Hamilton County Commissioner Proposes Exemptions for Vacation Rentals Ban
The Hamilton County, Tennessee, Commission recently approved a ban on vacation rentals on lots of less than an acre in both residential and agricultural zones in unincorporated areas. Now, Commissioner Joe Graham, who has been a vocal critic of any ban, is floating the idea of creating exemptions on a district by district basis. He suggested that commissioners should be able to exempt their districts, as he explained that the district he represents, including Lookout Mountain and many tourist attractions, is severely impacted by the new rules. “Another thing I’m afraid of is that the people of my district who have bought lots that they think they can do short term vacation rentals, I mean, I’m going to encourage them to sue the county because they bought it with the premise they could do that, because of the rules that were in place at the time. So what I’m saying is this would solve a whole world of problems if we can come up with these areas or overlays or however you want to call it,” said Commissioner Graham. County Attorney Rheubin Taylor said a new resolution would have to be created to entertain this idea. Additionally, the Commission will have to revote on an amendment that would have changed the size of a lot impacted by the ban because Attorney Taylor explained that proper parliamentary procedures were not. The amendment had passed by a five to four vote, but was deemed to fail because of a belief that six votes were required to pass the amendment, and not just a simple majority of present commissioners. Commissioners Ken Smith and Warren Mackey were not present for that vote.
WDEF (07/17/24) Nick Hill
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