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Covington officials are considering changes to the city's short term rental regulations — and want public input

Greg Hume/Creative Commons

Covington officials took input today on the city's short term rental rules. Dozens of residents signed up to speak, and had a range of views on potential ways to address rentals on sites like Airbnb and VRBO.

The city created licensing and zoning requirements for short term rentals in 2020, but passed a moratorium on licenses last December.

City solicitor David Davidson told attendees at tonight's meeting that the city wants residents to weigh in -- but getting rid of regulations altogether isn't on the table.

"If you're here thinking this is a debate about regulating short term rentals, you're in the wrong place," he told attendees. "We already regulate short term rentals. The question is, how are we going to change what we're doing now?"

There are a number of options Covington City Commission will consider. Those include limiting the number of licenses the city gives out, limiting how many occupants or units a short term rental property can have in it, restricting the number of units in a particular neighborhood or on a specific block, instituting off-street parking requirements and other regulations.

Operators of short-term rentals lined up to ask the city to consider the economic benefits of the units, which offer tourists and other visitors temporary, often more affordable accommodations in properties that aren't hotels or motels. Some argued that the ability to operate short term rentals incentivizes the purchase and renovation of otherwise unoccupied properties.

While some short term rentals are operated by large companies from outside the area, others are owned by locals who use them to supplement their income.

Lindsey Whittle and her husband run Pique, a gallery space in a non-residential part of Pike Street. Until the moratorium, they also operated an Airbnb unit onsite. They say the nature of Airbnb allowed them to book guests around gallery events and subsidize the gallery's operation.

Whittle, like other short term rental operators at the meeting, implored the city to lift its moratorium on new licenses, at least for short term rentals outside residential areas.

"Please don't force a community-enhancing art space that gives creativity at every turn and supports our city as much as we can to close," she said.

But other residents expressed concerns about short-term rentals, saying they can turn residential neighborhoods into what one speaker termed "ghost towns" and should be highly regulated to mitigate issues with noise, parking and safety.

The city instituted its moratorium to address a big upswing in short term rental units. Officials say there are more than 400 unlicensed units currently listed in Covington, and that only about 40 currently have licenses.

Covington resident Missy Spears is worried about the impact short term rentals have on the city's housing affordability. But at the public input session, she said she sees nuances in the issue.

"In the last six years, my rent started out at $675 — it's since doubled" she said. "Now you get about half the amount of square footage for twice the amount of money. I am also a fan of Airbnbs. I stay in them. I love them. But they've just kind of overtaken our city. I'm definitely in favor of a limitation in how many licenses we give out."

But some short term rental operators argued that the number of units represents a tiny fraction of the city's housing stock and that the market might have reached its saturation point anyway. Covington City Commission hasn't drafted any specific new policy yet and will continue to take public input on the issue.

Nick has reported from a nuclear waste facility in the deserts of New Mexico, the White House press pool, a canoe on the Mill Creek, and even his desk one time.