him not in attendance, there wasn’t much time spent on delving into his thoughts. Director of Planning and Zoning, Dylan Bishop, remarked, “I’m personally or professionally not a fan of caps … or a lottery.” Bishop said.
“I have grave concerns about property rights,” added Jessica Ligon, Board of Supervisor representative to the Planning Commission.
And perhaps Gary Scott underscored the feeling in the room last night. “We don’t need to rush into this.”
Stay tuned …
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