Embedded Files
UPDATE:
SB 1701 was defeated in the House Counties, Cities and Towns Committee’s Subcommittee #2 on February 13th in a 5-3 vote.
The matter is over for the year in the General Assembly, but may likely re-emerge next year. Litigation, however, continues in the courts.
We are grateful for the assistance of Sen. Marsden, Sen. Saslaw and Del. Kory.
Also, sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to write letters and to all who shared their letters with us.
Action Needed by Wednesday, Feb 13th, 2019
Senate Bill 1701, a bill that will undermine the Short Term Rental (i.e. Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway) regulations adopted by Fairfax County after a lengthy discussion with residents, has quickly moved through the Virginia Senate and is now in the Virginia House Committee on Counties, Cities & Towns (CC&T).
The proposed Bill is a blow to local authority given to Fairfax County and other localities by the State in 2017 to regulate Short Term Rentals. Fairfax County’s Short Term Rental regulations just went into effect in October 2018. As enacted the regulations already call for a review period of 18 months. There is no compelling need for action by the State.
We ask you to please write to the members of the House CC&T committee and urge them to “VOTE NO” on SB 1701 and preserve Fairfax County’s authority to regulate Short Term Rentals.
The bill seeks to change County regulations allowing Short Term Rentals for 60 nights/year and increase the number of rental nights to 180 nights/year.
Contact Information for House CC&T Committee members:
DelRIngram@house.virginia.gov ; DelCStolle@house.virginia.gov; DelDMarshall@house.virginia.gov; DelCPoindexter@house.virginia.gov; DelBThomas@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMorefield@house.virginia.gov ; DelKHodges@house.virginia.gov ; DelMWebert@house.virginia.gov ; DelTAustin@house.virginia.gov ; DelJCampbell@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMcGuire@house.virginia.gov ; DelBThomas@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMcNamara@house.virginia.gov ; DelCHerring@house.virginia.gov ; DelSHeretick@house.virginia.gov ; DelJBell@house.virginia.gov ; DelPKrizek@house.virginia.gov ; DelMMullin@house.virginia.gov ; DelCHayes@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMcGuire@house.virginia.gov ; DelDReid@house.virginia.gov ; DelDRoem@house.virginia.gov ; delkmurphy@house.virginia.gov
Thank you.
Mason District Council
December 13, 2018
Proposal for 72 Residences at Gallows Rd/Libeau Lane Near 495
Many thanks to all who came to the public meeting on Tuesday Nov. 27th and who are writing letters and making phone calls to our county representatives about the Woodburn Manor Independent Living Facility proposal for 72 residences on Gallows Rd/Libeau Ln. near 495.
At the meeting on the Nov 27th The Mason District Land Use committee unanimously voted to not recommend approval of the Woodburn Manor proposal to the Planning Commission. The Annandale Blog covered the meeting in a recent post: https://annandaleva.blogspot.com/2018/11/land-use-committee-rejects-55-housing.html
Since then, we have received notification of the postponement of the Planning Commission public hearing originally scheduled for December 6th, 2018 to JANUARY 9th 2019. See below.
For those who still would like to send a letter with concerns or comments about the proposal, please direct your emails to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors at plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov and clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov. Make sure that you reference Woodburn Manor SE2018-MA-005 and be sure to sign your name and address.
We will keep you updated of any additional news that we receive related to the proposal.
Sincerely,
The Board of The Mason District Council of Community Associations
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REMINDER: Meeting re: Proposal for 72 New Residences on Gallows Rd. near 495
WHEN: Tues., Nov 27th 7:30 pm at Mason District Govt Center (6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale, Virginia 22003)
A reminder that there will be a public meeting on November 27th at 7:30pm about the proposal for 72 new residences at Gallows Rd/Libeau Ln near 495. There will be opportunity for public comment.
Fairfax County Planning and Zoning staff recently released a report on the matter and is recommending approval of the proposal subject to development conditions: http://ldsnet.fairfaxcounty.gov/ldsnet/ldsdwf/4644002.PDF.
MDC Officers Election Results:
Debbie Smith - Chair
Carol Turner - Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Debbie Fraser - Fairfax Federation Representative
SHORT TERM RENTAL MATTER:
On Tuesday July 31, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a zoning ordinance amendment allowing Short Term Lodgings (rooms or entire dwellings rented through platforms like, Airbnb, Flipkey, VRBO on a nightly/weekly basis for less than 30 consecutive days) in all Fairfax County residential districts. Despite strong opposition from a large number of Mason District residents, Supervisor Gross voted in favor of the ordinance allowing these Short Term Lodgings.
Details of the new Short Term Lodging (STL) zoning ordinance amendment:
A permit will be needed to operate a STL -- $ 200 for a 2 year permit
Dwellings or portions of dwellings that are the permanent residence (more than 185 days) of the STL operator (owner or a tenant) may be rented for up to 60 days per year
An STL operator will not be required to be on premises during rentals but a point of contact is to be designated in case of problems during rentals
Up to 6 adults and an unlimited number of children may stay at a STL
1 contract per night
1 designated parking spot for STL customers
County will ask STL platforms (i.e.,Airbnb, Flipkey, VRBO) to include permit number and location of parking spot in STL advertisements
No rentals for events or for commercial purposes (parties, fundraisers etc)
Dwelling must be available upon request for inspection at a” reasonable time” by Dept. of Code Compliance
STLs will be subject to Transient Occupancy Taxes
With their vote the Board rejected more restrictive recommendations passed by the Planning Commission which sought to limit STL rentals to 45 days/year and also recommended limiting the number of days rented without the operator present to 14 out of the 45 day total.
Questions and concerns MDC presented that remain unanswered include:
No limit on number of STL permits per dwelling (multiple tenants could all obtain permits)
Meaning of “available” related to point of contact when rental occurs without operator present
No increased budget or new employees for Dept. of Code Compliance
No change in hours for Dept. of Code Compliance, so hours will remain M-F 9-5pm even though most STL activity occurs on evenings and weekends.
Most regulations in the ordinance are unrealistic to enforce
The ordinance may cost more to implement than revenue generated (no analysis provided by County)
Presents serious issues for HOAs i.e.,common property liability, insurance and existing covenant language may need to be changed (expensive, onerous)
No health and safety inspections required
The ordinance will take effect on October 1, 2018.
VIDEO - MDC 4/17/18 COMMUNITY MEETING WITH COUNTY REPS
GENERAL CONCERNS:
Fairfax County is proposing to allow short-term lodging (STL) in residential districts, that is, rentals of rooms or dwellings for periods of less than 30 days. Currently, STLs such as those offered through Airbnb and VRBO, are prohibited in Fairfax County.
The county now proposes that STL rentals will be classified as “hotels” in the zoning ordinance and allowed to operate as such in residential districts in accordance with regulations available on line athttps://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-zoning/sites/planning-zoning/files/assets/documents/zoning ordinance/proposed amendments/shorttermrental.pdf. The prospect of STL hotels operating in our residential communities is an important issue for county residents and deserves our attention. A few pertinent questions are the following:
Compatibility: Are STL hotels compatible with the character of our residential districts?
Safety: Would STLs introduce safety and security concerns, in particular for our children?
Transients’ Casual Respect: Would transients’ traffic, spill-over parking, and offhand regard for our neighborhoods jeopardize our utilization and enjoyment of our homes?
Rationale for Proposal: The staff report states that STL rentals using on-line hosting platforms are “popular,” calling them an “emerging economic model.” Is the popularity of Airbnb, VRBO, and the sharing economy the reason the county is proposing to allow STL hotels after prohibiting them for decades?
Community benefit: What are the foreseen community benefits of STLs?
Boarding Houses: Has the county evaluated the possibility that STLs would foster a proliferation of boarding houses wherein several families crowd into a house more or less permanently. Upon inspection, six of the occupants could be justified as STL guests.
Low-income housing supply: What is the county’s assessment of the likelihood that STLs would undercut the supply of low-income housing when landlords move apartments from the long-term, low-income market to more lucrative short-term rentals?
Local hotel industry: What is the county’s assessment of the impact on our local commercial hotels which employ county residents and generate much needed taxes when the thousands of STLs siphon off their customers?
Enforcement: Is the county capable of monitoring and enforcing compliance with the proposed regulations?
Staff: How many additional staff does the county envision hiring to administer and regulate the thousands of STL hotels they anticipate? (Update: At our community meeting on April 18th we were told no additional staff would be added to Department of Code Compliance)
Funds: What source of funds would pay the additional staff?
Powers: Effective code compliance can be difficult today because of the limited authority of staff. What new powers would be provided staff to protect neighborhoods, for example, to quell noise from a loud party?
HEARINGS:
The Planning Commission hearing on STLs is scheduled for May 3rd at 7:30pm
The Board of Supervisors hearing will follow on Jun 19 at 4pm
Whether you approve or disapprove of the STL proposal, please write both the Planning Commission and the Board to express your opinion. Be sure to include your name and address on your email to verify that you live in Fairfax County, and ask that your email be sent to all members of the respective body.
Planning Commission Email: plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov
Board of Supervisors Email: Send to ClerktotheBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov
Mailing Address: Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035
County Working on Zoning Ordinance Changes to allow SHORT TERM
RENTALS / LODGING (like Airbnb)
*Use link (left side) to view Short Term Rentals Resource Page*
UPDATED/REVISED COUNTY DRAFT and STAFF REPORT:
Read County’s Staff Report re:Draft STL Amendment: pages 44-70:
Dec 12th COUNTY DRAFT:
Dec 12 Draft Short Term Rentals/Lodging
TIMELINE - SHORT TERM RENTALS / LODGING:
Though many serious questions and concerns remain unaddressed (see MDC comments below), the county has discussed proceeding with the following timeline:
Mar. 20th Supervisors' Authorization of Public Hearings
May 3rd Planning Commission Public Hearing
June 19th Board of Supervisors Public Hearing
*Use link (left side) to view Short Term Rentals Resource Page*
MDC Requests Delay for STL Public Hearings
From: Mason District Council
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2018 4:21 PM
To: clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov ; mason@fairfaxcounty.gov ; chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov ; braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov ; dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov ; huntermill@fairfaxcounty.gov ; leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov ; mtvernon@fairfaxcounty.gov ; provdist@fairfaxcounty.gov ; springfield@fairfaxcounty.gov ; sully@fairfaxcounty.gov
Subject: Please Postpone STL Authorization March 20th
Members of the Board of Supervisors,
Fairfax County's proposed zoning ordinance changes related to short term lodgings are critically flawed and need more work before public hearings.
A seriously flawed survey, errors in the staff report, and a failure to conduct a dialogue with county residents are several reasons to postpone the authorization of public hearings on short term lodging and take the necessary time to thoroughly and properly vet this serious zoning matter.
1) FLAWED STL SURVEY
Though the County has claimed that its survey was not intended to be scientific, the County is relying on its flawed survey to present the case for community interest in STLs. Several of the deficiencies with the survey include:
a) No question asking if residents oppose or support short term lodgings.
b) Absence of “None of the Above” option on every question.
c) Anyone who knew a Fairfax County zip code could complete the survey (multiple times). No control limiting respondents to county residents.
