Tybee Island extends short-term vacation rental moratorium two more months

Tybee Island voted to extend its moratorium on short-term vacation rentals (STVRs) once again during Thursday night’s council meeting. The narrow 3-2 vote will take the ban on issuing new STVR permits to properties in the island’s residential neighborhoods over the one year mark until the end of October.

Over the next few weeks, the city will continue to revise the city ordinance governing the operation of STVRs on the island and present the reworked ordinance for the first reading at their Sept. 22 meeting. The second reading, which will codify the new ordinance, is expected on Oct. 13.

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Thursday night’s decision incensed vacation rental companies, realtors and some property owners who say that Tybee is stifling the tourism industry and infringing on property rights.

However, the extension came as a relief to a large swath of the audience, mostly made up of long-time residents, who believe vacation rentals have eroded their residential communities and that over-tourism has contributed to a diminished quality of life.

As neighbors wrapped up their pleas at the podium for council to extend the nearly year-long moratorium, those residents waved signs that read “Save Tybee Neighborhoods.”

The Tybee Island STVR issue up to this point

Tensions between Tybee Island’s longtime residents and the STVR industry stretch far beyond when the moratorium was enacted last September. Vacation rentals have existed in the coastal community since the 1920s according to planning commission manager George Shaw.

Today, these dwellings or rooms rented out for 30 days or less are commonly advertised on sites like Airbnb and VRBO.

Initial story: Tybee City Council enacts short-term vacation rental moratorium; permits paused for 90 days

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Formal regulations in the form of an STVR ordinance did not exist until 2016 and formal data collection of the number of STVRs on the island didn’t begin until five years ago. That data shows a steady climb in the number of vacation rentals on Tybee, growing from about 1,000 to 1,550 units between 2017 and 2021.

STVRs make up about half of the housing units on the island and about 48% of them are located in residential-zoned districts. However, the number of STVR permits does not always correlate with the number of units operating as one. Property owners can choose to rent out seasonally or hold onto a permit for future use.

For the small barrier island of about 3,000 residents, tourism has acted as both a boon and a bane. While businesses thrive, boosting Tybee Island’s local economy, the increased visitation has strained the city’s limited resources such as water and physical infrastructure. Residents regularly lament the lack of parking, unbearable traffic (U.S. 80 is the only way on and off of the island), and noise, as well as pollution, exacerbated during tourist season when the population can multiply tenfold.

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STVR regulation is only one facet of the tourism industry, but it's one that has taken hold as a wedge issue on the island.

What the public had to say

During Thursday night’s public comment period, resident Shirley Wright, who’s been a vocal supporter of STVR regulations implored the council to make meaningful changes: “I urge you to take these two months to resist making little changes in drabs and dribbles because whatever you decide is going to be unpopular … We are divided on the island beyond anything I have ever seen on this issue and I ask that you pull this band-aid off the wound.”

Those who fall on the other side of the line have frequently pointed to the multi-faceted nature of residents’ complaints, arguing that it’s difficult to pinpoint the source of those negative impacts and that day-trippers are also to blame, if not more responsible.

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Cody Jones, who represents a number of realtor associations including the Savannah Area Realtors, said he’s more than happy to help Tybee reign in behavioral issues stemming from STVR guests but opposes the moratorium extension. Jones even cautioned that Tybee Island has gotten the attention of state-wide legislators with this issue.

“There are members of the Georgia Assembly that are probably going to be considering a change in the moratorium powers that municipalities have … precisely because they have interpreted this as an abuse of moratoria,” said Jones. “An antagonism towards tourism and rentals in general leads to a destruction of property values and a destruction of the municipality's housing market and I strongly encourage you do not head down that road.”

Residents have given testimony after testimony illustrating that the STVR industry, which makes up more than a third of their communities, has had an impact. And, while the city might not be able to regulate the number of day-trippers visiting the island, they can implement caps on vacation rentals.

“I’ve seen my neighborhood change from all permanent residents to over half vacation rentals now,” said Anna Butler, who’s lived on Tybee since 1994. “I support the extension of the moratorium so that the new ordinance can be worked out in a fair and equitable manner ... I know not everyone is going to like it.”

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Ultimately, many individuals on both sides of the issue are seeking a balance, one that the city has been working to strike in the past year through surveys, town halls and stakeholder meetings. Small steps have been taken so far, such as increasing permit fees and establishing an occupancy rate. A number of debates are still ongoing, most notably, capping the number of STVRs.

“I do think that there has been a lot of effort that has gone into this process,” said mayor Shirley Sessions, “and I don't know that we can ever have enough. I don't think that we're going to have the answer to everything in a tight ordinate ordinance, but I do think it's the beginning.”

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Tybee Island extends STVR moratorium for two more months