Commission proposes allowing short-term rentals

Two draft ordinances presented to the Henrico County Planning Commission on Thursday would add regulations on short-term rentals and craft breweries, wineries and distilleries to the county’s books.

Short-term rentals have been made popular in recent years worldwide, including in the greater Richmond area, through websites like Airbnb, which allow people to list their rooms, apartments or homes for rent on the platform. Renters can search through the listings by type and location and book a short-term stay often cheaper than hotels or other housing.

Under the current zoning code, these types of rentals are not allowed.

“But if you look at the Airbnb platform by itself, we’ve got between two- and three hundred people doing this right now in the county,” Henrico Planning Director Joe Emerson told the commission.

The Board of Zoning Appeals voted in January to prevent one woman from renting her home on Airbnb after receiving complaints from neighbors about the frequency with which she was doing so.

An ordinance concerning short-term rentals would require someone to be designated as a “responsible person” that law enforcement could contact if the owner or landlord of a property was not available.

The ordinance also would:

• prohibit renting to minors and prohibit double-booking;

• require short-term rental units to have smoke detectors;

• limit the number of short-term renters to two per bedroom;

• and differentiate between hosted and unhosted stays, among other regulations. (An unhosted stay is when the person renting the space is not staying in the home during the length of the rental. These types of stays have generated the most complaints from county residents, according to a presentation given to the Planning Commission.)

Most of the complaints received by the county concern safety, noise, traffic, parking, late night activity and property values, according to county planners. Enforcement of the draft ordinance would be on a complaint-only basis.

Adjustments proposed to craft alcohol facility regulations
The county’s regulations of craft alcohol facilities would also get a cleaning up under the draft ordinance presented to the Planning Commission on Thursday.

Craft breweries, wineries and distilleries, which are smaller and usually do not have large distribution capabilities, have been growing rapidly in the Richmond area and nationwide. A recent Vinepair article named Richmond as the top beer destination in the world in 2018.

Current regulations are behind the trend, said Ben Blankinship, planning division manager of code administration.

The draft ordinance would define terms like “brew pub,” “microbrewery,” and “farm winery,” among others.

The ordinance also would adjust which zoned areas breweries could operate in, dependent on their brewing capacity.

The two draft ordinances were ordered by the Board of Supervisors in February. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on both ordinances – tentatively set for May 10 – and hopes to present both potential ordinances to the Board of Supervisors on June 12.