Supervisor Jeff McKay at the Oct 3 Board Dev. Process Committee meeting said “I will say 641 responses coming from zip code 22315 cannot be right. I want to see some evidence of that” see 1 hr 51min 30 sec http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=821
d) Survey could be taken multiple times by same person on various devices:
Supervisor Gross asked planning and zoning representatives at the BoS Development Process Committee meeting on July 18, 2017 about controls on the survey because she heard that the survey could be taken more than once by the same person. Supervisor Gross was told by Donna Pesto that it could only be taken once but Ms. Pesto then quietly and quickly interjected “on the same device”: See 1hr 30 min 28 sec
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=759
Lily Yegazu from planning and zoning stated that there was no control limiting individuals from taking the survey multiple times - see this Fairfax Connection article: "The survey was designed to be anonymous, so the county could not limit individuals from taking the survey multiple times, however; individuals could not take the survey from the same device twice, according to Lily Yegazu, senior assistant to the zoning administrator for the DPZ."
2) ERROR IN STAFF REPORT
Minimizing the negative impacts of existing short term lodgings operating in the County, staff has provided inaccurate calculations related to the percentage of complaints received. The percentage of complaints is more than 3x GREATER (3.6% instead of less than 1%) than the figure provided by staff. This error is misleading and does not engender confidence in the analysis and level of attention and seriousness being given to this matter and continues a pattern of skewed results.
County staff report excerpt with error:
Existing STLs
Staff research indicates that there are more than 1,500 active STLs—that is, STLs that have been rented in the past year—currently operating in Fairfax County. Assuming there are 1,500 active STLs operating in the County, only 54, or less than 1%, have been the subject of complaints for the STL use. While these numbers do not discredit the concerns raised, they do reflect that there may be a significant number of STLs currently operating without any negative impacts on their communities.
3) FAILURE TO ENGAGE RESIDENTS IN DIALOGUE
The work group the County created and met with on a continual basis did not include residents as was specifically requested by Supervisor Penny Gross.
From the staff report “...on March 14, 2017, the Board of Supervisors (Board) directed staff to form a workgroup to analyze the short-term rental of property in Fairfax County and recommend possible changes to the County Code and Zoning Ordinance. Staff from the Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ), the Department of Code Compliance (DCC), the Department of Tax Administration (DTA), the County Attorney’s Office (OCA), the County Executive’s Office (CEO) and the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) comprised the County’s workgroup.”
See Supervisor Gross remarks requesting citizen participation on the work group studying Short Term Rentals at March 14, 2017 BoS meeting at 1 hour 7 min 17 sec here: http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=607
Also see Supervisor Gross admonish planning and zoning representatives at Board Development Process meeting on Oct. 3, 2017 for not including community members in any formal or ongoing meetings or discussions related to STRs at 1 hr 42 min 38 sec http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=821
Furthermore, the board of the Mason District Council of Community Associations requested to be included in any workgroup studying STLs but was never included, see correspondence here:
-------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Supervisor McKay SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov
Date: Mon, Jun 5, 2017 at 12:01 PM
Subject: RE: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
To: "masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com" <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email regarding short term rentals. Public input and participation is extremely important in deciding how the County will regulate this growing use. I agree that all interested stakeholders need to be engaged early in this process. I look forward to working with you regarding this issue.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey C. McKay
Lee District Supervisor
From: Mason District Council [mailto:masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2017 6:49 PM
To: Sully District BOS <sully@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Leedist BOS Email LeedistBOSEmail@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: SupervisorMcKay <SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov>; smithk1110@gmail.com
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
Dear Supervisors Smith and McKay,
We are following up on our correspondence (see below) sent to you on April 28th to which we have received no response.
MDC board members are interested in participating in discussion of possible code or policy changes related to Short Term Rentals.
Early engagement of civic groups, homeowners and other interested stakeholders in this process seems beneficial and worthwhile.
Again, we look forward to hearing from you about the status of the development of the STR work group and further discussions or meetings.
Thank you,
Debbie Smith
Carol Turner
Clyde Miller
Jon Clark
Mason District Council of Community Associations Board
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mason District Council masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com
Date: Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 10:46 AM
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force
To: sully@fairfaxcounty.gov, leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov, smithk1110@gmail.com,
Dear Supervisors McKay and Smith,
The Mason District Council of Community Associations (MDC) is requesting to be included in the short term rentals task force/group being developed by county staff (at your recommendation) in order to initiate an analysis of Short Term Rentals and study possible changes to county code and policies.
Our non-HOA citizens associations and residents are especially interested in this issue.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Mason District Council Board
Debbie Smith, Chair
Carol Turner, Vice Chair
Jon Clark, Treasurer
Clyde Miller, Secretary
______________________________________________________________________
For the above reasons, and many others not included in this e-mail, we urge a postponement of the authorization to advertise public hearings on short term lodgings in order to allow further, serious discussion and assessment of the issue.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith - Chair
Carol Turner - Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser - Second Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Jon Clark - Treasurer
Mason District Council Board
COUNTY TO OVERHAUL ZONING ORDINANCE
This initiative must be followed closely.
Link to County SURVEY (closes Feb 14th) on the zoning ordinance overhaul.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZMOD
Related Article:
MDC LETTER TO CHAIRMAN BULOVA re: SHORT TERM RENTALS / LODGING and RESPONSE
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chairman <Chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Date: Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 11:01 AM
Subject: RE: The STR Issue Not Addressed
To: Mason District Council <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Dear Members of the Mason District Council:
Thank you for sharing your position on short term rentals (STRs) in Fairfax County. I will certainly keep your comments in mind regarding the impact of short term rentals on the community as the Board of Supervisors takes this issue up later in the year.
As the Board of Supervisors prepares to take this issue up this winter, Fairfax County staff is engaging residents through a variety of ways to gauge their opinion of short term rentals. You can find more information on this process at https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-zoning/zoning/short-term-property-rentals . I encourage you to share any additional thoughts you may have regarding short term rentals via the phone number or email address listed on the web page, and to be on the lookout for public meetings on the issue that will be scheduled in the future.
The hearings on STRs will focus on a multitude of issues, as the question of whether to approve these dwelling units and the specific regulations that would apply if so is a complex one. Community input will be a valuable component to the staff report and Board assessment of the issue of STRs in the county.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns on short term rentals. I look forward to continuing this conversation with the residents of Fairfax County as the Board considers how to address this issue.
Sincerely,
Sharon Bulova
Chairman
------------------- Original Message -------------------
From: Mason District Council
Received: 1/18/2018 9:46 AM
To: _ CRMPChairman; chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: Clayton Medford; Clayton Medford
Subject: The STR Issue Not Addressed
Dear Chairman Bulova,
As you are aware, many citizens are gravely concerned about the potential consequences of short-term rentals (STRs) in our residential neighborhoods. The purpose of this email is to ask for the county’s plan to discuss and consult the community on the question whether STRs should be allowed in dwelling units in Fairfax County. The current narrow focus on STR regulations appears to overlook this central question.
In the Mar 14 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Supervisor McKay, in a motion made jointly with Supervisor K. Smith, proposed that staff analyze STRs with the possibility of proposing regulations. His motion was based solely on the Board’s policy “to encourage the new sharing economy.” There was no discussion of the foreseen community benefits of STRs or why they should be allowed. The Planning Commission STR workshop on Nov 1 was limited to discussing draft regulations developed by staff. No discussion of why or whether STRs should be allowed was relevant to the purpose of the workshop. A number of Development Process Committee and community meetings have been held in the same context: earnest discussion of regulations but little or no discussion from county representatives about whether STRs should be allowed. The county’s STR initiatives to date seem to be predicated on the assumption that STRs in dwelling units will be allowed. But, they are illegal and most residents appear to oppose them.
Section 10-302 of the Zoning Ordinance at #7 states that rentals in dwelling units as a home occupation are limited to the following:
7. The letting for hire of not more than two (2) rooms for rooming or boarding use for not more than two (2) persons, neither of whom is a transient.
A rental of less than 30 days is considered “transient’ and so is not allowed. Section 2-302 precludes the county issuing special permits for STRs in dwelling units because the use is prohibited by Section 10-302. The same prohibition would apply to an ad hoc county registry authorizing the operation of STRs. In this context, the current activity to develop regulations for STRs is limited to answering the question, “What regulations would apply IF the county were to allow STRs in dwelling units?” Actually allowing them to operate would require an amendment to Section 10-302 of the Zoning Ordinance. When are we going to talk about whether STRs should be allowed? On the current course, we risk not having the discussion.
The concern is that the Board and the community will debate regulations to a point where the Board will adopt regulations and then declare that STRs are legal because regulations have been adopted. The goal of this email is to prevent such an outcome. The task of formulating STR regulations is separate from the question whether STRs should be allowed.
The Board and the community are dealing with two questions and both need to be addressed:
(1) What regulations would apply if STRs were allowed?
(2) Should STRs be allowed?
It is recommended that the county clearly organize STR discussions to specifically address both questions. For example, discussions in Development Process Committee and community meetings formally should be in two parts: Part 1 - What regulations would apply? and Part 2 - Should STRs be allowed?. Supervisors and the public should address both questions.
The Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors hearings at the end of this process clearly should be on the question of whether STRs should be allowed given the final set of regulations proposed by the county. The staff report supporting the hearings explicitly should address both questions and should provide an informed assessment of expected community costs and benefits of allowing STRs in dwelling units in Fairfax County.
Please let us know the Board’s plan for addressing the question of whether STRs should be allowed. In addition, please provide your views on two questions:
() Should the STR hearings, in the end, focus on the question of whether STRs should be allowed in dwelling units given the final regulations proposed by the county?
() Should the staff report supporting STR hearings provide an informed assessment of expected community costs and benefits associated with allowing STRs in dwelling units in Fairfax County?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith - Chair
Carol Turner - Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser - Second Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Jon Clark - Treasurer
The Board of the Mason District Council of Community Associations
CC: Board of Supervisors
ALERT: JAN 11, 2018 SHORT TERM RENTALS
Short Term Rentals (like Airbnb) Found in Violation of Zoning Ordinance
Yesterday, in 2 separate cases, the Board of Zoning Appeals upheld the determination by the County Zoning Administrator finding the property owners in both cases in violation of the Zoning Ordinance for allowing use of their homes for transient occupancy-- less than 30 days (Short Term Rental). One of the cases involved a home here in Mason District and the other in Mt. Vernon District.
The Mason District Council of Community Associations wishes to acknowledge Mason residents who were actively involved in this matter and all who offered testimony, written or oral, for the BZA hearing.
Mason District Council of Community Associations presented the following testimony at the BZA public hearing on Nov. 29th, 2017:
The Mason District Council of Community Associations (MDC) urges that the Notice of Violation in this matter be upheld.
The Staff Report (page 7) concludes that:
“Unless and until the Board amends the Zoning Ordinance to allow short-term rental, such a use of a dwelling is not a permitted use, in any circumstances, under the current Zoning Ordinance.”
The Staff Report also concludes (page 8) that:
“The intensity associated with transient occupancy of a dwelling … is such that the health, safety, and welfare of the community need to be considered prior to approval” (as a bed and breakfast).
MDC strongly supports these conclusions. MDC supports current law prohibiting short term rentals, which promote private gain but offer little or no benefit to the broader community. We believe it is premature to presume that any particular changes will be made in the current Zoning Ordinance.
As a matter of policy the Mason District Council believes that zoning laws on the books should be, and must be, enforced. The intensity associated with short term rentals poses substantial risk of harm to the health, safety, and welfare of our established residential communities.
Thank you.
WATCH: Board of Supervisors Committee Discusses Short Term Rental/Lodging - MANY CONCERNS REMAIN
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=918
MASON DISTRICT COUNCIL COMMENTS ON SHORT TERM RENTALS:
Supervisor Gross,
Thank you for meeting with members of the Mason District Council Board (MDC) and community on October 30. It was a productive conversation.
