City Planning Director Dan Reuter on Tuesday told a City Council committee studying Short Term Vacation Rentals (STVRs) that some business conglomerates are investing in STVRs "at the Goldman Sachs level."
He said, "This is a fairly new thing. We have no illusion that is not happening in Chattanooga as well."
Mr. Reuter said he was pointed to numerous websites on the issue, with one touting, "One of the best places to buy a STVR is Chattanooga, Tn. You are going to make a lot of money."
He said the rentals seem to be booming in tourism areas such as Chattanooga, Nashville, Charleston and Savannah.
Mr. Reuter said that is just one of the issues uncovered during four recent sessions with STVR stakeholders.
The City Council currently has a moratorium on new non-owner occupied STVRs and is studying whether ordinance changes should be made.
Mr. Reuter said there were many calls for better enforcement, including cracking down on the large number of unlicensed STVR operations in Chattanooga.
Caleb Fisher of city zoning enforcement said current enforcement is totally complaint driven. He said officials may know there is an unlicensed STVR in a certain neighborhood, but he said the exact address is usually not given.
Officials said a new online program should go into effect in about two weeks that would give fast identification of those operations.
Councilwoman Jenny Hill brought up the issue of higher fees for non-owner occupied units, who are reportedly making high dollar amounts. She said higher charges could insure that enforcement costs are covered.
She suggested annual fees perhaps based on the number of bedrooms in the residence.
Mr. Reuter said the some 600 legal STVR owners in Chattanooga could be recruited to help in reporting those flouting the licensing process. He said all those may be invited to a meeting on that and other topics.
The city is to ask UTC researchers to help in researching STVR topics, including finding out how other large cities in Tennessee are dealing with the issue.