Short-term rentals now allowed citywide

By Randy Bell

A City ordinance has been changed to permit the short-term rental of housing accommodations in any residential area of Clinton, not just the Olde Towne Historic District.  

However, the Board of Aldermen still plans to consider each request on a case-by-case basis, and neighbors will be given an opportunity to register any objections.

Under the ordinance, a short-term rental unit is defined as “any building or portion thereof that is available for use or is used for accommodations or lodging of (a) guest paying a fee or other compensation for a period of between two (2) and twenty-nine (29) consecutive days.”  

Initially, such rental units were limited to Olde Towne, where only a handful have gotten City approval.  However, similar rentals have been offered in other parts of Clinton in violation of the ordinance.  Board members are hoping that allowing short-term rentals citywide will convince owners and rental agents who’ve been operating illegally to register those units in compliance with the revised ordinance.

“This will maybe encourage them to do it the right way,” said Ward 6 Alderman James Lott, who made the motion to approve the change.  “There’s still a caveat in the ordinance [for] residents to be alerted when there is a [short-term rental request] coming before us, and they can voice their concerns with us or even show up for the [Board of Aldermen] meeting.”  

According to Lott, those public comments will help guide the Board in determining whether to approve a short-term rental application.

Ward 5 Alderwoman Beverly Oliver voted against the ordinance revision. 

“I know a lot of people are not for short-term rental all over the city,” she told her colleagues at the Board’s October 21 meeting.  Oliver said she’s concerned that older neighborhoods don’t have homeowner association covenants which can prohibit short-term rentals.

While the discussion focused on properties offering accommodations for a couple of days or a few weeks, Ward 1 Alderwoman Karen Godfrey, who is a Realtor, believes the city has too many long-term rental houses.  

“I think we’re going to have to figure out how to limit that,” said Godfrey. “I’ve brought it up before, and we really have not gotten down and talked about how we can make that happen.  There are streets [where] there are more rentals than homeowners.  And we just can’t have that here.”