As we discussed, MDC urges your support in opposing STRs in Fairfax County for the following reasons:
1. There is No Demonstrated Need
· Very few Fairfax County residents appear to be interested in STRs. No more than a handful of advocates for STRs have attended the county meetings.
· You told us that you do not have a large number of constituents seeking this use.
· The County’s own survey cannot be relied upon for soundness since it was susceptible to multiple entries by individuals using various devices and also had no controls limiting entries to county residents only. Supervisor McKay identified a suspiciously large number of responses from a single zip code within his district.
2. Avenues for Room and Whole Home Rentals Already Exist
· Under current law, rooms and entire homes can be lawfully rented month-to-month. One family can take in up to two renters or up to four unrelated people may live in one house. This can all be arranged by individual property owners or lessees without paying service fees to a STR platform.
3. Harmful Impacts to Quality of Life/Character of Neighborhoods/HOAs
· Zoning laws have historically protected residential neighborhoods from incompatible transient use and commercial activity.
· Problems related to STRs reported by neighbors include: lack of parking, large parties and events, increased noise, activity and crime – loitering, trespass, public intoxication, underage drinking, public urination, vandalism, destruction of property, theft and littering.
· Increased tensions and hostilities within neighborhoods.
· HOAs with documents that do not specifically address STRs, or do not have rental minimums, will need to consider amending or changing their association documents in order to limit or prohibit STRs in their communities. This is often a laborious and expensive legal process and would impose a significant burden on thousands of County residents.
4. No Demonstrated Benefit to Neighborhood
· Cities and towns around the nation and world are further restricting and sometimes banning STRs.
· STRs offer no benefits at all for the vast majority of county residents.
5. No Work Group with Community Members
· No meaningful ongoing discussions/meetings with community representatives were conducted to review and assess this possible sweeping zoning change with the potential to affect all residential zoning districts.
· When we met with Planning and Zoning officials in August they admitted they had only spoken to one neighborhood leader in the County.
6. Questionable Cost Benefit
· The cost of enacting and enforcing a new STR ordinance could likely exceed revenue generated by the use.
· Increased strains on County budget for additional staffing to process permits, as well as enforce regulations, i.e., inspectors for public health and safety, police officers and code investigators, as well as taxation office personnel.
· Recent reports by Arlington Commissioner of Revenue show after eight months of STR legalization, just 67 business tax accounts have been created.
· Through July of 2017 Arlington assessed only $18,000 via the 7.25% transient occupancy tax (TOT) which is split between the local and state governments and only $780 via the business license tax.
· Harmful impacts to existing hotels and hospitality businesses operating in Fairfax County must be considered.
7. Compliance and Enforcement Concerns
· Residents at County meetings consistently rate inadequate code enforcement as a top concern.
· There are just 33 DCC investigators that work 7,000 to 10,000 cases per year.
· County representatives readily admit enforcement challenges currently exist even though STRs are not permitted in Fairfax County.
· At County meetings the public has been told there are no plans to increase budget and staffing for DCC.
· MDC members have, for years, been vocal in their disappointment and lack of confidence in County code enforcement.
· DCC representatives at County meetings cite 36 STR complaints (by address, not number of overall calls) since the beginning of the prior year. DCC served just 3 Notices of Violation, with 2 more in the works, and 15 open cases.
· Residents are deeply concerned about additional strains on our police to address increased calls related to parking, noise, nuisance and property crimes and other crimes often associated with STRs.
· Many regulations for STRs are complicated and unrealistic to monitor and enforce.
· Airbnb and others have facilitated illegal short term rentals in Fairfax County by allowing hosts to advertise on their platforms.
· Airbnb has been accused of manipulating data to avoid regulations in other jurisdictions.
In closing, even though a small minority of landlords may be looking to cash in on STRs, that doesn’t justify the many significant problems STRs create for the larger community.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith – Chair
Carol Turner – Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser – Second Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Jon Clark - Treasurer
Board of the Mason District Council of Community Associations
SHORT TERM RENTALS (like Airbnb) UPDATES:
Video of Nov. 29th, 2017 Board of Zoning Appeals hearings on the appeals of homeowners in Mason District and Mt. Vernon District cited for allowing Short Term Rental of the their homes.
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=906
Video of Nov. 1, 2017 Planning Commission Workshop and Public Comment/Questions on Draft Short Term Rental Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment:
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=5&clip_id=886
Draft Design Guidelines prepared without contacting immediate neighborhoods
Without contacting the immediate neighborhoods around 7 Corners/Bailey’s Crossroads or the Mason District Council of Community Associations, the County has completed a draft of future design guidelines of these areas.
Mason District Council is communicating with county reps to learn how and when community input was sought and provided.
Meanwhile, the county will share it’s draft design guidelines at the Tues., Nov. 28th meeting of the Mason District Land Use Committee at the Mason District Government Center at 7:30 pm (6507 Columbia Pike Annandale 22003).
Please see here for information about the draft. http://www.fcrevit.org/programs/UDGupdate.html
Please Attend the Short Term Rental Workshop:
Take part in the conversation and planning.
November 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM
November 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM
Board Conference Room, Government Center
Staff will update the Commission and seek input on proposed regulations, followed by discussions and public comments
IMPORTANT UPDATE: SHORT-TERM RENTALS
COUNTY DENIES MDC's REQUEST FOR COMMUNITY MEETING
Dear Mason District Neighbors,
The County has denied our request for a community meeting in Mason District to address Short-Term Rentals (like Airbnb). We have included correspondence below for your information.
As many of you know, short term rentals are not permitted in Fairfax County except in special circumstances. Despite this fact, hundreds of short-term rentals do operate illegally in the County (see flouting zoning laws remarks by Va. Sen. Stanley - Feb. 2017). Frustrated residents say the County is not doing enough to shut them down and are alarmed at harmful impacts to their neighborhoods and quality of life. Over the last few years, Mason residents have expressed great concern about the lack of enforcement of current zoning regulations on registered complaints. With the County now exploring changes possibly allowing short term rentals, concern is mounting about strains on the County’s resources, such as code compliance investigators and police, and their ability to handle potential growing numbers of these rentals in our neighborhoods.
Please see highlighted section and links in correspondence below to find locations of scheduled community meetings and other ways (including a survey) to learn more and express your thoughts and concerns about short-term rentals operating in our neighborhoods.
A major concern with the county’s survey (link in correspondence), is that it does not contain a question asking survey-takers if they oppose or support Short-Term Rentals. Text boxes must be used to indicate this and other concerns. The survey closes August 31.
We encourage you to attend any of the community meetings and to express your individual thoughts and concerns or community association position or resolutions to the Board of Supervisors clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov; the Planning Commission plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov and the other contacts indicated in the correspondence included here.
It is important for you and your communities to become involved as the County looks at changes related to Short-Term Rentals.
Sincerely,
The Board of Mason District Council of Community Associations
Debbie Smith – Chair
Carol Turner – Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser – 2nd Vice Chair
Clyde Miller – Secretary
Jon Clark – Treasurer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mason District Council <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Aug 10, 2017 at 11:39 AM
Subject: Re: Request STR Meeting for Mason District
To: "Pesto, Donna" <Donna.Pesto@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Cc: "Yegazu, Lily" <Lily.Yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Johnson, Leslie" <Leslie.Johnson@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Selden, Fred" <Fred.Selden@fairfaxcounty.gov>, Mason BOS Email <Mason@fairfaxcounty.gov>, chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov, braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov, dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov, sully@fairfaxcounty.gov, springfield@fairfaxcounty.gov, hntrmill@fairfaxcounty.gov, mtvernon@fairfaxcounty.gov, leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov, provdist@fairfaxcounty.gov, Clayton.Medford@fairfaxcounty.gov,
Donna,
Your response is disappointing.
As you and others are aware, Mason District residents account for a large number of responses on the STR survey. There is obviously a great deal of concern in Mason District. A meeting here appears warranted and wise.
Our community members would like to participate in developing any proposed draft presented to the Board of Supervisors.
It is ironic, after Chairman Bulova’s Community Council initiative to explore how to reach and engage larger numbers of community members early-on in land use matters, that a request for timely participation would be outright rejected.
Also, would you please explain how the County arrived at the locations for the only community meetings scheduled on STRs?
We encourage the County to reassess its decision and schedule a meeting in Mason District sooner rather than later.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith
Chair
Mason District Council of Community Associations
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Pesto, Donna <Donna.Pesto@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Date: Wed, Aug 2, 2017 at 11:01 AM
Subject: RE: Request STR Meeting for Mason District
To: "masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com" <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Cc: "Yegazu, Lily" <Lily.Yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Johnson, Leslie" <Leslie.Johnson@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Selden, Fred" <Fred.Selden@fairfaxcounty.gov>, Mason BOS Email Mason@fairfaxcounty.gov
Thank you for your email inquiry regarding the zoning analysis of short term rental uses. At this time, we are conducting a survey to receive input regarding the use of a dwelling for short term rentals, with the survey closing on August 31, 2017. The survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/short-term-rentals.
After the survey closes, we will be compiling the responses for presentation at three community-wide meetings currently scheduled for September. We will be soliciting any additional public input at these community meetings, which will be used to inform the drafting of a strawman of potential zoning regulations. Those meeting dates/times can be found on our dedicated webpage: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/shorttermrentals/shorttermrentals-calendar.htm. These meetings are not specific to any group or district, but rather, all are open to all members of the public.
At this time, we aren’t scheduling additional citizen meetings to take public comment, but staff would be happy to meet with representatives of your group during regular business hours, should you want to schedule such meeting. In the alternative, we are also accepting comments, resolutions, and other input via email at ordadmin@fairfaxcounty.gov. After a strawman is drafted and presented to the Board of Supervisors (likely at a Development Process Committee meeting), there may be additional community-wide meetings scheduled to take public input on the strawman. If that is the case, we will make certain to schedule one in the Mason/Providence District area.
If you would like to set up a meeting, please contact Lily Yegazu (lily.yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov) or me to find a suitable time.
Thank you,
Donna Pesto
Deputy Zoning Administrator
703-324-1314
From: Mason District Council [mailto:masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2017 1:15 PM
To: Yegazu, Lily <Lily.Yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Johnson, Leslie <Leslie.Johnson@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Mason BOS Email <Mason@FairfaxCounty.gov>
Cc:
Subject: Request STR Meeting for Mason District
Dear Penny, Leslie and Lily,
The Mason District Council board requests that a county meeting on Short-Term Rentals (STR) be scheduled for Mason District. We have learned that county meetings are already on the calendar for several other districts. As you know, the short-term rentals issue is generating concern with a large number of residents of Mason that we would like the opportunity to have addressed at a STR meeting in Mason District.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith
Carol Turner
Debbie Fraser
Clyde Miller
Jon Clark
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming County STR Community Meetings:
Staff will present an update on the survey results and take questions and comments.
September 5, 2017, 7:00 PM - Hunter Mill District Community Room, 1801 Cameron Glen Drive, Reston, VA
September 13, 2017, 7:00 PM - South County Government Center, 8350 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA
September 25, 2017, 7:00 PM - Dranesville District Community Room, 1437 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA
MASON DISTRICT COUNCIL SENDS EMAIL TO TWO SUPERVISORS REQUESTING TO PARTICIPATE ON WORK GROUP STUDYING SHORT TERM RENTALS BUT RECEIVES NO RESPONSE; MDC FOLLOWS UP AND RECEIVES GENERIC RESPONSE WITH NO ACTION
--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: SupervisorMcKay <SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Date: Mon, Jun 5, 2017 at 12:01 PM
Subject: RE: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
To: "masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com" <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email regarding short term rentals. Public input and participation is extremely important in deciding how the County will regulate this growing use. I agree that all interested stakeholders need to be engaged early in this process. I look forward to working with you regarding this issue.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey C. McKay
Lee District Supervisor
From: Mason District Council [mailto:masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2017 6:49 PM
To: Sully District BOS <sully@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Leedist BOS Email <LeedistBOSEmail@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Cc: SupervisorMcKay <SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov>; smithk1110@gmail.com
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
Dear Supervisors Smith and McKay,
We are following up on our correspondence (see below) sent to you on April 28th to which we have received no response.
