Council discusses Airbnb, hears transit update
The Vestavia Hills City Council heard a handful of updates Monday evening before engaging in a single item of business at its second regular meeting of the month.
The first was from Donald Harwell, the council's appointed member of the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority.
Harwell informed the council of the actions the BJCTA has taken over the last few months, including the opening of a central station in downtown Birmingham during the summer.
For fiscal year 2017, Harwell said the BJCTA ended $5.9 million under budget, and its major project for the calendar year, the intermodal facility downtown, is on track to come online in January.
During his update, City Manager Jeff Downes said he had a few items he wanted to bring to the council's attention.
The main issue, he said, involved a series of complaints he and City Clerk Rebecca Leavings have received over the last few weeks.
Downes said that residents have been complaining about Vestavia properties being listed on Airbnb, a short-term rental website aimed at travelers looking for cheaper options than hotels.
“It’s something that up until recently hasn’t been part of the conversation," Downes said, but added that after discussing the issue with Leavings and City Attorney Pat Boone, he and his staff believe that the city's ordinances about property rental would prohibit Airbnb listings.
“We believe that these are not allowed,” he said.
As the city looks at enforcing these violations, Downes said, he wanted to bring the issue before the council to give the elected officials a chance to revisit the ordinances that govern rentals, as short-term rentals like Airbnb were not around when the ordinance was first passed.
“It’s your will as the council as to whether new provisions are put in place or not to allow these in a select manner,” he said.
Mayor Ashley Curry said it was his recommendation that the council form a committee — made up of City Councilors George Pierce and Kimberly Cook — to engage with Downes and city staff in research on the issue, as well as potentially hosting some public meetings to see how residents feel about potentially allowing short-term rentals like Airbnb, with regulation.
Other Council Business Included:
- Downes updating the Council on the completion of the white-way lighting project for U.S. 31. As of Monday, he said all of the lights were functional, and the city was looking forward to saving $75,000 per year in utility costs.
- Downes informing the council that there are ordinances they will need to address in the next year to satisfy the requirements of the new MS4 permit for stormwater management.
- Voting in favor of an amendment to an ordinance regarding a lien on 3363 Mountainside Road, which was the subject of a demolition due to public nuisance and safety. Downes explained the amendment would satisfy an offer from the bank which owns the property to reduce the lien by 25 percent in order to encourage the purchase of the property.