CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Clarksville City Council members voted down a proposal repealing a city ordinance regulating short term rentals at their meeting on Thursday, which lasted around four hours.
The ordinance, sponsored by Ward 12 council member Trisha Butler, sought to remove a previous ordinance approved last summer, which placed safety regulations on short term rentals as well as additional fees and taxes. Butler’s ordinance was voted down down on its second reading 6-7
Yes votes included Richard Garrett, Dajuan Little, Wanda Smith, Wanda Allen, Ashlee Evans and Trisha Butler. Those voting no were Vondell Richmond, Wallace Redd, Jason Knight, Travis Holleman, Karen Reynolds, Stacey Streetman and Mayor Joe Pitts.
Butler later said she had prepared an amendment to the resolution that would have created a more targeted repeal, leaving in place certain safety requirements; however, council members voted 11-2 to cease discussion before the amendment could be introduced.
The discussion
Butler spoke at length in defense of her ordinance, which she said resolves an issue of government overreach and legal redundancy.
“I had all but resigned myself to the failure of this repeal, and our failure as a body of representatives in disregarding the 75% majority of Clarksville residents who have told us the do not want this law on the books,” said Butler.
The 75% majority referenced by Butler comes from an informal poll conducted via her Facebook page.
Ward 10’s Streetman, who helped create last summer’s ordinance, defended the current law and said that Clarksville must be prepared as the short term rental industry continues to grow.
“There was lots of research put into this. There was a year spent working on this,” Streetman said. “This is a growing industry, and we need to take into consideration our community.”
Owners and renters sound off
Clarksville Now reached out to local short term rental owners as well, most of whom work with popular rental platform Airbnb, regarding the possibility of repeal.
Most owners agreed that there should be some level of regulation related to safety of guests and neighbors; however, many felt the tax burden imposed on them by the city was too great.
Local real estate agent Johnathan Blick owns several short term rental properties, most of which he rents on a monthly basis. He said the city could have done a better job working with owners to create laws.
“As far as guidance from local government, we really haven’t had much. You’d think they would come to us and ask what we think would be appropriate,” Blick said.
Richard Dixon is a pastor at Bethel Church. After his father had a stroke six years ago, Dixon purchased a home to rent and found Airbnb more profitable. They recently purchased a second property to purchase and rent.
While he agrees with the need for safety regulations, Dixon said that, for small-scale operators like him, increases to taxes and fees had become a lot to keep up with. He said he would like to see the law differentiate between small-scale renters and those with a large number of properties.
“It’s a lot for an individual, small entrepreneur. It’s overwhelming sometimes,” said Dixon. “If you’ve got like 10 locations, you’re running like a boutique hotel and bringing in a lot of dollars. If you’re making over $50,000 a year, you probably do need some regulations. … I wish there was some sort of minimized version or just scrap the whole thing.”
Recent renters also wrote in to Clarksville Now, many referencing the difficulty of purchasing a home in Clarksville and the role of short term rentals in limiting the housing market.
“We rented an Airbnb for two months when we first came into town and we’re trying to buy a house in Clarksville,” said Deanne Vaughn. “We had tried to buy a house, but buying in Clarksville was brutal. Houses had multiple offers, above asking price and the buyer always is paying all closing costs.”
For those two months, Vaughn and her husband Bobby shared a space with multiple individuals, mostly students at Austin Peay State University. The couple eventually managed to find a home. The house they ended up buying sold within 24 hours, and had a total of eight bidders, including the Vaughns.
Following the meeting, Butler said she hopes to revisit the issue of short term rentals again in the future with a more targeted piece of legislation.