MDC board members are interested in participating in discussion of possible code or policy changes related to Short Term Rentals.
Early engagement of civic groups, homeowners and other interested stakeholders in this process seems beneficial and worthwhile.
Again, we look forward to hearing from you about the status of the development of the STR work group and further discussions or meetings.
Thank you,
Debbie Smith
Carol Turner
Clyde Miller
Jon Clark
Mason District Council of Community Associations Board
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mason District Council <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 10:46 AM
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force
To: sully@fairfaxcounty.gov, leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov, smithk1110@gmail.com,
Dear Supervisors McKay and Smith,
The Mason District Council of Community Associations (MDC) is requesting to be included in the short term rentals task force/group being developed by county staff (at your recommendation) in order to initiate an analysis of Short Term Rentals and study possible changes to county code and policies.
Our non-HOA citizens associations and residents are especially interested in this issue.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Mason District Council Board
Debbie Smith, Chair
Carol Turner, Vice Chair
Jon Clark, Treasurer
Clyde Miller, Secretary
Meeting on August 15th, 2017 at Mason Government Center
MDC will co-host a community meeting with the Bailey’s Crossroads/Seven Corners Revitalization Corporation (BC7RC) on August 15, 2017 at 7:30 pm. at the Mason District Government Center, 6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale. This meeting is open to all.
We will have a presentation by county representatives and discussion of:
1) Proposed Sign Ordinance changes as a result of a recent Supreme Court decision
and have also invited representatives to update us on the county’s initiative regarding
2) Re-purposing of vacant buildings
We hope you will join us on August 15th and take part in the conversation.
SHORT-TERM RENTALS (like Airbnb) SURVEY
The county is exploring zoning regulations related to Short-term rentals (any dwelling rented for less than 30 days). Currently, the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance prohibits property owners from renting their homes as short-term rentals (unless the Board of Supervisors approves a Special Exception for a bed and breakfast use). Early in 2017, the General Assembly passed legislation (SB 1578) preserving the authority of local governments like Fairfax County to regulate Short-term rentals. The County is now conducting a Short Term Rental Survey to gather feedback from residents. There has been concern expressed that the survey does not provide a questions allowing residents to indicate if they oppose Short-Term Rentals. We understand that you can skip answering the questions and use text boxes to provide your thoughts and comments.
Attend Fairfax County’s Zoning Open House on July 22, 2019
Attend Fairfax County’s Zoning Open House on July 22, 2019
July 12, 2019
Sheds, home-based businesses, and outdoor lighting on residential properties—these are some of the topics that will be discussed at the upcoming Zoning Open House on Monday, July 22, from 7 to 9 p.m.
It will be held in the Fairfax County Government Center Forum, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax.
This is an opportunity to learn about possible zoning changes that may affect your neighborhood, and attendees will:
Hear a short presentation on proposed zoning changes.
Learn about how zoning affects land use and development.
Talk one-on-one with staff.
Ask questions about zoning issues.
Fairfax County is currently considering zoning changes related to:
Lighting: Limiting the color temperature for LED lights on single family properties and other revisions.'
Accessory structures: Changing the side and rear yard regulations related to accessory structures such as sheds, gazebos and children’s play equipment.
Home-based businesses: Allowing a limited number of customers or clients to visit home-based business without requiring a public hearing.
Agritourism: Creating new uses related to agritourism, such as harvest-your-own activities, farm festivals and other special events.
Attendees also can learn about recently adopted zoning changes, including:
To learn more and for reasonable ADA accommodations, contact the Zoning Administration Division by emailor call 703-324-1314, TTY 711.
# # #
Upcoming County Meeting
Mason District Budget Town Meeting
Thursday, March 7, 2019
7 - 9 pm
Mason District Govt Center (Main Community Room)
6507 Columbia Pike Annandale, VA 22003
Feb. 23, 2019
SURVEY:
What does the future of Fairfax County look like to you?
Complete the survey to take part in Fairfax County's strategic planning process.
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/strategicplan/
UPDATE:
SB 1701 was defeated in the House Counties, Cities and Towns Committee’s Subcommittee #2 on February 13th in a 5-3 vote.
The matter is over for the year in the General Assembly, but may likely re-emerge next year. Litigation, however, continues in the courts.
We are grateful for the assistance of Sen. Marsden, Sen. Saslaw and Del. Kory.
Also, sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to write letters and to all who shared their letters with us.
Action Needed by Wednesday, Feb 13th, 2019
Senate Bill 1701, a bill that will undermine the Short Term Rental (i.e. Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway) regulations adopted by Fairfax County after a lengthy discussion with residents, has quickly moved through the Virginia Senate and is now in the Virginia House Committee on Counties, Cities & Towns (CC&T).
The proposed Bill is a blow to local authority given to Fairfax County and other localities by the State in 2017 to regulate Short Term Rentals. Fairfax County’s Short Term Rental regulations just went into effect in October 2018. As enacted the regulations already call for a review period of 18 months. There is no compelling need for action by the State.
We ask you to please write to the members of the House CC&T committee and urge them to “VOTE NO” on SB 1701 and preserve Fairfax County’s authority to regulate Short Term Rentals.
The bill seeks to change County regulations allowing Short Term Rentals for 60 nights/year and increase the number of rental nights to 180 nights/year.
Contact Information for House CC&T Committee members:
DelRIngram@house.virginia.gov ; DelCStolle@house.virginia.gov; DelDMarshall@house.virginia.gov; DelCPoindexter@house.virginia.gov; DelBThomas@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMorefield@house.virginia.gov ; DelKHodges@house.virginia.gov ; DelMWebert@house.virginia.gov ; DelTAustin@house.virginia.gov ; DelJCampbell@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMcGuire@house.virginia.gov ; DelBThomas@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMcNamara@house.virginia.gov ; DelCHerring@house.virginia.gov ; DelSHeretick@house.virginia.gov ; DelJBell@house.virginia.gov ; DelPKrizek@house.virginia.gov ; DelMMullin@house.virginia.gov ; DelCHayes@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMcGuire@house.virginia.gov ; DelDReid@house.virginia.gov ; DelDRoem@house.virginia.gov ; delkmurphy@house.virginia.gov
Thank you.
Mason District Council
December 13, 2018
Proposal for 72 Residences at Gallows Rd/Libeau Lane Near 495
Many thanks to all who came to the public meeting on Tuesday Nov. 27th and who are writing letters and making phone calls to our county representatives about the Woodburn Manor Independent Living Facility proposal for 72 residences on Gallows Rd/Libeau Ln. near 495.
At the meeting on the Nov 27th The Mason District Land Use committee unanimously voted to not recommend approval of the Woodburn Manor proposal to the Planning Commission. The Annandale Blog covered the meeting in a recent post: https://annandaleva.blogspot.com/2018/11/land-use-committee-rejects-55-housing.html
Since then, we have received notification of the postponement of the Planning Commission public hearing originally scheduled for December 6th, 2018 to JANUARY 9th 2019. See below.
For those who still would like to send a letter with concerns or comments about the proposal, please direct your emails to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors at plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov and clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov. Make sure that you reference Woodburn Manor SE2018-MA-005 and be sure to sign your name and address.
We will keep you updated of any additional news that we receive related to the proposal.
Sincerely,
The Board of The Mason District Council of Community Associations
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMINDER: Meeting re: Proposal for 72 New Residences on Gallows Rd. near 495
WHEN: Tues., Nov 27th 7:30 pm at Mason District Govt Center (6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale, Virginia 22003)
A reminder that there will be a public meeting on November 27th at 7:30pm about the proposal for 72 new residences at Gallows Rd/Libeau Ln near 495. There will be opportunity for public comment.
Fairfax County Planning and Zoning staff recently released a report on the matter and is recommending approval of the proposal subject to development conditions: http://ldsnet.fairfaxcounty.gov/ldsnet/ldsdwf/4644002.PDF.
MDC Officers Election Results:
Debbie Smith - Chair
Carol Turner - Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Debbie Fraser - Fairfax Federation Representative
SHORT TERM RENTAL MATTER:
On Tuesday July 31, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a zoning ordinance amendment allowing Short Term Lodgings (rooms or entire dwellings rented through platforms like, Airbnb, Flipkey, VRBO on a nightly/weekly basis for less than 30 consecutive days) in all Fairfax County residential districts. Despite strong opposition from a large number of Mason District residents, Supervisor Gross voted in favor of the ordinance allowing these Short Term Lodgings.
Details of the new Short Term Lodging (STL) zoning ordinance amendment:
A permit will be needed to operate a STL -- $ 200 for a 2 year permit
Dwellings or portions of dwellings that are the permanent residence (more than 185 days) of the STL operator (owner or a tenant) may be rented for up to 60 days per year
An STL operator will not be required to be on premises during rentals but a point of contact is to be designated in case of problems during rentals
Up to 6 adults and an unlimited number of children may stay at a STL
1 contract per night
1 designated parking spot for STL customers
County will ask STL platforms (i.e.,Airbnb, Flipkey, VRBO) to include permit number and location of parking spot in STL advertisements
No rentals for events or for commercial purposes (parties, fundraisers etc)
Dwelling must be available upon request for inspection at a” reasonable time” by Dept. of Code Compliance
STLs will be subject to Transient Occupancy Taxes
With their vote the Board rejected more restrictive recommendations passed by the Planning Commission which sought to limit STL rentals to 45 days/year and also recommended limiting the number of days rented without the operator present to 14 out of the 45 day total.
Questions and concerns MDC presented that remain unanswered include:
No limit on number of STL permits per dwelling (multiple tenants could all obtain permits)
Meaning of “available” related to point of contact when rental occurs without operator present
No increased budget or new employees for Dept. of Code Compliance
No change in hours for Dept. of Code Compliance, so hours will remain M-F 9-5pm even though most STL activity occurs on evenings and weekends.
Most regulations in the ordinance are unrealistic to enforce
The ordinance may cost more to implement than revenue generated (no analysis provided by County)
Presents serious issues for HOAs i.e.,common property liability, insurance and existing covenant language may need to be changed (expensive, onerous)
No health and safety inspections required
The ordinance will take effect on October 1, 2018.
VIDEO - MDC 4/17/18 COMMUNITY MEETING WITH COUNTY REPS
GENERAL CONCERNS:
Fairfax County is proposing to allow short-term lodging (STL) in residential districts, that is, rentals of rooms or dwellings for periods of less than 30 days. Currently, STLs such as those offered through Airbnb and VRBO, are prohibited in Fairfax County.
The county now proposes that STL rentals will be classified as “hotels” in the zoning ordinance and allowed to operate as such in residential districts in accordance with regulations available on line athttps://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-zoning/sites/planning-zoning/files/assets/documents/zoning ordinance/proposed amendments/shorttermrental.pdf. The prospect of STL hotels operating in our residential communities is an important issue for county residents and deserves our attention. A few pertinent questions are the following:
Compatibility: Are STL hotels compatible with the character of our residential districts?
