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Peachtree City council advances revisions to short‑term rental ordinance after hours of testimony and staff briefing
Summary
After a multi‑hour public hearing on a proposed short‑term rental (STR) permit ordinance, council directed staff to redline changes — including aligning parking rules citywide, keeping a 24/7 local contact on file (not mailed to neighbors), changing guest‑registry retention to 30 days, and moving permit renewals to every two years — and continued the hearing to Nov. 7 for a final draft.
City staff opened a public hearing on Oct. 3 for Ordinance 12‑29, a zoning text amendment that would create a short‑term rental (STR) permit and set standards for occupancy, local contact, notifications and enforcement.
The staff presentation described core elements of the proposed ordinance: a flat cap of 35 STR permits citywide (replacing an earlier 1% cap), a requirement that each STR have a local contact person available 24/7 who can be on site within one hour, prohibitions on special events and off‑street paved parking requirements, written notification to properties within 200 feet, background checks (with fingerprinting removed), and reduced fees ($375 initial; $300 annual renewal in the draft). Staff suggested an effective date of Jan. 1, 2025, to allow outreach and application time.
Members of the public on both sides of the issue spoke in the allotted time. Opponents and some process critics argued the ordinance was overly punitive, raised privacy concerns about a guest registry and deed requirements, and asked for clearer differentiation between whole‑home rentals and accessory units. Proponents and some operators asked for reasonable standards that protect neighborhoods but do not unduly burden small operators and retirees who rely on STR income. Iris Owens, president of the Fayette County Board of Realtors, warned that a blanket registration or inspection regime could raise legal issues under state law and referenced Georgia Code §36‑74‑30 concerning local government authority over rental property registration.
During council discussion staff and councilmembers reached the following tentative agreements and direction to staff: remove a special prohibition on street parking for STRs so citywide parking rules apply; keep local contact information on file with the city (but do not mail personal contact names to nearby neighbors) and allow multiple contact names for emergencies; change guest registry retention from three years to 30 days and accept platform‑provided records (name, home city and dates of stay) as the baseline data, with license‑plate numbers encouraged or collected when reasonably available; change permit renewal frequency from annually to every two years; and align trash‑can screening requirements with the rest of city code. Council also discussed enforcement tools, judicial discretion on fines and possibilities for cure provisions prior to issuing citations.
Council asked staff to produce a redlined ordinance reflecting these changes and to place the revised draft on the Nov. 7 agenda (motion to continue carried). The council did not adopt the ordinance at the Oct. 3 meeting; staff will return with a revised draft and proposed effective date language.
