PLEASE SIGN PETITION: We Support "Type III" Short Term Rentals in Residential Districts in Raleigh

UPDATE, JUNE 6 2017
The City Council voted on the Task Force ordinance today.

According to the NEWS & OBSERVER: "Rather than vote on the proposal, the City Council voted to send it to the Economic Development and Innovation Committee, led by Mayor Nancy McFarlane.

The vote comes almost exactly a year after the council sent a different set of short-term rental regulations to the same committee. That was on June 7, 2016, after the council failed to adopt rules in a 4-4 vote." See full text of N&O story here

UPDATE, MAY 18 2017
At the Task Force meeting tonight, "Option B" and the rest of the Task Force ordinance won enough votes to move to the City Council on June 6.

But we still need to win a majority of votes from the City Council...so we still have to make it obvious to the City Council that Raleigh supports the Task Force ordinance including the very controversial "Option B."

For that reason, please keep sharing this petition...by sending it to friends and family and asking them to sign it.

***ORIGINAL PETITION TEXT***

HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS:
The Raleigh Short Term Rental Task Force has agreed to vote to allow all forms of short-term rentals in Raleigh as long as the dwelling is the primary residence of the owner or a manager - in other words, the owner or a manager lives there at least six months + a day every year (now called “Type I” & “Type II” rentals).

BUT HERE'S THE BAD NEWS:
Any short-term rental in a residential district which is NOT occupied by the owner or a manager (now called “Type III” rentals) for at least at least six months + a day every year is at risk of being voted permanently illegal.

THERE ARE LOTS OF REASONS TO ALLOW TYPE III RENTALS IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS, INCLUDING:
* Neighbors see short-term rentals as good for resale value
* A neighbor might want to rent out his or her own house as a short-term rental in the future, ie after retiring and downsizing to a smaller home
* Neighbors might use short-term rentals when they travel, and they want visitors to Raleigh to have the same wide range of options.
* Neighbors have seen that short-term rentals in their neighborhood are better maintained than long-term rentals, because financial incentives for short-term vs. long-term rental owners are different and often much better.

THOSE WHO OPPOSE TYPE III RENTALS IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS MOST COMMONLY CITE THE FOLLOWING THREE CONCERNS:
1. Transients in their neighborhoods
2. Investors buying up large numbers of homes to use as short-term rentals
3. They see Type III short-term rentals as businesses and they don’t want businesses in residential districts.

WITH RESPECT TO THE CONCERNS OF THOSE WHO OPPOSE TYPE III RENTALS IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS:
1. TRANSIENTS: There’s no evidence that Type III rentals in Raleigh are a problem; in fact, there are about 500 short-term rentals in Raleigh and there have only been 15 complaints over the past 5 years.
2. INVESTORS: There’s no evidence that this is occurring in any large-scale way in Raleigh; Option B below (which we ask you to support) is designed to prevent it from happening.
3. TYPE III SHORT-TERM RENTALS AS BUSINESSES: This concern ignores the fact that long-term rentals, which are prevalent throughout all residential districts of Raleigh, are also businesses.

WHAT OPPONENTS TO "TYPE III" RENTALS IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS FAIL TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT SHORT-TERM RENTALS CAN BE A GREAT BRANDING ENGINE FOR RALEIGH...or a negative for the Raleigh brand if handled badly.

ON THURSDAY MAY 18 2017, THE RALEIGH SHORT-TERM TASK FORCE WILL VOTE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THESE TWO VERY DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR “TYPE III” SHORT-TERM RENTALS IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS (also see attached if you want to see full text of proposed ordinance as it relates to “Type I,” “Type II” and “Type III” short-term rentals):

OPTION A. This version of the ordinance would permit Type I and Type II rentals, as has previously been discussed. This version of the ordinance would allow Type III rentals only in the mixed use districts and not in residential districts. I was asked to clarify that the standards listed in section E.2 (“Use Standards Applicable to all Types”) would apply to Type III rentals in mixed use districts.
See full text of Ordinance with Option A

OPTION B. This version of the ordinance would permit Type I and Type II rentals, as has previously been discussed. This version of the ordinance would allow Type III rentals only in the mixed use districts and not in residential districts. This ordinance contains a new section that would allow any current Type III operator to approach the city for the purpose of notifying the city of the presence of the Type III rental in a residential district. The city would continue to extend compliance times for the Type III rentals for a period of one year. At the end of this one year period, the City Council could reevaluate the Type III rentals based on any feedback or violations received against the units.
See full text of Ordinance with Option B