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Residents press council on short-term rentals; council says staff will return with options
Summary
Residents and council discussed short-term rentals, with a local resident warning that investor-run properties operated through LLCs are being used as transient lodging and others disputing that characterization; council said staff is reviewing potential regulatory options.
A West Columbia resident urged the council to consider tighter rules for short-term rentals (STRs), arguing that some properties are being operated by investors and limited-liability companies as hotel-like businesses in residential neighborhoods.
“I think it’s a massive operation that utilizes Airbnb and booking.com,” said Justin Novella, a lifelong West Columbia resident, who described examples of transient guests and difficulty contacting property operators. He argued that properties managed through LLCs shift the neighborhood impacts onto long-term residents and are treated operationally like traveler accommodations.
Other speakers — including neighbors who have lived beside the properties — disputed parts of Novella’s account, saying at least one owner is local and had improved a property that had been vacant and overgrown. Council members asked staff for records of code-enforcement contacts and police calls and directed staff to return with proposed regulatory options.
Mayor Tim Miles and council members expressed reservations about STRs in residential areas and said the city is reviewing what actions it can legally take. One council member asked staff to prepare recommendations and suggested possible code amendments to distinguish owner-occupied rentals from transient commercial operations.
The council did not take immediate legislative action on STRs at the meeting; members asked staff to bring options back for council consideration.
