A new ordinance placing regulations on short-term rentals in Halifax County was approved by the Halifax County Planning Commission at a Tuesday evening joint meeting with the board of supervisors.
The final decision on the ordinance rests in the hands of the board of supervisors. Board of Supervisors Chair Ricky Short noted at the start of Tuesday’s meeting that the proposed ordinance would apply to short-term rentals only in the county, and not within the limits of the towns of South Boston or Halifax.
Members of the planning commission all agreed that a major goal of the ordinance on short-term rentals should be to ensure the owners of those rental properties pay the appropriate taxes on them. In the ordinance, a short-term rental is defined as a property rental of less than 30 days in length of stay.
“Currently, there are very few short-term rentals in the county that are remitting any lodging tax,” County Administrator Scott Simpson shared with the commissioners. “If you go strictly by the book, a short-term rental ought to have a business license. It’s not only lodging tax but it’s business license and business personal property.”
Planning commission vice chair Jimmy Watts asked Simpson why some owners of short-term rental properties were paying lodging taxes, while others are not.
“Some is lack of enforcement and lack of knowledge of where these (short-term rentals) are located,” Simpson replied.
The commissioners as a group found the proposed regulations in the proposed ordinance too stringent and decided to make changes before taking a vote on the ordinance. Election District 1 commissioner Pete Riddle voiced his opinion that the proposed regulations were too overreaching.
“It looks like we need to get them to register so we can capture the lodging tax, but the rest of these regulations, I would say no,” Riddle remarked, after reviewing the proposed list of 18 requirements of short-term rental owners. “There’s way too many regulations here.”
Commissioners discussed the proposed regulations on short-term rentals and took a vote on the ordinance after a public hearing in which several neighbors of a Nathalie property owner operating a short-term rental spoke in favor of the ordinance and the property owner spoke against it.
The property owner, Ken Cantrell, told commissioners he had had 20 renters stay in his short-term rental property since September 2022.
“They’ve come all the way from South Africa, Sudan, and Rome, Italy. Most are them are from around here. They’re top-quality people,” Cantrell said.
Cantrell’s neighbors, on the other hand, enumerated problems they had experienced since Cantrell had begun operating his property as a short-term rental. Husband and wife William and Rebecca Bushway told commissioners the short-term rental is located in a gated community, and they had had problems with renters trespassing on their property. They urged commissioners to approve the ordinance placing regulations on short-term rentals.
“Registering with the county and requiring a CUP is one way to protect neighborhoods and communities,” Rebecca Bushway stated. “I do think it’s important that we protect our neighborhoods and look out for each other.”
Bushway added, “Our rights as property owners shouldn’t be impeded on by one person who wants to run a business in an area where businesses aren’t allowed.”
William Bushway told commissioners that he and his neighbors had made complaints to the county about trespassers (from his neighbor’s short-term rental) on their property, and the complaints had “fallen on deaf ears.” He also expressed his concern that Cantrell allows hunting at his short-term rental during hunting season, “inviting armed strangers into our private community.”
Another neighbor, Tim Baine, also expressed his grievances, and support of the proposed ordinance on short-term rentals.
“Our private neighborhood is not a park for everyone to enjoy; it is our home,” Baine said. “I have the right to be safe, respected, and not worry about someone stealing from me. I have the right to privacy and I have the right to protect myself from unwanted lawsuits.”
Baine told commissioners his hope was that new regulations on short-term rentals would be passed, and the county would “take the steps to enforce them.”
Cantrell claimed he had been “harassed” by neighbors since he began operating the short-term rental, but he had consulted with two lawyers who had informed him he was within his rights as a property owner to operate the short-term rental. He urged the commissioners to reconsider a certain regulation in particular in the proposed ordinance, which would require short-term rentals within 1,000 feet of another property to obtain a conditional use permit in order to operate.
“I am most baffled about the 1,000 feet between neighbors’ houses. You must know that most short-term rentals — 90 % — are within the 1,000-foot rules,” Cantrell expressed. “If this passes tonight, now we have to go back through and get CUP’s to operate. This is crazy. I wish you would think about this real hard. “
In their discussion, commissioners ultimately decided to reduce the distance requirement. The amended regulation requires short-term rental owners to obtain a permit to operate if they are located within 500 feet of another dwelling, excluding common ownership. ED-4 Commissioner Donald “Will” Reese Jr. advocated to remove the requirement based on distance from another dwelling entirely, making operation of a short-term rental a property owner’s right, but ultimately consented to the will of the board on the amended regulation.
Commissioners ultimately decided to strike five of the regulations in the proposed ordinance while amending others. One of those proposed regulations was proof of general liability insurance coverage of $1 million. Riddle called the amount of coverage “absurdly high,” while Reese pointed out that the county did not require proof of insurance coverage for other types of permits.
The first regulation in the ordinance requires those wishing to operate short-term rentals to register with the county zoning administrator prior to starting operation. Another regulation requires short-term rental operators to submit a property management plan. Commissioners added to that requirement the necessity for short-term rental operators to include in their property management plan a sketch of the designated hunting area and/or outdoor recreation areas, if applicable. Commissioners made the change after Watts expressed his concern about the dangers of renters hunting on property with which they are unfamiliar, particularly on small acreage.
“Small acreage is no place for hunting. That’s a dangerous situation,” Watts expressed. “I’d like to see something put in these ordinances that prohibits hunting.”
But ED-2 commissioner Dustin Francis expressed his opinion that if a property owner had a large amount of acreage for hunting, it was a “different ballgame.” He said he felt commissioners would be “overstepping our bounds” by prohibiting hunting altogether on short-term rental property.
Riddle ultimately made a motion to approve the proposed ordinance on short-term rentals with the amendments. The motion passed in a unanimous vote, with Chair Mattie Cowan and ED-8 commissioner Gwendolyn Smith-Mangum absent from the meeting.
