Commission denies two short-term-rental special-use requests, approves bar consolidation downtown

At its Feb. 3 voting meeting the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission denied two special-use permits for short-term rentals and approved a downtown bar consolidation.

Abby Lman, owner of the property at 210 East Cloverhurst Avenue, told commissioners she and her family use the townhouse as a second home and rely on short-term rentals for supplemental income; she requested flexibility and said long-term leasing would not work for her family. Neighbor Rita Kelly opposed the permit, saying RM-1 neighborhood rules should favor owner-occupied accessory dwelling units and expressing concerns about parking and noise near campus. Commissioner Hamby moved to deny the application because the property is not owner-occupied and is near campus; the motion carried.

A second short-term rental application for 249 Fifth Street was not contested by public speakers but had been recommended for denial by the planning commission. Commissioner Link moved to deny to uphold that recommendation, citing the single-family character of the neighborhood; the motion carried.

On a separate planning item, David Matheni spoke on behalf of bar owner Jason Dunn about combining two adjacent licensed bar spaces at 429 and 431 East Broad Street (and 420 East Clayton) into a single operation called Double Barrel Bar with no change in occupancy load or exterior appearance. Commissioner Wright said consolidation would reduce the number of liquor licenses and meet fire-marshal criteria; the commission approved the special-use ordinance.

Attorney Drake read the ordinances associated with each item and the commission recorded voice votes for the short-term rental denials and for the bar consolidation approval. No monetary penalties or conditional permits were issued; the denials were final decisions on those special-use requests at this meeting.