WILMINGTON — The short-term rentals debate in Wilmington could be closer to resolution after more than two years of indecision from city officials. The City of Wilmington’s Planning Commission Wednesday will hold a public hearing to present proposed restrictions on short-term rentals in the city limits.
The restrictions would come in the form of a land code amendment. One of the most important updates would be the distinction between two different types of rentals, “whole-house” lodging and “homestay” lodging. Whole-house rentals are rentals of an entire home, without a host on-site during the rental period. Homestay rentals offer rooms for rent while the primary owner of the home remains on-site during the rental period.
According to city documents, “The two types of whole-house lodging proposed are distinguished by the level of supervision.
Type I whole-house lodging would include units rented while the person who lives there is away from home, for example, while traveling for business or away on vacation, as well as one unit within a duplex, triplex, quadraplex and accessory dwelling units where the operator lives in one of the units on the property.
Type II whole-house lodging would include those units used exclusively for whole-house lodging where there is “no principal resident (principal residence is currently defined in the code and must be a person’s voting address and where they live for at least 183 days per year).”
New requirements
- If approved, there would be several new requirements for short-term rentals. For example:
- Registration would be required for all rentals in the city limits, regardless of the type of lodging.
- Short-term rental permits would not be available to corporations or LLCs; permits would only be issued to actual people.
- Only one permit per person would be available.
One important aspect of the proposed registration is the limit of one permit issued per person. This means any homeowner who has multiple rentals would not be able to register more than one house in their name within residential districts. The newly proposed restrictions would also restrict the registration to a property owner, not just a “host,” according to city documents.
There is also a proposed requirement regarding the distance between Type II rentals. According to the documents, the homes would “Require 400 feet (within 1945 Corporate Limits) or 650 feet (outside 1945 Corporate Limits) of separation between type II whole-house lodging uses.”
It is not yet known how many homes would be affected if this distance requirement is approved, or how the permits would be issued if there were homes currently within the distant requirement.
“As it is currently proposed, all short-term lodging establishments would have to come into compliance with the new regulations,” Senior Planner Christine Hughes said. “City Council will have to determine how a registration process would unfold — lottery, first-come, first-served, etc.”
The Planning Commission will meet on Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall. If approved, the amendment would then be passed on to City Council for final approval.
Michael Praats can be reached at Michael.p@localvoicemedia.com
