WILMINGTON — The City of Wilmington’s Planning Commission will again discuss the topic of short-term rentals in the Port City – but this time, staff is offering recommendations.
If approved, the recommendations would then be scheduled for public hearing – and, finally, approval by Wilmington City Council.
With the increased popularity of peer-to-peer rental sites like Airbnb and VRBO, these relatively unregulated properties have caused some Wilmington residents to demand regulation from the city.
But some of the suggested regulations could mean trouble for some of the approximately 514 rental units already in the city.
The Planning Commission will hold a special work session Wednesday at 4 p.m. The short-term rentals debate has been ongoing since 2015, and last month staff gave a presentation to the commission on the topic.
The proposed regulations would amend the city’s Land Development Code, “to add short-term lodging as a use permitted with prescribed conditions to add homestay as a permitted home occupation … and to add and revise several definitions and to delete the definition of guest lodging,” according to the city staff’s case summary (embedded below).
The regulations would reference two distinct types of peer-to-peer rentals. The first distinction would be “short-term lodging,” which would refer to whole-home rentals. The second would be “homestays,” or the rental of rooms while the owner of the property remains on site.
Staff recommendations would allow short-term lodging as well as homestays in residential, historic, and multifamily districts – but that doesn’t mean it would be a free-for-all.
Operators of homestays in Wilmington’s residential, historic, historic residential, historic mixed use, and multifamily districts would be required to register with the city on an annual basis, and the property of registration must be the operator’s principle residence.
The recommendations would restrict the number of short-term rentals to no more than one per square block, numerical block, or within 650-feet of another rental unit – when more than one registration overlaps, the permit will be granted on a first-come basis.
The number of rooms permitted for homestays would also be limited to a maximum of three guest rooms. For those who want to sell their property, the city would not allow the transfer of short-term rental permits. The would mean the new owners would have to reapply for a permit.
For short-term lodging in residential, multifamily, and historic districts, similar rules could apply. That includes the rule limiting the number of rentals within a certain amount of area.
Homestays and short-term lodging would not be limited to a certain number of units in the following districts: office and institutional, community business, regional business, central business, airport industrial, river front mixed use, urban mixed use, and mixed-use.
While none of these recommendations have been approved – the city appears to be poised to make a decision. The issue is on the City Council’s agenda for July 18.
Short Term Lodging Case Summary – City of Wilmington Planning by Michael James on Scribd
