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Board directs staff to draft short‑term rental zoning and a 6% lodging (TOT) ordinance
Summary
Supervisors gave staff direction to draft regulations for short‑term rentals (zoning with special exceptions in subdivisions) and to prepare a transient occupancy (lodging) tax ordinance with a 6% rate for planning commission review.
The Amelia County Board of Supervisors directed staff to prepare an ordinance package addressing short‑term rentals (STRs) and a transient occupancy tax (TOT) after a lengthy policy discussion at its Sept. 17 meeting.
Staff outlined options for STR zoning: allow STRs by right in certain business or multifamily districts, permit them by special exception in residential R‑1 districts within defined village or sanitary district boundaries, or prohibit them in subdivisions. Board members favored a cautious approach that would allow STRs in business and multifamily zones and use a special‑exception review for R‑1 residential areas—particularly inside defined village boundaries or the sanitary district—to give the county discretion on a case‑by‑case basis.
On taxation, county staff recommended a 6% lodging tax; Speaker 7 moved to direct staff to prepare an ordinance reflecting a 6% TOT rate, and to take the draft ordinance to the planning commission for review. The board approved the motion. Staff said the 6% benchmark reflects neighboring counties and would typically split revenue between tourism promotion (state rules apply above 2%) and general fund uses.
Officials noted implementation details—business registration, thresholds for when a rental would be treated as a business and staffing to administer collections—would be refined during drafting and outreach. The board’s direction starts the statutory and planning process; any final ordinance will require further hearings and formal adoption.
