By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
After having lobby visitation dominated in recent meetings by discussions of the proposed Pedestrian Residential Zoning, one resident added a new twist to the debate over the proposed updated zoning code.
Steve Ricard presented a statement written by himself and Tom Knox that called for regulation of short term rentals, such as those offered through Airbnb and Vrbo.
They distinguished these from a bed and breakfast, which is owner occupied, and the guest rents a bedroom and is provided breakfast.
While they urge the city to revert to some language regarding bed and breakfast establishments in the existing ordinance, the focus was on short term rentals.
According to the statement read by Ricard, there are currently no bed and breakfast rentals in Bowling Green, and 24 listings on Airbnb and Vrbo for short term rentals. While those exist throughout the city, they are concentrated close to campus and close to downtown.
The proposed zoning code makes no mention of short term rentals (STRs).
While they have their benefits, such as attracting tourists and providing housing during special campus and community events, they have many drawbacks.
Houses are purchased as investment properties to be used for short term rentals, which generate more income than traditional rentals. This reduces the available housing stock without addressing the need for more housing for permanent residents.
These rentals can cause the deterioration of neighborhoods and do not pay lodging and excise taxes.
Without regulation “the negatives will definitely tip the scale,” Ricard said.
They asked that short term rentals be added as a new land use category and “create regulations that are easy to find, easy to comply with, and easy to enforce.”
The city should require registration and fees with yearly renewal and penalties for non-compliance.
Both bed and breakfast and short-term rentals should be conditional uses in R-1, R-2, and Central Residential District.
Other college towns are implementing these kinds of regulations, Ricard said. “Bowling Green needs to be prepared for the positive and negative effects of STRs with some form of control and regulation.”
Resident Winnie Rex addressed what she said was the misconception that citizens had adequate opportunity to comment on the proposed zoning code, particularly the Pedestrian Residential zoning.
She said a quick search of the BG Independent news site found the first mention of the new zoning proposal in an article dated March, 2020, almost three years ago. That article mentioned the desire for “a walkable center in each neighbor and a strong downtown.”
Then she could find nothing until 2022, about time she was made aware of the changes afoot by a concerned friend. Residents were “becoming slowly aware that major changes were underway.”
It would seem that given the amount of time it took to develop the code there would have been time to involve citizen input. Rex contrasted that with the 2018 Community Action Plan process that did involve residents.
While that plan also called for mixed use in parts of the area designated as the Pedestrian Residential Zone, those areas were far more limited. And the plan called for maintenance and enhancement of the essential residential character of the largest sections of Wards 1 and 2, and by extension the parallel residential areas on the west side of Main Street.
ZoneCo, the company hired to develop the plan, took it upon itself, Rex said, “to extend these early plans far beyond the study groups who directly participated in the previous zoning process” and include all the older residential neighborhoods in all wards.
“This goes far beyond the Community Action Plan,” she said.
Council President Mark Hollenbaugh announced that the council will hold a work session in the Veterans Building in City Park on Monday March 13 at 6 p.m. to discuss what citizens have told members of council. There will be no public comment during the work session.
A public forum on the proposed zoning ordinance will be held Thursday, March 23 at 6 p.m. in the Veterans Building.
