Planning staff to refine bed-and-breakfast event rules; short‑term rental enforcement using vendor platform continues

Planning staff told the board the bed-and-breakfast special‑events text amendment brought to the Board of Aldermen required changes after a B&B owner raised examples illustrating the draft’s limits on small gatherings at inns.

At the Oct. 16 meeting Moe said the previously proposed language would have limited events to registered overnight guests only: “So if you have 4 rooms and they each sleep 2, you could have 8 people at your event, but you couldn't invite anyone else because you had to be staying at the bed and breakfast itself,” Moe said, summarizing the owner’s concerns. The board requested staff meet with bed-and-breakfast owners and the fire marshal to identify reasonable capacity and occupancy approaches before the amendment returns to the planning board.

Moe also updated the board on short‑term rental enforcement. The city uses a platform called Granicus to scan listings and flag units that appear noncompliant; if a listing lacks the required registration the vendor sends an initial notice and the city follows with a second notice and fines if necessary. Moe said the program has had a strong compliance record, with many operators converting to monthly rentals or coming into compliance after contact from staff.

Separately, Moe warned the board to consider state-level constraints when drafting UDO changes, citing Senate Bill 382 (the down‑zoning bill) as a legal factor staff will screen for before advancing potential zoning changes.

Next steps: staff will meet with B&B owners and the fire marshal, revise the text amendment language, and bring the revised draft back to planning board review in the coming months.