Iredell County planning board reviews revised short-term rental rules as lawsuits remain pending

Iredell County planning board members on Jan. 7 heard a presentation from county attorney Lisa Valdez and staffer Matthew on a proposed text amendment to the county's 2023 short-term rental regulations intended to address issues raised in two pending lawsuits.

Valdez told the board that a judge entered a preliminary injunction in January 2024 that halted enforcement, and that the county has not processed applications or issued permits while the litigation proceeds. "We have not processed any applications. We haven't done permits," she said, describing mediation and a plan to revise the ordinance to respond to plaintiffs' concerns while preserving protections for neighborhoods.

The draft removes a zoning-permit requirement for short-term rental use while keeping the ordinance's substantive standards, a change Valdez said was intended to address plaintiffs' allegation that a permit process creates a registry. She cited a municipal case involving Wilmington as part of the legal context and said the change is not intended to remove regulatory standards: "That doesn't mean that they're not required to still meet the standards that are set forth here."

The amendment also clarifies occupancy rules, tying occupancy calculations to septic-tank permitting where properties are not connected to a municipal sewer system. Valdez described the environmental rationale: "A house that was permitted as a 3 bedroom house and a septic tank with a septic system that was permitted for 3 bedrooms was having 20 occupants in it, which then causes an issue with the septic tank." She said municipal sewer systems — as operated by a municipal government — are treated differently; package or community sewer systems do not qualify as municipal systems under the draft.

Other changes include tightening the definition of "event center" to make clear that rentals used for large gatherings may be regulated as event centers under the zoning ordinance, and adding notice provisions requiring hosts to provide guests written information about parking, occupancy and other requirements. Valdez said enforcement language was clarified and that the county can pursue civil remedies, including suing out-of-state property owners to collect fines and stop violations.

Board members asked about the scope of litigation and the chance the revisions would prevent future suits. Valdez said there are two cases with multiple claims, some federal claims were dismissed and returned to state court, and the county is likely to consolidate the filings. "The hope is, though, that this addresses those concerns to resolve the 2 that we have," she said, but added she could not guarantee the absence of future lawsuits.

Members pressed staff for quantitative context: Valdez said she had a roughly two-year-old estimate that short-term rentals numbered in the low thousands and were concentrated around the lake but said she would follow up with updated figures. Residents and board members raised concerns about neighborhood impacts, including noise and light pollution near lakefront properties; staff said a noise ordinance was reviewed during the 2023 stakeholder process and offered to provide the board a copy for further consideration.

The planning board treated the session as information-only and was told it will deliver a recommendation to the county commissioners at their Feb. 4 meeting. The draft amendment remains subject to further questions from the board and potential legal considerations; Valdez encouraged members to send follow-up questions to staff or her office before the February meeting.