Neighbors:
Please watch this website or the Planning Commission calendar (https://www.lexingtonky.gov/calendar/events) for a hearing on STRs, and plan to attend.
Addison Hosea, Secretary, East Lake Neighborhood Association
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Dear Neighbors,
The Urban County Council has proposed amendments to Lexington’s short-term rental ordinance and will be sending them to the Planning Commission as a Council-initiated Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment (ZOTA), likely as soon as tomorrow, September 26. The Fayette County Neighborhood Council has commented on the amendments and their administration below. FCNC likes that the current ordinance is being amended, but the proposed amendment needs work to protect neighborhoods. We expect a public hearing to occur just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, and we will need a large turnout if we are to be successful in making changes. See below:
Walt
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September 25, 2024
Lexington Urban County Council and Lexington Fayette Planning Commission
Lexington, Kentucky 40507
Re: Draft Changes to Lexington Short-Term Rental Ordinances
Dear Urban County Council Members and Planning Commissioners:
I am writing on behalf of the Fayette County Neighborhood Council to offer FCNC comments on the draft changes to Lexington’s short-term rental ordinances. FCNC appreciates the efforts of those of you who initiated the regulation of short-term rental properties. It was necessary. We very much like that the Council and Planning Commission will be evaluating the current ordinance for necessary changes. The proposed addition of density and distance requirements of no more than three percent STRs within one thousand feet and a five hundred foot buffer are essential and part of a successful outcome.
STRs diminish available residential housing and quality of local community
FCNC’s position on STRs is that they have been engulfing some neighborhoods and limiting the availability of housing for residents. The increased demand from investors reduces the supply of houses in Lexington and contributes to price increases in the housing market. The growth of STRs in size and numbers has both increased nuisance complaints and encouraged gentrification. STR real estate investors concentrate in neighborhoods with less expensive properties, creating a clear equity issue. A tipping point exists when short-term residents grow and long-term residents decline to the point that neighborhoods fail.
FCNC recommendations for improving STR ordinances
FCNC is early in the process of developing and assessing the new draft and is available for further discussion. We offer the following recommendations:
1. Eliminate conditional use exceptions for STR distance and density.
The buffer area separating STRs and the 3% maximum within one thousand feet should be fixed in ordinance with no exceptions. Granting a conditional use permit for an STR within a designated buffer area or an area exceeding the three percent maximum because a neighborhood is in a “tourist area” would simply eliminate the requirements. Many neighborhoods are in “tourist areas.” The idea that conditional use permits could be issued for STRs that are far apart from each other but are within the same buffer area would simply violate the buffer requirement. It should be clear in the ordinance that “hosted” STRs are to be counted when calculating both the distance and density requirements. Distance and density decisions without concrete standards have led to the current issues within the Board of Adjustment.
Certainty would benefit the public, the Board of Adjustment, real estate investors, and Lexington’s neighborhoods. The BOA could continue to make judgments on occupancy, parking, traffic, and conditional use requests. Setting STR distance and percentage requirements has the added advantage of uncluttering the BOA’s growing agendas.
2. Remove the “hosted” loophole and apply consistent distance and density requirements to all STRS.
FCNC recommends that all “hosted” STRs be subject to distance and density requirements. The exemption needs to be removed because the “hosting” definition does not require that hosts have to be owners. Making unnecessary exceptions simply creates another loophole to avoid spacing requirements.
3. Protect Urban Neighborhoods.
If a neighborhood has buffer zones and/or an area with STRs exceeding 3% within one thousand feet, the BOA should be encouraged not to approve requests for conditional use permits. The idea that a downtown neighborhood is in a “tourist area” because of the proximity to Rupp Arena overlooks the fact that many people visit Lexington to see horse farms, the Bourbon Trail, University of Kentucky athletic events, and Keeneland and stay in places all over Lexington. The tourist area loophole is faulty and needs to be eliminated.
4. Implement a robust citizen complaint system.
The Division of Revenue’s Short-Term Rental Ordinance should add a clause to accept valid citizen complaints independent of citations as a possible cause to revoke a an STR License. Relying on the Lexington Police Department to issue citations will not work for a variety of reasons. Primarily, the Department rarely if ever issues citations to break up parties.
5. Implement a robust citizen complaint system.
The proposed 24/7 hotline for citizen complaints is an excellent idea and should make immediate referrals directly to the Lexington Police Department when appropriate. Records would be desirable on response time. Public education will be necessary on what is necessary for a complaint to be valid. Valid complaints should be referred to appropriate enforcement agencies.
6. Provide neighborhoods with accurate and up-to-date STR information.
Neighborhoods should have access to STR zoning ordinance compliance permits and applications, conditional use permits and applications, and licenses and license applications. Neighborhoods will want to know individual requirements by location and whether an operating STR is licensed or not. Using Accela, which is business-processing software, is too cumbersome for individual resident use.
FCNC appreciates the willingness of the Urban County Council and Planning Commission to consider changes in the current short-term rental ordinance. The original ordinance needs improvement particularly in the area of STR spacing, and the initial draft changes need more thought. FCNC believes that taking residences out of the market for commercial use, when the use is harmful to neighborhoods, is a major issue. The growth of STRs has contributed to the lack of affordable housing in Lexington, gentrification, and our housing shortage and restraints are necessary and desirable.
Thank you for your consideration.
Walter Gaffield, President
Fayette County Neighborhood Council, Inc.