Board approves STR at 904 16th Avenue with no-gravel-parking condition

The City of Tuscaloosa Zoning Board of Adjustments approved ZBA03-26 on Jan. 26, allowing a special exception for a short-term rental at 904 16th Avenue in Council District 4, subject to a prohibition on parking in a gravel area that staff said lies in public right-of-way.

A staff presenter told the board the property previously appeared before the board and had been approved with the condition that the gravel driveway not be used for parking; if approved again, staff recommended placing the same condition on the property. The presenter said the house is three bedrooms and three bathrooms, is not owner-occupied, and is managed by an experienced operator; the staff presenter explained the engineers’ concern that much of the gravel area is in the right-of-way and therefore should not be used for parking.

Tanner Ashcraft, who identified himself as the property manager for Budget Real Estate LLC, said his firm manages the adjacent house with the shared driveway and that he was not involved in the prior proceeding. Ashcraft said he had assumed the gravel area could be used for parking but acknowledged the prior condition; he told the board that will not be a problem. The chair stated the limits for this approval in the transcript as four adults, two vehicles, a 30-night maximum and a one-year probation provision.

Board members voted in favor of the petition and the chair announced the approval; the resolution incorporates the no-gravel-parking condition previously applied to the property. The transcript records multiple affirmative votes and no in-person opposition.