The City of Tybee Island was served because of its short-term vacation rental ordinance.
The city’s ongoing attempts to regulate the short-term vacation rental industry (STVR) prompted a group of vacation rental companies and individual homeowners to file a lawsuit in Chatham County Superior Court Wednesday morning. The plaintiffs, who call themselves the Tybee Alliance, allege that Tybee Island’s existing STVR regulation, enacted in 2016, is not legally enforceable under Georgian law.
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The city of Tybee Island as well as individual council members, the mayor and the city manager are named as defendants.
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Tybee officials are in the process of updating the ordinance and enacting stricter regulations. The updated law is currently in draft form but could be up for adoption at the next Tybee Council meeting, scheduled for October 13.
During the Council’s last meeting in September, discussions about possible new regulations limiting the number of holiday rentals on the island drew public comment for more than two hours.
Homeowners, property managers and others who opposed the proposed changes accused the city of restricting property rights. Several speakers begged the council not to enact an amendment that would prevent houses in neighborhoods from becoming vacation rentals if they weren’t already registered as such.
Others, mostly longtime residents, encouraged the city to push the regulations, citing long-needed guard rails against the emergence of vacation rentals in their neighborhoods and the diminution of a sense of community.
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The next step was legal action
For over a year, Tybee Island has imposed a moratorium on issuance of new STVR permits for land in the city’s residential areas. During that time, the city has hosted town halls, stakeholder meetings, and workshops to discuss how STVRs can be better regulated while still addressing the interests of businesses and residents.
So far, the city has enacted a new fee structure for STVR properties and an occupancy rate. Other discussions, namely the imposition of a cap on the number of STVRs in certain zoning districts, were raised, explored and analyzed throughout the moratorium period.
Members of the Tybee Alliance have engaged in the dialogue. With a vote on the regulation imminent, the time has come for legal action, according to Dustin Church, executive chairman of the Tybee Alliance.
“We have spent the last year as holiday home managers and as a broader coalition working hand-in-hand with council to find solutions that work for everyone, protect workers’ rights and the property rights of homeowners, not the island’s economy no harm,” Church said.
Church said the alliance recognizes that excessive tourism can occur and supports the creation of a livable community. However, after months of trying to find a compromise, they feel that the city is not aiming for the touted balance between the tourism industry and the needs of residents.
“The very same regulations that were proposed 4-5 months ago were exactly what was put on first reading two weeks ago,” Church said, “we must defend our customers, employees and the very existence of tourism on Tybee… We feel.” we’ve been pushed into a corner.”
The lawsuit addresses many alleged shortcomings in the regulation
The lawsuit alleges that several aspects of Tybee Island’s current STVR ordinance violate Georgia law and are therefore unenforceable. Church said the coalition will amend the lawsuit to address any changes added in the draft regulation as needed.
Tybee’s STVR regulation has been amended at least eight times, according to the lawsuit. As previously written, local ordinance requires properties to register with the city and obtain a permit, which must be renewed annually, if they are to operate as short-term vacation rentals, defined as homes or units rented for 30 days or less guests are rented .
However, the lawsuit states that the existence of an STVR registry violates a portion of the Georgia code that limits municipal enforcement powers. The code reads in part: “In no event shall a local government require the registration of residential rental properties.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the city’s mandated fees violate a portion of the Georgia Code governing revenue and taxes, which reads: “A local government has the authority to charge any business or practitioner of a profession or profession only if a Regulatory fee to be paid when the local government usually conducts investigations or inspections.”
However, local enforcement laws prevent the Tybee government from conducting such inspections, the complaint said. According to the same chapter on local authorities, “no local government is authorized to conduct surveys or inspections of rented accommodation unless there is a probable cause”.
The cities of Savannah and Thunderbolt have similar permit fees and renewal requirements for STVRs operating within their city limits.
The coalition’s frustrations don’t lie with these other cities, however, Church said.
“We have waited until this point to file because we wanted to do everything possible and exhaust all other options before reaching the point of litigation,” Church said. “At this point we are a week away from a second reading, we have exhausted all other options.”
Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter for Chatham County communities. You can reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.
