Port Royal declines to set more limits on short-term rentals for now. What’s next?
Port Royal won’t cap the number of short-term rentals in the growing town, at least for now.
After more than a year since a panel began considering new rules, Town Council voted this week not to take up an ordinance with more regulations for rentals like those listed on Airbnb.
Port Royal’s Old Village peninsula includes an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants, historic buildings and newly constructed cottages on a walkable street grid leading to the waterfront. The seaside charm and proximity to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island have made short-term rentals a profitable and popular venture.
But the issue has been contentious.
A task force spent much of last year considering new rules for the rentals as their popularity grows amid the concerns of some related to noise, public safety and how a proliferation of the units might affect a neighborhood.
In a divided vote Wednesday, Town Council members declined to implement new guidelines that would have capped the rentals at 8 percent of the number of lots in delineated areas.
Mayor Joe DevIto, who chaired the task force last year before winning the mayoral race in November, and Councilman Kevin Phillips voted to advance the ordinance.
Jerry Ashmore, Mary Beth Gray Heyward and Darryl Owens voted it down.
The decision leaves the future of the proposed rules unclear.
“I was in favor of moving them forward,” DeVito said. “I believe there was still work to be done on the rules.”
Ashmore and Owens said they voted “no” because the ordinance was placed on the agenda without enough time for discussion and vetting. Both noted there are already short-term rental regulations on the town books.
“If it’s brought back up and we are afforded the opportunity to ask our questions and get more public input, I will then entertain a first reading,” Owens said Friday.
Gray Heyward agreed concerning the short turnaround before the initial vote and noted two bills state legislators are considering related to short-term rentals. She said Friday she continues to oppose limiting the number of rentals in favor of property owners’ rights.
Exempt from the cap under the proposed rules are property owners already operating the rentals, properties in commercial areas and rentals operated by owners who also live on site.
Port Royal’s current rules allow the rentals throughout town and require owners to have an occupational license and pay accommodations taxes. Property owners can be assessed points for noise, parking and trash violations and their permit suspended if enough violations accumulate.
Phillips said during the meeting the town was the only one in the area without an ordinance and did not acknowledging the rules already in place. He said Thursday he was referring to rules limiting the number of rentals.
Public comments opposing the new rules as anti-military were unfair, Phillips said. He said he has heard from people who support more restrictions and still others who are against such rules. The council’s job, he said, is to find a medium.
“I don’t know if it will come back up; there’s no clarity at this moment,” Phillips said Thursday. “That’s what I was disappointed about. I would like to have seen us take a more definitive step and provide some clarity to residents.”