Safety: Would STLs introduce safety and security concerns, in particular for our children?
Transients’ Casual Respect: Would transients’ traffic, spill-over parking, and offhand regard for our neighborhoods jeopardize our utilization and enjoyment of our homes?
Rationale for Proposal: The staff report states that STL rentals using on-line hosting platforms are “popular,” calling them an “emerging economic model.” Is the popularity of Airbnb, VRBO, and the sharing economy the reason the county is proposing to allow STL hotels after prohibiting them for decades?
Community benefit: What are the foreseen community benefits of STLs?
Boarding Houses: Has the county evaluated the possibility that STLs would foster a proliferation of boarding houses wherein several families crowd into a house more or less permanently. Upon inspection, six of the occupants could be justified as STL guests.
Low-income housing supply: What is the county’s assessment of the likelihood that STLs would undercut the supply of low-income housing when landlords move apartments from the long-term, low-income market to more lucrative short-term rentals?
Local hotel industry: What is the county’s assessment of the impact on our local commercial hotels which employ county residents and generate much needed taxes when the thousands of STLs siphon off their customers?
Enforcement: Is the county capable of monitoring and enforcing compliance with the proposed regulations?
Staff: How many additional staff does the county envision hiring to administer and regulate the thousands of STL hotels they anticipate? (Update: At our community meeting on April 18th we were told no additional staff would be added to Department of Code Compliance)
Funds: What source of funds would pay the additional staff?
Powers: Effective code compliance can be difficult today because of the limited authority of staff. What new powers would be provided staff to protect neighborhoods, for example, to quell noise from a loud party?
HEARINGS:
The Planning Commission hearing on STLs is scheduled for May 3rd at 7:30pm
The Board of Supervisors hearing will follow on Jun 19 at 4pm
Whether you approve or disapprove of the STL proposal, please write both the Planning Commission and the Board to express your opinion. Be sure to include your name and address on your email to verify that you live in Fairfax County, and ask that your email be sent to all members of the respective body.
Planning Commission Email: plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov
Board of Supervisors Email: Send to ClerktotheBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov
Mailing Address: Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035
County Working on Zoning Ordinance Changes to allow SHORT TERM
RENTALS / LODGING (like Airbnb)
*Use link (left side) to view Short Term Rentals Resource Page*
UPDATED/REVISED COUNTY DRAFT and STAFF REPORT:
Read County’s Staff Report re:Draft STL Amendment: pages 44-70:
Dec 12th COUNTY DRAFT:
Dec 12 Draft Short Term Rentals/Lodging
TIMELINE - SHORT TERM RENTALS / LODGING:
Though many serious questions and concerns remain unaddressed (see MDC comments below), the county has discussed proceeding with the following timeline:
Mar. 20th Supervisors' Authorization of Public Hearings
May 3rd Planning Commission Public Hearing
June 19th Board of Supervisors Public Hearing
*Use link (left side) to view Short Term Rentals Resource Page*
MDC Requests Delay for STL Public Hearings
From: Mason District Council
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2018 4:21 PM
To: clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov ; mason@fairfaxcounty.gov ; chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov ; braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov ; dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov ; huntermill@fairfaxcounty.gov ; leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov ; mtvernon@fairfaxcounty.gov ; provdist@fairfaxcounty.gov ; springfield@fairfaxcounty.gov ; sully@fairfaxcounty.gov
Subject: Please Postpone STL Authorization March 20th
Members of the Board of Supervisors,
Fairfax County's proposed zoning ordinance changes related to short term lodgings are critically flawed and need more work before public hearings.
A seriously flawed survey, errors in the staff report, and a failure to conduct a dialogue with county residents are several reasons to postpone the authorization of public hearings on short term lodging and take the necessary time to thoroughly and properly vet this serious zoning matter.
1) FLAWED STL SURVEY
Though the County has claimed that its survey was not intended to be scientific, the County is relying on its flawed survey to present the case for community interest in STLs. Several of the deficiencies with the survey include:
a) No question asking if residents oppose or support short term lodgings.
b) Absence of “None of the Above” option on every question.
c) Anyone who knew a Fairfax County zip code could complete the survey (multiple times). No control limiting respondents to county residents.
Supervisor Jeff McKay at the Oct 3 Board Dev. Process Committee meeting said “I will say 641 responses coming from zip code 22315 cannot be right. I want to see some evidence of that” see 1 hr 51min 30 sec http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=821
d) Survey could be taken multiple times by same person on various devices:
Supervisor Gross asked planning and zoning representatives at the BoS Development Process Committee meeting on July 18, 2017 about controls on the survey because she heard that the survey could be taken more than once by the same person. Supervisor Gross was told by Donna Pesto that it could only be taken once but Ms. Pesto then quietly and quickly interjected “on the same device”: See 1hr 30 min 28 sec
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=759
Lily Yegazu from planning and zoning stated that there was no control limiting individuals from taking the survey multiple times - see this Fairfax Connection article: "The survey was designed to be anonymous, so the county could not limit individuals from taking the survey multiple times, however; individuals could not take the survey from the same device twice, according to Lily Yegazu, senior assistant to the zoning administrator for the DPZ."
2) ERROR IN STAFF REPORT
Minimizing the negative impacts of existing short term lodgings operating in the County, staff has provided inaccurate calculations related to the percentage of complaints received. The percentage of complaints is more than 3x GREATER (3.6% instead of less than 1%) than the figure provided by staff. This error is misleading and does not engender confidence in the analysis and level of attention and seriousness being given to this matter and continues a pattern of skewed results.
County staff report excerpt with error:
Existing STLs
Staff research indicates that there are more than 1,500 active STLs—that is, STLs that have been rented in the past year—currently operating in Fairfax County. Assuming there are 1,500 active STLs operating in the County, only 54, or less than 1%, have been the subject of complaints for the STL use. While these numbers do not discredit the concerns raised, they do reflect that there may be a significant number of STLs currently operating without any negative impacts on their communities.
3) FAILURE TO ENGAGE RESIDENTS IN DIALOGUE
The work group the County created and met with on a continual basis did not include residents as was specifically requested by Supervisor Penny Gross.
From the staff report “...on March 14, 2017, the Board of Supervisors (Board) directed staff to form a workgroup to analyze the short-term rental of property in Fairfax County and recommend possible changes to the County Code and Zoning Ordinance. Staff from the Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ), the Department of Code Compliance (DCC), the Department of Tax Administration (DTA), the County Attorney’s Office (OCA), the County Executive’s Office (CEO) and the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) comprised the County’s workgroup.”
See Supervisor Gross remarks requesting citizen participation on the work group studying Short Term Rentals at March 14, 2017 BoS meeting at 1 hour 7 min 17 sec here: http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=607
Also see Supervisor Gross admonish planning and zoning representatives at Board Development Process meeting on Oct. 3, 2017 for not including community members in any formal or ongoing meetings or discussions related to STRs at 1 hr 42 min 38 sec http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=821
Furthermore, the board of the Mason District Council of Community Associations requested to be included in any workgroup studying STLs but was never included, see correspondence here:
-------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Supervisor McKay SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov
Date: Mon, Jun 5, 2017 at 12:01 PM
Subject: RE: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
To: "masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com" <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email regarding short term rentals. Public input and participation is extremely important in deciding how the County will regulate this growing use. I agree that all interested stakeholders need to be engaged early in this process. I look forward to working with you regarding this issue.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey C. McKay
Lee District Supervisor
From: Mason District Council [mailto:masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2017 6:49 PM
To: Sully District BOS <sully@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Leedist BOS Email LeedistBOSEmail@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: SupervisorMcKay <SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov>; smithk1110@gmail.com
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
Dear Supervisors Smith and McKay,
We are following up on our correspondence (see below) sent to you on April 28th to which we have received no response.
MDC board members are interested in participating in discussion of possible code or policy changes related to Short Term Rentals.
Early engagement of civic groups, homeowners and other interested stakeholders in this process seems beneficial and worthwhile.
Again, we look forward to hearing from you about the status of the development of the STR work group and further discussions or meetings.
Thank you,
Debbie Smith
Carol Turner
Clyde Miller
Jon Clark
Mason District Council of Community Associations Board
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mason District Council masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com
Date: Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 10:46 AM
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force
To: sully@fairfaxcounty.gov, leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov, smithk1110@gmail.com,
Dear Supervisors McKay and Smith,
The Mason District Council of Community Associations (MDC) is requesting to be included in the short term rentals task force/group being developed by county staff (at your recommendation) in order to initiate an analysis of Short Term Rentals and study possible changes to county code and policies.
Our non-HOA citizens associations and residents are especially interested in this issue.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Mason District Council Board
Debbie Smith, Chair
Carol Turner, Vice Chair
Jon Clark, Treasurer
Clyde Miller, Secretary
______________________________________________________________________
For the above reasons, and many others not included in this e-mail, we urge a postponement of the authorization to advertise public hearings on short term lodgings in order to allow further, serious discussion and assessment of the issue.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith - Chair
Carol Turner - Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser - Second Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Jon Clark - Treasurer
Mason District Council Board
COUNTY TO OVERHAUL ZONING ORDINANCE
This initiative must be followed closely.
Link to County SURVEY (closes Feb 14th) on the zoning ordinance overhaul.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZMOD
Related Article:
MDC LETTER TO CHAIRMAN BULOVA re: SHORT TERM RENTALS / LODGING and RESPONSE
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chairman <Chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Date: Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 11:01 AM
Subject: RE: The STR Issue Not Addressed
To: Mason District Council <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Dear Members of the Mason District Council:
Thank you for sharing your position on short term rentals (STRs) in Fairfax County. I will certainly keep your comments in mind regarding the impact of short term rentals on the community as the Board of Supervisors takes this issue up later in the year.
As the Board of Supervisors prepares to take this issue up this winter, Fairfax County staff is engaging residents through a variety of ways to gauge their opinion of short term rentals. You can find more information on this process at https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-zoning/zoning/short-term-property-rentals . I encourage you to share any additional thoughts you may have regarding short term rentals via the phone number or email address listed on the web page, and to be on the lookout for public meetings on the issue that will be scheduled in the future.
The hearings on STRs will focus on a multitude of issues, as the question of whether to approve these dwelling units and the specific regulations that would apply if so is a complex one. Community input will be a valuable component to the staff report and Board assessment of the issue of STRs in the county.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns on short term rentals. I look forward to continuing this conversation with the residents of Fairfax County as the Board considers how to address this issue.
Sincerely,
Sharon Bulova
Chairman
------------------- Original Message -------------------
From: Mason District Council
Received: 1/18/2018 9:46 AM
To: _ CRMPChairman; chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: Clayton Medford; Clayton Medford
Subject: The STR Issue Not Addressed
Dear Chairman Bulova,
As you are aware, many citizens are gravely concerned about the potential consequences of short-term rentals (STRs) in our residential neighborhoods. The purpose of this email is to ask for the county’s plan to discuss and consult the community on the question whether STRs should be allowed in dwelling units in Fairfax County. The current narrow focus on STR regulations appears to overlook this central question.
In the Mar 14 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Supervisor McKay, in a motion made jointly with Supervisor K. Smith, proposed that staff analyze STRs with the possibility of proposing regulations. His motion was based solely on the Board’s policy “to encourage the new sharing economy.” There was no discussion of the foreseen community benefits of STRs or why they should be allowed. The Planning Commission STR workshop on Nov 1 was limited to discussing draft regulations developed by staff. No discussion of why or whether STRs should be allowed was relevant to the purpose of the workshop. A number of Development Process Committee and community meetings have been held in the same context: earnest discussion of regulations but little or no discussion from county representatives about whether STRs should be allowed. The county’s STR initiatives to date seem to be predicated on the assumption that STRs in dwelling units will be allowed. But, they are illegal and most residents appear to oppose them.
