Planning commission debates short-term rental rules, staff to draft survey as committee proposal divides members

The Shenandoah County Planning Commission debated how to revise rules for short-term rentals (STRs), with members split between creating a dedicated work committee and using a staff survey to prioritize policy options.

Director of Community Development Lemuel Hancock opened the work session asking how participants wanted to proceed on STR and industrial code topics. Supervisor Dennis Morris and Commissioner James Fagan supported Hancock's proposal that staff draft a survey to help rank priorities; Hancock said staff would draft and internally review the survey before sending it to the Commission and possibly the Board of Supervisors. "This would provide guidance for the group," Hancock said when describing the intended purpose of the questionnaire.

Not all members favored the survey approach. Supervisor David Ferguson said he preferred forming a work committee to draft conditions and argued STRs should not be treated the same as long-term rentals. "I do not think they can be put into the same category and have different circumstances," Ferguson said, citing public safety and welfare concerns about uninspected changes after initial permitting.

Other commissioners suggested application-based fixes rather than ordinance rewrites. Tommy Miller recommended adding application questions, such as whether a STR sits within a homeowners association, to gather more decision-making information. Keith Stephens pressed for stronger permit conditions and asked whether staff could notify STR owners and guests about time-sensitive compliance issues, such as burn bans.

The meeting did not resolve whether a work committee would be formed; Hancock proposed including a representative of the short-term rental community if commissioners decide to create a committee. Staff will prepare the survey as a first step and will separate STR and industrial-code topics at future meetings.