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Council continues short‑term rental tax change after public objection and clarification need
Summary
Council continued a proposed change to the city's transient lodging/STR tax (R8) after public comment criticized the measure as targeting short‑term rentals and the clerk said a specifically advertised public hearing was required.
Norfolk City Council voted to continue consideration of an ordinance that would change how the city levies a per‑night, per‑room flat tax on transient lodging and short‑term rental (STR) units.
The ordinance (R8) would apply a per‑night, per‑room flat tax based on the number of bedrooms in a unit. Cecilio Ricardo, a short‑term rental owner and resident, opposed the draft, arguing the change effectively targets STRs because many hotels have one‑bedroom units while STRs tend to have multiple bedrooms. He said the proposal was framed as applying to both hotels and STRs but asked why the city could not reallocate existing STR revenues (which he cited as $2,500,000) rather than impose a new per‑room tax. Ricardo also raised the cost of required fire‑suppression systems for larger STR operations (he cited $300,000), and questioned modest projected additional revenue (he cited $116,000).
During council consideration, the clerk explained that the matter requires a specifically advertised public hearing because it is a tax increase for B&Bs and similar operators; as a result, council moved to continue the item and reschedule the public hearing. A councilor noted the recommendation had come from a Short‑Term Rental Advisory Group and said funds generated would be reinvested in the Coastal Character District.
The clerk said the item should return to council on October 7. No final vote on the ordinance was taken at this meeting; the item was continued so the city can run the specific public‑hearing advertisement required for tax matters.
Next steps: the city will advertise and reschedule the public hearing per statutory notice requirements and return the item to a future council meeting.