Section 10-302 of the Zoning Ordinance at #7 states that rentals in dwelling units as a home occupation are limited to the following:
7. The letting for hire of not more than two (2) rooms for rooming or boarding use for not more than two (2) persons, neither of whom is a transient.
A rental of less than 30 days is considered “transient’ and so is not allowed. Section 2-302 precludes the county issuing special permits for STRs in dwelling units because the use is prohibited by Section 10-302. The same prohibition would apply to an ad hoc county registry authorizing the operation of STRs. In this context, the current activity to develop regulations for STRs is limited to answering the question, “What regulations would apply IF the county were to allow STRs in dwelling units?” Actually allowing them to operate would require an amendment to Section 10-302 of the Zoning Ordinance. When are we going to talk about whether STRs should be allowed? On the current course, we risk not having the discussion.
The concern is that the Board and the community will debate regulations to a point where the Board will adopt regulations and then declare that STRs are legal because regulations have been adopted. The goal of this email is to prevent such an outcome. The task of formulating STR regulations is separate from the question whether STRs should be allowed.
The Board and the community are dealing with two questions and both need to be addressed:
(1) What regulations would apply if STRs were allowed?
(2) Should STRs be allowed?
It is recommended that the county clearly organize STR discussions to specifically address both questions. For example, discussions in Development Process Committee and community meetings formally should be in two parts: Part 1 - What regulations would apply? and Part 2 - Should STRs be allowed?. Supervisors and the public should address both questions.
The Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors hearings at the end of this process clearly should be on the question of whether STRs should be allowed given the final set of regulations proposed by the county. The staff report supporting the hearings explicitly should address both questions and should provide an informed assessment of expected community costs and benefits of allowing STRs in dwelling units in Fairfax County.
Please let us know the Board’s plan for addressing the question of whether STRs should be allowed. In addition, please provide your views on two questions:
() Should the STR hearings, in the end, focus on the question of whether STRs should be allowed in dwelling units given the final regulations proposed by the county?
() Should the staff report supporting STR hearings provide an informed assessment of expected community costs and benefits associated with allowing STRs in dwelling units in Fairfax County?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith - Chair
Carol Turner - Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser - Second Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Jon Clark - Treasurer
The Board of the Mason District Council of Community Associations
CC: Board of Supervisors
ALERT: JAN 11, 2018 SHORT TERM RENTALS
Short Term Rentals (like Airbnb) Found in Violation of Zoning Ordinance
Yesterday, in 2 separate cases, the Board of Zoning Appeals upheld the determination by the County Zoning Administrator finding the property owners in both cases in violation of the Zoning Ordinance for allowing use of their homes for transient occupancy-- less than 30 days (Short Term Rental). One of the cases involved a home here in Mason District and the other in Mt. Vernon District.
The Mason District Council of Community Associations wishes to acknowledge Mason residents who were actively involved in this matter and all who offered testimony, written or oral, for the BZA hearing.
Mason District Council of Community Associations presented the following testimony at the BZA public hearing on Nov. 29th, 2017:
The Mason District Council of Community Associations (MDC) urges that the Notice of Violation in this matter be upheld.
The Staff Report (page 7) concludes that:
“Unless and until the Board amends the Zoning Ordinance to allow short-term rental, such a use of a dwelling is not a permitted use, in any circumstances, under the current Zoning Ordinance.”
The Staff Report also concludes (page 8) that:
“The intensity associated with transient occupancy of a dwelling … is such that the health, safety, and welfare of the community need to be considered prior to approval” (as a bed and breakfast).
MDC strongly supports these conclusions. MDC supports current law prohibiting short term rentals, which promote private gain but offer little or no benefit to the broader community. We believe it is premature to presume that any particular changes will be made in the current Zoning Ordinance.
As a matter of policy the Mason District Council believes that zoning laws on the books should be, and must be, enforced. The intensity associated with short term rentals poses substantial risk of harm to the health, safety, and welfare of our established residential communities.
Thank you.
WATCH: Board of Supervisors Committee Discusses Short Term Rental/Lodging - MANY CONCERNS REMAIN
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=918
MASON DISTRICT COUNCIL COMMENTS ON SHORT TERM RENTALS:
Supervisor Gross,
Thank you for meeting with members of the Mason District Council Board (MDC) and community on October 30. It was a productive conversation.
As we discussed, MDC urges your support in opposing STRs in Fairfax County for the following reasons:
1. There is No Demonstrated Need
· Very few Fairfax County residents appear to be interested in STRs. No more than a handful of advocates for STRs have attended the county meetings.
· You told us that you do not have a large number of constituents seeking this use.
· The County’s own survey cannot be relied upon for soundness since it was susceptible to multiple entries by individuals using various devices and also had no controls limiting entries to county residents only. Supervisor McKay identified a suspiciously large number of responses from a single zip code within his district.
2. Avenues for Room and Whole Home Rentals Already Exist
· Under current law, rooms and entire homes can be lawfully rented month-to-month. One family can take in up to two renters or up to four unrelated people may live in one house. This can all be arranged by individual property owners or lessees without paying service fees to a STR platform.
3. Harmful Impacts to Quality of Life/Character of Neighborhoods/HOAs
· Zoning laws have historically protected residential neighborhoods from incompatible transient use and commercial activity.
· Problems related to STRs reported by neighbors include: lack of parking, large parties and events, increased noise, activity and crime – loitering, trespass, public intoxication, underage drinking, public urination, vandalism, destruction of property, theft and littering.
· Increased tensions and hostilities within neighborhoods.
· HOAs with documents that do not specifically address STRs, or do not have rental minimums, will need to consider amending or changing their association documents in order to limit or prohibit STRs in their communities. This is often a laborious and expensive legal process and would impose a significant burden on thousands of County residents.
4. No Demonstrated Benefit to Neighborhood
· Cities and towns around the nation and world are further restricting and sometimes banning STRs.
· STRs offer no benefits at all for the vast majority of county residents.
5. No Work Group with Community Members
· No meaningful ongoing discussions/meetings with community representatives were conducted to review and assess this possible sweeping zoning change with the potential to affect all residential zoning districts.
· When we met with Planning and Zoning officials in August they admitted they had only spoken to one neighborhood leader in the County.
6. Questionable Cost Benefit
· The cost of enacting and enforcing a new STR ordinance could likely exceed revenue generated by the use.
· Increased strains on County budget for additional staffing to process permits, as well as enforce regulations, i.e., inspectors for public health and safety, police officers and code investigators, as well as taxation office personnel.
· Recent reports by Arlington Commissioner of Revenue show after eight months of STR legalization, just 67 business tax accounts have been created.
· Through July of 2017 Arlington assessed only $18,000 via the 7.25% transient occupancy tax (TOT) which is split between the local and state governments and only $780 via the business license tax.
· Harmful impacts to existing hotels and hospitality businesses operating in Fairfax County must be considered.
7. Compliance and Enforcement Concerns
· Residents at County meetings consistently rate inadequate code enforcement as a top concern.
· There are just 33 DCC investigators that work 7,000 to 10,000 cases per year.
· County representatives readily admit enforcement challenges currently exist even though STRs are not permitted in Fairfax County.
· At County meetings the public has been told there are no plans to increase budget and staffing for DCC.
· MDC members have, for years, been vocal in their disappointment and lack of confidence in County code enforcement.
· DCC representatives at County meetings cite 36 STR complaints (by address, not number of overall calls) since the beginning of the prior year. DCC served just 3 Notices of Violation, with 2 more in the works, and 15 open cases.
· Residents are deeply concerned about additional strains on our police to address increased calls related to parking, noise, nuisance and property crimes and other crimes often associated with STRs.
· Many regulations for STRs are complicated and unrealistic to monitor and enforce.
· Airbnb and others have facilitated illegal short term rentals in Fairfax County by allowing hosts to advertise on their platforms.
· Airbnb has been accused of manipulating data to avoid regulations in other jurisdictions.
In closing, even though a small minority of landlords may be looking to cash in on STRs, that doesn’t justify the many significant problems STRs create for the larger community.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith – Chair
Carol Turner – Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser – Second Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Jon Clark - Treasurer
Board of the Mason District Council of Community Associations
SHORT TERM RENTALS (like Airbnb) UPDATES:
Video of Nov. 29th, 2017 Board of Zoning Appeals hearings on the appeals of homeowners in Mason District and Mt. Vernon District cited for allowing Short Term Rental of the their homes.
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=906
Video of Nov. 1, 2017 Planning Commission Workshop and Public Comment/Questions on Draft Short Term Rental Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment:
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=5&clip_id=886
Draft Design Guidelines prepared without contacting immediate neighborhoods
Without contacting the immediate neighborhoods around 7 Corners/Bailey’s Crossroads or the Mason District Council of Community Associations, the County has completed a draft of future design guidelines of these areas.
Mason District Council is communicating with county reps to learn how and when community input was sought and provided.
Meanwhile, the county will share it’s draft design guidelines at the Tues., Nov. 28th meeting of the Mason District Land Use Committee at the Mason District Government Center at 7:30 pm (6507 Columbia Pike Annandale 22003).
Please see here for information about the draft. http://www.fcrevit.org/programs/UDGupdate.html
Please Attend the Short Term Rental Workshop:
Take part in the conversation and planning.
November 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM
November 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM
Board Conference Room, Government Center
Staff will update the Commission and seek input on proposed regulations, followed by discussions and public comments
IMPORTANT UPDATE: SHORT-TERM RENTALS
COUNTY DENIES MDC's REQUEST FOR COMMUNITY MEETING
Dear Mason District Neighbors,
The County has denied our request for a community meeting in Mason District to address Short-Term Rentals (like Airbnb). We have included correspondence below for your information.
As many of you know, short term rentals are not permitted in Fairfax County except in special circumstances. Despite this fact, hundreds of short-term rentals do operate illegally in the County (see flouting zoning laws remarks by Va. Sen. Stanley - Feb. 2017). Frustrated residents say the County is not doing enough to shut them down and are alarmed at harmful impacts to their neighborhoods and quality of life. Over the last few years, Mason residents have expressed great concern about the lack of enforcement of current zoning regulations on registered complaints. With the County now exploring changes possibly allowing short term rentals, concern is mounting about strains on the County’s resources, such as code compliance investigators and police, and their ability to handle potential growing numbers of these rentals in our neighborhoods.
Please see highlighted section and links in correspondence below to find locations of scheduled community meetings and other ways (including a survey) to learn more and express your thoughts and concerns about short-term rentals operating in our neighborhoods.
A major concern with the county’s survey (link in correspondence), is that it does not contain a question asking survey-takers if they oppose or support Short-Term Rentals. Text boxes must be used to indicate this and other concerns. The survey closes August 31.
We encourage you to attend any of the community meetings and to express your individual thoughts and concerns or community association position or resolutions to the Board of Supervisors clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov; the Planning Commission plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov and the other contacts indicated in the correspondence included here.
It is important for you and your communities to become involved as the County looks at changes related to Short-Term Rentals.
