Tybee Alliance launches second lawsuit against city's STVR ordinance
The City of Tybee Island is facing a second lawsuit from Tybee Alliance, a coalition of property managers and owners who have accused the local government of overreach in their short-term vacation rental (STVR) regulations.
Tybee Alliance, which formed at the height of the STVR debate last year, filed its second complaint against the city on Nov. 28, about two months after their first lawsuit, according to Chatham County Superior Court records.
The second suit claims that the city did not follow local and states rules when adopting the latest amendments to their STVR ordinance during an Oct. 13 council meeting. In the complaint, the Alliance states the city did not provide the ordinance in its final form during its second reading and that council made oral revisions.
Meanwhile, the first suit declares that aspects of the STVR ordinance are unenforceable because the law violates state codes limiting municipal powers on enforcement.
More:Tybee caps vacation rentals. What you need to know about city council's decision, new rules
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The Tybee Alliance plans to remove individual city officials from the first suit’s list of defendants and solely name the City of Tybee Island like in their second complaint. That process requires withdrawing and refiling the suit, said the alliance’s chair, Dustin Church, clarifying rumors that the suit would be withdrawn completely.
Tybee Alliance is joined by other plaintiffs including popular vacation rental companies, Tybee Vacation Rentals and Tybee Beach Vacation Rentals, as well as individual residents.
According to Tybee Island's city attorney, the city has until Feb. 5 to respond to the second lawsuit.
"It will be responded to appropriately and defended as it is the city's position the allegations are in error and the action of council was valid," said city attorney Bubba Hughes in an email.
Tybee Alliance - Second Complaint for Declaratory Judgment by savannahnow.com on Scribd
Community members have frequently clashed on the topic of STVR regulations, especially as the island grows in popularity for tourists, and rental sites like AirBnB and VRBO make short-term renting more accessible.
More:'We are going to damage the island': Tybee residents weigh tourism impact on quality of life
The city council enacted a moratorium on issuing new STVR permits in September 2021, jumpstarting a more-than year-long period of town halls, stakeholder meetings, workshops and discussions on how best to regulate the STVR industry that has proliferated on the island. Residents and vacation rental proponents expectedly clashed on their ideas of balance between tourism and residential quality of life.
Those debates culminated in last October’s council meeting, with the city council passing a number of ordinance amendments. Most notably, members banned the issuing of new vacation rental permits in the island’s residential zones. Other areas, such as commercial and residential-tourism zones, may still see new vacation rentals.
Setting a maximum number of rentals allowed in residential zones was discussed throughout the moratorium, but never realized, though the new ordinance includes a clause that allows the council to set a cap in the future.
For many Tybeeans, the amendments were a step in the right direction toward preserving a sense of community. However, others saw the move as an infringement on their rights as property owners and decried the city for not making a good faith effort to negotiate.
More:No room at the inns? Demand for lodging on Tybee Island fuels economy, strains neighborhoods
“We don’t have a problem with regulation,” said Church, “We have a problem with gutting the island’s economy because some people want a private island.”
In the meantime, Church said the Alliance is working on educating community members about the value of short-term vacation rentals.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Tybee Alliance launches second lawsuit against city's STVR ordinance
