Buncombe County Planning Board to consider zoning restrictions for short-term rentals

Proposal calls to limit single-family vacation homes to commercial districts

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
December 14, 2023

The Buncombe County Planning Board, on Dec. 18, will consider amendments that would limit short-term rentals to commercial zoning districts. Shutterstock image

Proposed text amendments to the county zoning ordinance, intended to limit single-family short-term rental units to commercial districts, will be presented to the Buncombe County Planning Board at 9:30 a.m., Monday, Dec. 18. 

The recommendation, which aligns with the Buncombe 2043 Comprehensive Plan approved in May, will be considered by the nine-member board at 30 Valley Street in Asheville. 

The comprehensive plan includes six text amendment modules that culminate in the establishment of a unified development ordinance, designed to “modernize the current development regulations” in the county by codifying regulations into a single ordinance. 

Short-term rentals, or lodging rented for less than 30 days, represent the first priority among the modules, which range from environment, energy and safety to economic development. County staff will introduce the proposed short-term rental amendments in the December meeting of the planning board, which anticipates holding as many as four meetings to consider the proposal. 

The amendments would limit the use of dwellings for the purpose of short-term rental exclusively to five commercial zoning districts: neighborhood service, commercial service, employment, public service and conference center-resort. Detached single-family dwellings would remain a permitted use in residential districts, while complexes of short-term rental units would be allowed in the open use district through a special use permit. Existing vacation rentals would operate as legal and non-conforming with zoning regulations, while future property owners would be prohibited from continuing that use. 

The memorandum supporting the proposal cites data from software company AirDNA, which identified 5,268 short-term rental units in the county, as of 2022, representing 4.5% of the housing stock. Vacation rentals, the document states, account for approximately 68% of the county’s rental housing gap of 7,699 units.

“The proposed text amendments aim to prioritize existing and new long-term housing stock,” the memorandum reads. 

“These text amendments seek to mitigate the impact of STRs on affordable housing stock by limiting use of existing and future residential development for STRs.,” the memorandum continues. “The goal is to create more long-term rental and owner-occupied housing opportunities for residents and the local workforce.”

More than 12.5 million visitors in 2021 generated $2.6 billion in revenue for Asheville, according to an Oxford Economics Co. study on the economic impact of visitors presented at the Explore Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau. A study by the Smart City Policy Group of Austin, Texas, published in 2021, estimated short-term rentals combined with the direct spending of those who use them accounted for $424 million of the tourism revenue in Asheville and Buncombe County.

Vacation rentals accounted for approximately 34% of lodging sales in 2022-23, according to the Buncombe County Tourism Development Association.  

Several western N.C. municipalities, including Sylva, Highlands, Asheville and Black Mountain, have adopted ordinances or considered regulations regarding short-term rentals in recent years. Asheville notes a distinction between non-owner occupied “short-term vacation rentals” and “homestays,” accessory structures on owner-occupied property. 

Last March the Town of Black Mountain instructed staff to work with the local planning board to include ordinances requiring short-term rentals to post the town’s garbage and recycling information, trash management and noise ordinance policies. Each unit will be required to limit occupancy in accordance with available parking.

A report presented by town staff cited Black Mountain’s “long history” as a vacation destination and a population in which nearly half of the residents are retired as unique elements of the local economy.  

The amendments proposed by the county, are intended to “prioritize existing and new long-term housing stock.” 

County staff assert the proposed amendments will “affect low and middle-income renters, home buyers and local workers” by creating additional long-term rental availability. 

“To measure the success of these zoning ordinance changes, staff will use the performance metrics from the Buncombe 2043 Comprehensive Plan,” according to the county planning and development department. “These metrics will measure the increase in the number of ownership units and rental units which are affordable to households earning less than 80% Average Median Income.”

The Buncombe County Planning and Development Long Range Planning Division memorandum regarding short-term rental text amendments can be viewed on the Buncombe County Panning Board public input web page.