Sincerely,
The Board of Mason District Council of Community Associations
Debbie Smith – Chair
Carol Turner – Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser – 2nd Vice Chair
Clyde Miller – Secretary
Jon Clark – Treasurer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mason District Council <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Aug 10, 2017 at 11:39 AM
Subject: Re: Request STR Meeting for Mason District
To: "Pesto, Donna" <Donna.Pesto@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Cc: "Yegazu, Lily" <Lily.Yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Johnson, Leslie" <Leslie.Johnson@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Selden, Fred" <Fred.Selden@fairfaxcounty.gov>, Mason BOS Email <Mason@fairfaxcounty.gov>, chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov, braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov, dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov, sully@fairfaxcounty.gov, springfield@fairfaxcounty.gov, hntrmill@fairfaxcounty.gov, mtvernon@fairfaxcounty.gov, leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov, provdist@fairfaxcounty.gov, Clayton.Medford@fairfaxcounty.gov,
Donna,
Your response is disappointing.
As you and others are aware, Mason District residents account for a large number of responses on the STR survey. There is obviously a great deal of concern in Mason District. A meeting here appears warranted and wise.
Our community members would like to participate in developing any proposed draft presented to the Board of Supervisors.
It is ironic, after Chairman Bulova’s Community Council initiative to explore how to reach and engage larger numbers of community members early-on in land use matters, that a request for timely participation would be outright rejected.
Also, would you please explain how the County arrived at the locations for the only community meetings scheduled on STRs?
We encourage the County to reassess its decision and schedule a meeting in Mason District sooner rather than later.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith
Chair
Mason District Council of Community Associations
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Pesto, Donna <Donna.Pesto@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Date: Wed, Aug 2, 2017 at 11:01 AM
Subject: RE: Request STR Meeting for Mason District
To: "masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com" <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Cc: "Yegazu, Lily" <Lily.Yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Johnson, Leslie" <Leslie.Johnson@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Selden, Fred" <Fred.Selden@fairfaxcounty.gov>, Mason BOS Email Mason@fairfaxcounty.gov
Thank you for your email inquiry regarding the zoning analysis of short term rental uses. At this time, we are conducting a survey to receive input regarding the use of a dwelling for short term rentals, with the survey closing on August 31, 2017. The survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/short-term-rentals.
After the survey closes, we will be compiling the responses for presentation at three community-wide meetings currently scheduled for September. We will be soliciting any additional public input at these community meetings, which will be used to inform the drafting of a strawman of potential zoning regulations. Those meeting dates/times can be found on our dedicated webpage: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/shorttermrentals/shorttermrentals-calendar.htm. These meetings are not specific to any group or district, but rather, all are open to all members of the public.
At this time, we aren’t scheduling additional citizen meetings to take public comment, but staff would be happy to meet with representatives of your group during regular business hours, should you want to schedule such meeting. In the alternative, we are also accepting comments, resolutions, and other input via email at ordadmin@fairfaxcounty.gov. After a strawman is drafted and presented to the Board of Supervisors (likely at a Development Process Committee meeting), there may be additional community-wide meetings scheduled to take public input on the strawman. If that is the case, we will make certain to schedule one in the Mason/Providence District area.
If you would like to set up a meeting, please contact Lily Yegazu (lily.yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov) or me to find a suitable time.
Thank you,
Donna Pesto
Deputy Zoning Administrator
703-324-1314
From: Mason District Council [mailto:masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2017 1:15 PM
To: Yegazu, Lily <Lily.Yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Johnson, Leslie <Leslie.Johnson@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Mason BOS Email <Mason@FairfaxCounty.gov>
Cc:
Subject: Request STR Meeting for Mason District
Dear Penny, Leslie and Lily,
The Mason District Council board requests that a county meeting on Short-Term Rentals (STR) be scheduled for Mason District. We have learned that county meetings are already on the calendar for several other districts. As you know, the short-term rentals issue is generating concern with a large number of residents of Mason that we would like the opportunity to have addressed at a STR meeting in Mason District.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith
Carol Turner
Debbie Fraser
Clyde Miller
Jon Clark
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming County STR Community Meetings:
Staff will present an update on the survey results and take questions and comments.
September 5, 2017, 7:00 PM - Hunter Mill District Community Room, 1801 Cameron Glen Drive, Reston, VA
September 13, 2017, 7:00 PM - South County Government Center, 8350 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA
September 25, 2017, 7:00 PM - Dranesville District Community Room, 1437 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA
MASON DISTRICT COUNCIL SENDS EMAIL TO TWO SUPERVISORS REQUESTING TO PARTICIPATE ON WORK GROUP STUDYING SHORT TERM RENTALS BUT RECEIVES NO RESPONSE; MDC FOLLOWS UP AND RECEIVES GENERIC RESPONSE WITH NO ACTION
--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: SupervisorMcKay <SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Date: Mon, Jun 5, 2017 at 12:01 PM
Subject: RE: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
To: "masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com" <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email regarding short term rentals. Public input and participation is extremely important in deciding how the County will regulate this growing use. I agree that all interested stakeholders need to be engaged early in this process. I look forward to working with you regarding this issue.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey C. McKay
Lee District Supervisor
From: Mason District Council [mailto:masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2017 6:49 PM
To: Sully District BOS <sully@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Leedist BOS Email <LeedistBOSEmail@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Cc: SupervisorMcKay <SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov>; smithk1110@gmail.com
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
Dear Supervisors Smith and McKay,
We are following up on our correspondence (see below) sent to you on April 28th to which we have received no response.
MDC board members are interested in participating in discussion of possible code or policy changes related to Short Term Rentals.
Early engagement of civic groups, homeowners and other interested stakeholders in this process seems beneficial and worthwhile.
Again, we look forward to hearing from you about the status of the development of the STR work group and further discussions or meetings.
Thank you,
Debbie Smith
Carol Turner
Clyde Miller
Jon Clark
Mason District Council of Community Associations Board
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mason District Council <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 10:46 AM
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force
To: sully@fairfaxcounty.gov, leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov, smithk1110@gmail.com,
Dear Supervisors McKay and Smith,
The Mason District Council of Community Associations (MDC) is requesting to be included in the short term rentals task force/group being developed by county staff (at your recommendation) in order to initiate an analysis of Short Term Rentals and study possible changes to county code and policies.
Our non-HOA citizens associations and residents are especially interested in this issue.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Mason District Council Board
Debbie Smith, Chair
Carol Turner, Vice Chair
Jon Clark, Treasurer
Clyde Miller, Secretary
Meeting on August 15th, 2017 at Mason Government Center
MDC will co-host a community meeting with the Bailey’s Crossroads/Seven Corners Revitalization Corporation (BC7RC) on August 15, 2017 at 7:30 pm. at the Mason District Government Center, 6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale. This meeting is open to all.
We will have a presentation by county representatives and discussion of:
1) Proposed Sign Ordinance changes as a result of a recent Supreme Court decision
and have also invited representatives to update us on the county’s initiative regarding
2) Re-purposing of vacant buildings
We hope you will join us on August 15th and take part in the conversation.
SHORT-TERM RENTALS (like Airbnb) SURVEY
The county is exploring zoning regulations related to Short-term rentals (any dwelling rented for less than 30 days). Currently, the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance prohibits property owners from renting their homes as short-term rentals (unless the Board of Supervisors approves a Special Exception for a bed and breakfast use). Early in 2017, the General Assembly passed legislation (SB 1578) preserving the authority of local governments like Fairfax County to regulate Short-term rentals. The County is now conducting a Short Term Rental Survey to gather feedback from residents. There has been concern expressed that the survey does not provide a questions allowing residents to indicate if they oppose Short-Term Rentals. We understand that you can skip answering the questions and use text boxes to provide your thoughts and comments.
Attend Fairfax County’s Zoning Open House on July 22, 2019
Attend Fairfax County’s Zoning Open House on July 22, 2019
July 12, 2019
Sheds, home-based businesses, and outdoor lighting on residential properties—these are some of the topics that will be discussed at the upcoming Zoning Open House on Monday, July 22, from 7 to 9 p.m.
It will be held in the Fairfax County Government Center Forum, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax.
This is an opportunity to learn about possible zoning changes that may affect your neighborhood, and attendees will:
Hear a short presentation on proposed zoning changes.
Learn about how zoning affects land use and development.
Talk one-on-one with staff.
Ask questions about zoning issues.
Fairfax County is currently considering zoning changes related to:
Lighting: Limiting the color temperature for LED lights on single family properties and other revisions.'
Accessory structures: Changing the side and rear yard regulations related to accessory structures such as sheds, gazebos and children’s play equipment.
Home-based businesses: Allowing a limited number of customers or clients to visit home-based business without requiring a public hearing.
Agritourism: Creating new uses related to agritourism, such as harvest-your-own activities, farm festivals and other special events.
Attendees also can learn about recently adopted zoning changes, including:
To learn more and for reasonable ADA accommodations, contact the Zoning Administration Division by emailor call 703-324-1314, TTY 711.
# # #
Upcoming County Meeting
Mason District Budget Town Meeting
Thursday, March 7, 2019
7 - 9 pm
Mason District Govt Center (Main Community Room)
6507 Columbia Pike Annandale, VA 22003
Feb. 23, 2019
SURVEY:
What does the future of Fairfax County look like to you?
Complete the survey to take part in Fairfax County's strategic planning process.
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/strategicplan/
UPDATE:
SB 1701 was defeated in the House Counties, Cities and Towns Committee’s Subcommittee #2 on February 13th in a 5-3 vote.
The matter is over for the year in the General Assembly, but may likely re-emerge next year. Litigation, however, continues in the courts.
We are grateful for the assistance of Sen. Marsden, Sen. Saslaw and Del. Kory.
Also, sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to write letters and to all who shared their letters with us.
Action Needed by Wednesday, Feb 13th, 2019
Senate Bill 1701, a bill that will undermine the Short Term Rental (i.e. Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway) regulations adopted by Fairfax County after a lengthy discussion with residents, has quickly moved through the Virginia Senate and is now in the Virginia House Committee on Counties, Cities & Towns (CC&T).
The proposed Bill is a blow to local authority given to Fairfax County and other localities by the State in 2017 to regulate Short Term Rentals. Fairfax County’s Short Term Rental regulations just went into effect in October 2018. As enacted the regulations already call for a review period of 18 months. There is no compelling need for action by the State.
We ask you to please write to the members of the House CC&T committee and urge them to “VOTE NO” on SB 1701 and preserve Fairfax County’s authority to regulate Short Term Rentals.
The bill seeks to change County regulations allowing Short Term Rentals for 60 nights/year and increase the number of rental nights to 180 nights/year.
Contact Information for House CC&T Committee members:
DelRIngram@house.virginia.gov ; DelCStolle@house.virginia.gov; DelDMarshall@house.virginia.gov; DelCPoindexter@house.virginia.gov; DelBThomas@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMorefield@house.virginia.gov ; DelKHodges@house.virginia.gov ; DelMWebert@house.virginia.gov ; DelTAustin@house.virginia.gov ; DelJCampbell@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMcGuire@house.virginia.gov ; DelBThomas@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMcNamara@house.virginia.gov ; DelCHerring@house.virginia.gov ; DelSHeretick@house.virginia.gov ; DelJBell@house.virginia.gov ; DelPKrizek@house.virginia.gov ; DelMMullin@house.virginia.gov ; DelCHayes@house.virginia.gov ; DelJMcGuire@house.virginia.gov ; DelDReid@house.virginia.gov ; DelDRoem@house.virginia.gov ; delkmurphy@house.virginia.gov
Thank you.
Mason District Council
December 13, 2018
Proposal for 72 Residences at Gallows Rd/Libeau Lane Near 495
Many thanks to all who came to the public meeting on Tuesday Nov. 27th and who are writing letters and making phone calls to our county representatives about the Woodburn Manor Independent Living Facility proposal for 72 residences on Gallows Rd/Libeau Ln. near 495.
