Columbia city leaders held a public meeting Wednesday to hear from the community about zoning regulations.
COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WKRN) — Columbia has turned into enough of a tourist destination that some have chosen to ignore the city’s short-term rental laws to profit off its popularity.
The city had previously increased enforcement on zoning regulations. Since then, though, leaders have considered whether they need new rules. Investors in short-term rentals were worried about changes to enforcement and possibly new regulations.
As of publication, Columbia’s rules allow short-term rentals in homes where the owner lives and in some mixed-use areas. However, some owners have chosen to ignore the rules.
City leaders held a public meeting Wednesday to hear from the community about zoning regulations. Many attendees said that city leaders should give people more options for places to stay to help facilitate tourism.
“When we restrict that, it’s almost like the government is now picking winners and losers as to who can profit from their home and who cannot,” one Airbnb owner said during the public comment portion of the meeting.
However, some at the public meeting wanted short-term rentals out of residential neighborhoods altogether.
“A neighborhood is for neighbors — it’s residential. It’s where families are,” another resident said at the meeting. “Two of the three people who have spoken for short-term rentals don’t live in Columbia.”
Columbia’s planning commission said that they would work on recommendations for short-term rentals after hearing the public’s feedback.
City officials sent News 2 the following statements regarding the public meeting:
“Wednesday night was a historic night in our city—for the first time, we had a community conversation on the topic of short term rentals in our community. A topic of conversation for cities across the country, and something I suspect not even the most visionary of visionaries in our community decades ago could have anticipated. A lot of good came out of this meeting and we will be the leader in this conversation for other communities to follow as a result.”
— Chaz Molder, Mayor
“Approximately 100 people attended the public forum on Short Terms Rentals. People in attendance suggested different approaches to regulating Short Terms Rentals in Columbia. Recordings are available on the agenda portal as well as the city’s YouTube page. In addition to the forum, the city is collecting input through an online survey. The survey will remain open through November 1st. Planning staff will compile stakeholder suggestions and present options for amendments to the text of the zoning ordinance. The Planning Commission will meet on December 4th to consider potential changes to the limited use standards of the zoning ordinance. Those standards cover a range of land uses, including STRs. The City Council will likely consider the Planning Commission’s recommendations at its regular meetings in January and February of 2025. Changes to the zoning ordinance become effective after two considerations by the City Council.”
— Kevin McCarthy, City Planner