Nelson County supervisors approved Ordinance O2025-05 on Tuesday, adding a pre-licensing zoning-approval requirement for certain business licenses to address state confidentiality rules affecting accommodations-intermediary data.

County staff said the change responds to recently enacted state legislation (cited as HB 23-83 and SB 1402, effective July 1, 2025) and a provision in Title 58.1 that makes information provided by accommodations intermediaries confidential and unavailable to other local departments. Candy, a county staff member, told the board that the confidentiality requirement prevents the Commissioner of the Revenue from providing intermediary-originated data to Planning and Zoning and other county offices for enforcement and zoning verification purposes.

To address that, the ordinance amends Chapter 6 (Licenses, Permits and Business Regulations), Article 4 (General Business License) by adding a requirement that applicants for new business licenses — and existing businesses that change physical location or change their business description — obtain zoning approval before the Commissioner issues a license. Candy said the change will apply to uses currently regulated by the county zoning ordinance, including commercial uses, home occupations and short-term rentals, and that Planning and Zoning is developing a new zoning-approval application to capture the necessary data upfront.

During the public hearing Tracy Coffey asked whether existing businesses would have to reapply. “So that means we have to go through and apply for a new permit every single time and then we may or may not,” Coffey asked. Candy clarified the requirement applies to new businesses and to existing businesses that change location or description; she said existing licenses would not automatically trigger repeat filings unless the business changed its location or description.

Board members discussed a procedural point: staff clarified that the change is intended to collect zoning information up front so that Planning and Zoning can confirm permitted uses before an applicant obtains a business license from the Commissioner of the Revenue. Staff emphasized the amendment is a change in process to compensate for the fact that intermediary-provided data can no longer be broadly shared with county departments.

After the hearing the board moved, seconded and adopted the ordinance by roll call. Staff will develop the zoning-approval application and implement the pre-licensing review process for affected license types.