Montgomery City Council Nears Final Draft of Short-Term Rental Rules, Asks for Public Feedback
City leaders in Montgomery say they’re close to finalizing rules for short-term rentals across the city. At a city council committee meeting on Tuesday, residents and property owners weighed in.
According to city leaders, a new ordinance regulating short-term rentals is about 90 percent complete. The proposal would require owners to get business licenses and pass safety inspections. Officials are also trying to decide how close rentals should be allowed to operate near each other — especially in residential and historic districts. For Midtown resident Sam McClure, the issue hits close to home.
“I’m sure it serves some function in the city, but it seems to be unregulated and so people are taking advantage of that — renting it just to have a party just to get drunk and all the things that flow from it. It affects the value of other homes in the neighborhood. It affects the sense of safety. We have four children, small children playing in our front yard all the time and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that they’re safe.”
Short Term Rental owner/operators like Hunter Sandlin say responsible rentals can help neighborhoods. Sandlin owns between 50 and 60 short-term rentals in Montgomery, including in Capital Heights.
“We want them to think about Capital Heights as the next place they buy their home because they had a good stay with us. Even though there is the idea that short-term rentals cause a lot of issues, actually generally speaking short-term rentals are largely local people who have a lot of buy-in for the city and really love the direction the city might be going.”
Sandlin says he has worked with law enforcement and neighbors to address criminal activity near some of his properties.
“We had one person who was running a drug operation that was about like a Chick-fil-A drive-through during the week, and we went through quite a few different police agencies during about six months. Finally, we got a bust on that. Another person was selling drugs and raising fighting pit-bulls. There was a lot of gun violence going on and we were able to engage that owner. He actually converted that property to a short term rental, but there’s a voicemail that I keep on my phone now of one of the neighbors who told me ‘I have been so afraid to sit on my back porch at night because of this guy and now that’s solved. Thank you.’”
Warren Adams, the city’s land use control administrator, says they want to strike a balance between tourism and neighborhood safety. He says one of the most difficult issues remaining is determining how many rentals should be permitted in close proximity to each other.
“Some people believe there should be none in historic districts. Some people believe that short-term rentals are actually contributing to the restoration of properties in the historic districts,” he said. “Some people feel we have too many in the neighborhoods. Other people feel we should have more in the neighborhoods. … Is it 500 feet? Is it 1,000 feet? How many licenses should we have? There’s no data to suggest what that optimum number actually is, and all municipalities tend to do it differently.”
City leaders are asking residents to submit their opinions about short term rentals over the next two weeks. You can email the city clerk at bblalock@montgomeryal.gov. Once finished, the ordinance will be put before the full city council for a vote.
