ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The Buncombe County Planning Board on Monday decided to “pump the brakes” on proposed regulations on short-term “vacation” rentals, deciding to hold a public hearing to hear residents concerns before tabling the text amendment to allow further study and evaluation.

More than two dozen people signed up to speak at Monday night’s meeting at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College’s Ferguson Auditorium. The crowd included county residents who already own short-term rentals, representatives from management companies, and some residents who are fed up with the rentals in their neighborhoods.

There was applause when board members announced they would “pump the brakes” and defer action on the draft for 100 days in order to improve it. But not everyone was happy at the delay.

“Every month you delay, more affordable houses come off the market,” county resident Ken Brane said. “Please move as quickly as you can. Our neighborhoods need protection.”

Some other speakers told horror stories of crowds of traffic, or even lewd acts, taking place in neighborhoods with short-term rentals.

However, uncertainty over looming regulations for unincorporated areas of the county has been a nightmare of its own for some people in limbo.

County resident Cynthia Frazier said she has four long-term rentals and has been considering a short-term rental for her retirement.

“Now I’m at a crossroads,” she said. “What do I do for my retirement?”

One woman told the panel, “It should not be up to the county to take away our rights.” A man told the group he’d like to see regulations that promote, not discourage, property owners in the county from having vacation rentals. “I’m glad you pumped the brakes,” he said. “I feel like there’s a lot of room to improve these regulations.”

One of the early arrivals at the meeting, Erik Tillman, owns short-term rentals in Asheville. He said he started with one as a way to supplement his income. Now he owns four and manages 30. Tillman said he has taught others how to get financing for short-term rentals to supplement their incomes.

“I’d like to see common sense restrictions,” Tillman said. Referring to provisions in a draft ordinance, he said, “Some of these are common sense, but the vast majority are arguably a wish list.”

He said he hoped that existing owners are grandfathered in. That was in the draft circulating prior to the meeting, “But the commission doesn’t have to abide by that,” he said.

Efforts to draft a text amendment come as the number of short-term, or “vacation” rentals, has sharply increased throughout the region. If approved, the restrictions only would apply to new short-term rentals, county officials said. Existing properties would be grandfathered in. The proposed rules would only be for unincorporated areas of the county, not the municipalities.

The draft being reviewed Monday would:

  • Limit new short-term rentals to certain districts.
  • Set limits on the total permitted square footage of each short-term rental.
  • Prohibit such rentals in manufactured home parks and affordable housing developments.
  • Create requirements around waste disposal, parking and signage.

After planning board consideration, the proposed text amendments would have to be approved by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to become law.

Monday night’s public hearing is one of several that has been held on the proposed changes. It had been expected to include a discussion by the Planning Board and then a vote. However, board members announced less than an hour into the meeting that they planned to listen to comments and suggestions from the public but then table the matter.