Alexandria’s been seeking public feedback on proposed short-term rental regulations and has started to make changes to the proposed regulation based on feedback.
Namely, city staff said in a presentation that the proposed requirement that an operator/local agent live within 15 miles of the city has been removed.
“Any violations must be resolved within one hour,” staff said. “Where an operator or local agent resides is unimportant as long as they respond in the allotted time.”
The requirements that the short-term rental owner provide certificate of insurance and a parking plan have also been removed. The City has also lifted the proposed prohibition on parties at short-term rentals.
“The prohibition on parties and special events removed,” staff said. “The 24-hour per day maximum occupancy limit will be enough to control and enforce against the large parties residents are concerned about. It would be a bit of overreach to stop guests from having small celebrations.”
The proposed regulations would make several changes to Airbnbs in Alexandria, from a maximum occupancy of two guests per bedroom plus two additional guests at all times to directions on how trash is to be collected.
So far, the City has received 400 individual online responses and thousands of commends. In a video providing an update on the public outreach for the city’s proposed changes to short-term rental regulation, city staff said many respondents don’t want the current regulations to change.
So far, 43% of responses say there should be no changes to short term rental regulations. Another 29% want the new regulations adopted, and 25% want to prohibit/curtail short term rentals entirely, something staff said is not currently on the table.
At the same time, staff said many of the responses have shown that Alexandrians are skeptical of enforcement as it currently exists and the City needs to do a better job enforcing current city code and zoning regulation.
There are currently 727 short-term rentals in Alexandria. This comprises roughly 0.88% of total housing stock and has a negligible impact on housing prices, according to city staff.
A feedback form is available online and will live through Nov. 17.
“Based on comments received, staff may propose additional changes prior to City Council’s consideration of the proposed regulations in February,” a city release said.
