The City Council is set to take action on first reading on Tuesday night on a process to legalize short term vacation rentals in Chattanooga. The second and final reading is set for the following Tuesday.
The final version comes after several public hearings and extensive discussion by the City Council and staff.
Short term vacation rentals will be allowed in residences with up to nine bedrooms, except that for those in R-1 or R-2 zones the limit will be five bedrooms.
Rentals may be for up to 30 days.
Operators must pay a $125 non-refundable application fee to the city's Land Development Office to obtain a Code Compliance Verification Form.
Operators must aver that they are in compliance on zoning, building, health and life safety code provisions. There must be working smoke alarms. The operator must have a business license and meet maximum occupancy and maximum vehicle requirements.
Those already operating in R-3 and R-4 zones must also obtain a certificate from the LDO.
There will be no on-site signs except where the property is over five acres and not visible from the public road. Then the sign must be at least 50 feet from the public road.
Occupancy is two persons per bedrooms that are up to 140 square feet. For bedrooms over 140 square feet, occupancy is determined by area of the room divided by 70 square feet.
The operator must collect all applicable taxes.
Adequate parking must be supplied that is not on vegetated areas.
The Land Development Office will review the application, and the Regional Planning Agency will place a sign in the yard of the applicant and mail letters to neighbors within 300 feet.
If there are no objections and all requirements are met, the RPA will inform the LDO that the application should go forward.
If there are objections, an appeal goes to the City Council.