City of Richmond Planning Commission

Johnathan Bennett, Brandon King, Amber Watts, George Sun, Dylan Lineweaver, Julie Nerenberg

October 19th Meeting Agenda

Short-term Rentals

A guest books a stay in a short-term rental offered by a long-term occupant through an online listing agent such as Airbnb, VRBO, or HomeAway

Stays can be hosted (where the long-term occupant is present) or unhosted, where there is no long-term occupant - 56% of Richmond listings for short-term rentals were unhosted

Whole house, private room, and shared room rentals are all possible - 60% of Richmond listings were for entire houses apartments

Current Operations in RVA

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June 22, 2015: 434 listings available

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July 23, 2015: 543 listings available

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September 01, 2015: 797 listings available

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October 13, 2015: 300 listings available

As of June 22, 2015: there had been over 3,600 reviews in Richmond

5.1% of listings were responsible for 50.1% of the reviews

Average reviews is 8;

The rest of the rentals in Richmond were not reviewed

Existing Enforcement & Complaints

Violator is normally given 30 days to abate the violation

Violation is not abated or an appeal filed within 30 day period, a summons may be issued for criminal court.

Violation of the zoning ordinances is Class I misdemeanor

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Taxation and Estimation of Revenue

• Not currently being taxed
• Would require business license and lodging tax to be collected
• Average price for a Richmond Airbnb listing: $139/night for a whole unit, $80/night for a shared room
• Lodging tax for each would be $11.20 and $6.40 for each type of listing
• Assuming a 180-day limit per listing, max amount of tax revenue annually for the City would be between $1,100 and $2,000

Building Code Requirement

Building Code reclassification

Older structures may be required to comply with the current building code requirements for the new use group

High dependent on the characteristics of each individual property

Health, Fire & Safety Regulations

• Nothing within existing health and fire safety regulations should prevent the operation of a short term rental

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• If the Building Commissioner determines there is a change in use group within the building code regulations, the Fire Marshal’s Office will determine additional fire and life safety measures required

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Enforcement

Reviewing and issuing “permits” relatively straightforward

Paperwork intensive

Enforcement could be a challenge based upon regulations adopted

May be staffing issues

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Next Steps

• Meet with stakeholders for additional input (next 45-60 days)

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• Draft outline proposed ordinance (45-60 days)

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• Review with Planning Commission (early 2016)

Chamberlayne/VUU Neighborhood Plan

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Problems with the VUU/Chamberlayne Area

Lack of neighborhood and retail services

Too many storage and auto uses in critical locations

Corrosion of streetscapes and inconsistent sidewalks

Too much razor wire and fencing

Too many parking lots, not enough green space

Flooding during storm events

Dead ends and dark places

Proposed Solutions

Create a neighborhood and college town center on Lombardy

Attract shops, restaurants, and community services

Build more housing

Improve the appearance and usefulness of streets

Introduce bike lanes, sidewalks, lighting, and signage

Improve stormwater facilities and management

Create more green space

Preserve historic architecture and neighborhoods

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Existing Land Use

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• A hodge podge of different land uses determined by market forces instead of proper zoning
• Large pieces of vacant land
• Over emphasis on single family dwellings

Proposed Land Use

• Consolidated zones
• Implementation of urban mixed use developments
• Greater emphasis on larger open public space

Renderings