BY KARISSA MILLER

Iredell County commissioners are committed to addressing complaints caused by the occupants of short-term rental properties.

The board held a special meeting earlier this week in an effort to better understand the complaints associated with these properties and to discuss the best ways to resolve them. A small group of residents who live near some of these properties attended the meeting at the Iredell County Cooperative Extension office.

Short-term rental property owners use services such as Airbnb and Vrbo to rent their property. These short-term rentals have become popular alternatives to hotels for vacationers and travelers.

Some residents have expressed their growing frustrations and concerns with short-term rental properties along Lake Norman and other parts of the county for a few years.

The Lake Norman rental properties have drawn an increasing number of vacationers because of their proximity to the lake. Neighbors said some areas have a “party or frat house” environment, which results in noisy nights and traffic issues, diminishing the quality of life for permanent residents.

According to county officials, there is no way to track the number of short-term rentals in the county, but commissioners have been told that there are hundreds of properties.

County Attorney Lisa Valdez told commissioners that there isn’t a specific state law that gives counties authority to handle the issues associated with short-term rentals.

“The only option is through your noise ordinance and through zoning and regulate it as a land use” issue, Valdez advised. “Some counties have been successful doing this. Others have not.” 

Next Steps

Commissioners asked Valdez to look into starting the process of drafting a document that addresses short-term rentals through zoning guidelines that set occupancy limits.

The county attorney will research the feasibility of having property owners apply for a special use permit from the county before operating a short-term rental. She will also look into the county’s ability to require a separate permit for weddings, which is what some of the short-term rentals are being used for.

“It’s a work in progress,” Vice Chairman Bert Connolly said. “There’s a lot of things that we have to iron out and discuss further, but it’s a start.”

Connolly asked if any short-term rental property owners have been sent a letter about the problems associated with their property. After learning the answer was no, the board agreed that the county would send a letter to property owners detailing the complaints about their specific property.

“Half of these people probably don’t even know, and that could curve about 10 percent of the problem,” he said.