At the meeting on the Nov 27th The Mason District Land Use committee unanimously voted to not recommend approval of the Woodburn Manor proposal to the Planning Commission. The Annandale Blog covered the meeting in a recent post: https://annandaleva.blogspot.com/2018/11/land-use-committee-rejects-55-housing.html
Since then, we have received notification of the postponement of the Planning Commission public hearing originally scheduled for December 6th, 2018 to JANUARY 9th 2019. See below.
For those who still would like to send a letter with concerns or comments about the proposal, please direct your emails to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors at plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov and clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov. Make sure that you reference Woodburn Manor SE2018-MA-005 and be sure to sign your name and address.
We will keep you updated of any additional news that we receive related to the proposal.
Sincerely,
The Board of The Mason District Council of Community Associations
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SHORT TERM RENTAL MATTER:
On Tuesday July 31, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a zoning ordinance amendment allowing Short Term Lodgings (rooms or entire dwellings rented through platforms like, Airbnb, Flipkey, VRBO on a nightly/weekly basis for less than 30 consecutive days) in all Fairfax County residential districts. Despite strong opposition from a large number of Mason District residents, Supervisor Gross voted in favor of the ordinance allowing these Short Term Lodgings.
Details of the new Short Term Lodging (STL) zoning ordinance amendment:
A permit will be needed to operate a STL -- $ 200 for a 2 year permit
Dwellings or portions of dwellings that are the permanent residence (more than 185 days) of the STL operator (owner or a tenant) may be rented for up to 60 days per year
An STL operator will not be required to be on premises during rentals but a point of contact is to be designated in case of problems during rentals
Up to 6 adults and an unlimited number of children may stay at a STL
1 contract per night
1 designated parking spot for STL customers
County will ask STL platforms (i.e.,Airbnb, Flipkey, VRBO) to include permit number and location of parking spot in STL advertisements
No rentals for events or for commercial purposes (parties, fundraisers etc)
Dwelling must be available upon request for inspection at a” reasonable time” by Dept. of Code Compliance
STLs will be subject to Transient Occupancy Taxes
With their vote the Board rejected more restrictive recommendations passed by the Planning Commission which sought to limit STL rentals to 45 days/year and also recommended limiting the number of days rented without the operator present to 14 out of the 45 day total.
Questions and concerns MDC presented that remain unanswered include:
No limit on number of STL permits per dwelling (multiple tenants could all obtain permits)
Meaning of “available” related to point of contact when rental occurs without operator present
No increased budget or new employees for Dept. of Code Compliance
No change in hours for Dept. of Code Compliance, so hours will remain M-F 9-5pm even though most STL activity occurs on evenings and weekends.
Most regulations in the ordinance are unrealistic to enforce
The ordinance may cost more to implement than revenue generated (no analysis provided by County)
Presents serious issues for HOAs i.e.,common property liability, insurance and existing covenant language may need to be changed (expensive, onerous)
No health and safety inspections required
The ordinance will take effect on October 1, 2018.
VIDEO - MDC 4/17/18 COMMUNITY MEETING WITH COUNTY REPS
GENERAL CONCERNS:
Fairfax County is proposing to allow short-term lodging (STL) in residential districts, that is, rentals of rooms or dwellings for periods of less than 30 days. Currently, STLs such as those offered through Airbnb and VRBO, are prohibited in Fairfax County.
The county now proposes that STL rentals will be classified as “hotels” in the zoning ordinance and allowed to operate as such in residential districts in accordance with regulations available on line athttps://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-zoning/sites/planning-zoning/files/assets/documents/zoning ordinance/proposed amendments/shorttermrental.pdf. The prospect of STL hotels operating in our residential communities is an important issue for county residents and deserves our attention. A few pertinent questions are the following:
Compatibility: Are STL hotels compatible with the character of our residential districts?
Safety: Would STLs introduce safety and security concerns, in particular for our children?
Transients’ Casual Respect: Would transients’ traffic, spill-over parking, and offhand regard for our neighborhoods jeopardize our utilization and enjoyment of our homes?
Rationale for Proposal: The staff report states that STL rentals using on-line hosting platforms are “popular,” calling them an “emerging economic model.” Is the popularity of Airbnb, VRBO, and the sharing economy the reason the county is proposing to allow STL hotels after prohibiting them for decades?
Community benefit: What are the foreseen community benefits of STLs?
Boarding Houses: Has the county evaluated the possibility that STLs would foster a proliferation of boarding houses wherein several families crowd into a house more or less permanently. Upon inspection, six of the occupants could be justified as STL guests.
Low-income housing supply: What is the county’s assessment of the likelihood that STLs would undercut the supply of low-income housing when landlords move apartments from the long-term, low-income market to more lucrative short-term rentals?
Local hotel industry: What is the county’s assessment of the impact on our local commercial hotels which employ county residents and generate much needed taxes when the thousands of STLs siphon off their customers?
Enforcement: Is the county capable of monitoring and enforcing compliance with the proposed regulations?
Staff: How many additional staff does the county envision hiring to administer and regulate the thousands of STL hotels they anticipate? (Update: At our community meeting on April 18th we were told no additional staff would be added to Department of Code Compliance)
Funds: What source of funds would pay the additional staff?
Powers: Effective code compliance can be difficult today because of the limited authority of staff. What new powers would be provided staff to protect neighborhoods, for example, to quell noise from a loud party?
HEARINGS:
The Planning Commission hearing on STLs is scheduled for May 3rd at 7:30pm
The Board of Supervisors hearing will follow on Jun 19 at 4pm
Whether you approve or disapprove of the STL proposal, please write both the Planning Commission and the Board to express your opinion. Be sure to include your name and address on your email to verify that you live in Fairfax County, and ask that your email be sent to all members of the respective body.
Planning Commission Email: plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov
Board of Supervisors Email: Send to ClerktotheBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov
Mailing Address: Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035
County Working on Zoning Ordinance Changes to allow SHORT TERM
RENTALS / LODGING (like Airbnb)
*Use link (left side) to view Short Term Rentals Resource Page*
UPDATED/REVISED COUNTY DRAFT and STAFF REPORT:
Read County’s Staff Report re:Draft STL Amendment: pages 44-70:
Dec 12th COUNTY DRAFT:
Dec 12 Draft Short Term Rentals/Lodging
TIMELINE - SHORT TERM RENTALS / LODGING:
Though many serious questions and concerns remain unaddressed (see MDC comments below), the county has discussed proceeding with the following timeline:
Mar. 20th Supervisors' Authorization of Public Hearings
May 3rd Planning Commission Public Hearing
June 19th Board of Supervisors Public Hearing
*Use link (left side) to view Short Term Rentals Resource Page*
MDC Requests Delay for STL Public Hearings
From: Mason District Council
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2018 4:21 PM
To: clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov ; mason@fairfaxcounty.gov ; chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov ; braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov ; dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov ; huntermill@fairfaxcounty.gov ; leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov ; mtvernon@fairfaxcounty.gov ; provdist@fairfaxcounty.gov ; springfield@fairfaxcounty.gov ; sully@fairfaxcounty.gov
Subject: Please Postpone STL Authorization March 20th
Members of the Board of Supervisors,
Fairfax County's proposed zoning ordinance changes related to short term lodgings are critically flawed and need more work before public hearings.
A seriously flawed survey, errors in the staff report, and a failure to conduct a dialogue with county residents are several reasons to postpone the authorization of public hearings on short term lodging and take the necessary time to thoroughly and properly vet this serious zoning matter.
1) FLAWED STL SURVEY
Though the County has claimed that its survey was not intended to be scientific, the County is relying on its flawed survey to present the case for community interest in STLs. Several of the deficiencies with the survey include:
a) No question asking if residents oppose or support short term lodgings.
b) Absence of “None of the Above” option on every question.
c) Anyone who knew a Fairfax County zip code could complete the survey (multiple times). No control limiting respondents to county residents.
Supervisor Jeff McKay at the Oct 3 Board Dev. Process Committee meeting said “I will say 641 responses coming from zip code 22315 cannot be right. I want to see some evidence of that” see 1 hr 51min 30 sec http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=821
d) Survey could be taken multiple times by same person on various devices:
Supervisor Gross asked planning and zoning representatives at the BoS Development Process Committee meeting on July 18, 2017 about controls on the survey because she heard that the survey could be taken more than once by the same person. Supervisor Gross was told by Donna Pesto that it could only be taken once but Ms. Pesto then quietly and quickly interjected “on the same device”: See 1hr 30 min 28 sec
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=759
Lily Yegazu from planning and zoning stated that there was no control limiting individuals from taking the survey multiple times - see this Fairfax Connection article: "The survey was designed to be anonymous, so the county could not limit individuals from taking the survey multiple times, however; individuals could not take the survey from the same device twice, according to Lily Yegazu, senior assistant to the zoning administrator for the DPZ."
2) ERROR IN STAFF REPORT
Minimizing the negative impacts of existing short term lodgings operating in the County, staff has provided inaccurate calculations related to the percentage of complaints received. The percentage of complaints is more than 3x GREATER (3.6% instead of less than 1%) than the figure provided by staff. This error is misleading and does not engender confidence in the analysis and level of attention and seriousness being given to this matter and continues a pattern of skewed results.
County staff report excerpt with error:
Existing STLs
Staff research indicates that there are more than 1,500 active STLs—that is, STLs that have been rented in the past year—currently operating in Fairfax County. Assuming there are 1,500 active STLs operating in the County, only 54, or less than 1%, have been the subject of complaints for the STL use. While these numbers do not discredit the concerns raised, they do reflect that there may be a significant number of STLs currently operating without any negative impacts on their communities.
3) FAILURE TO ENGAGE RESIDENTS IN DIALOGUE
The work group the County created and met with on a continual basis did not include residents as was specifically requested by Supervisor Penny Gross.
From the staff report “...on March 14, 2017, the Board of Supervisors (Board) directed staff to form a workgroup to analyze the short-term rental of property in Fairfax County and recommend possible changes to the County Code and Zoning Ordinance. Staff from the Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ), the Department of Code Compliance (DCC), the Department of Tax Administration (DTA), the County Attorney’s Office (OCA), the County Executive’s Office (CEO) and the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) comprised the County’s workgroup.”
See Supervisor Gross remarks requesting citizen participation on the work group studying Short Term Rentals at March 14, 2017 BoS meeting at 1 hour 7 min 17 sec here: http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=607
Also see Supervisor Gross admonish planning and zoning representatives at Board Development Process meeting on Oct. 3, 2017 for not including community members in any formal or ongoing meetings or discussions related to STRs at 1 hr 42 min 38 sec http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=821
Furthermore, the board of the Mason District Council of Community Associations requested to be included in any workgroup studying STLs but was never included, see correspondence here:
-------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Supervisor McKay SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov
Date: Mon, Jun 5, 2017 at 12:01 PM
Subject: RE: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
To: "masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com" <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email regarding short term rentals. Public input and participation is extremely important in deciding how the County will regulate this growing use. I agree that all interested stakeholders need to be engaged early in this process. I look forward to working with you regarding this issue.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey C. McKay
Lee District Supervisor
From: Mason District Council [mailto:masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2017 6:49 PM
To: Sully District BOS <sully@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Leedist BOS Email LeedistBOSEmail@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: SupervisorMcKay <SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov>; smithk1110@gmail.com
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
Dear Supervisors Smith and McKay,
We are following up on our correspondence (see below) sent to you on April 28th to which we have received no response.
MDC board members are interested in participating in discussion of possible code or policy changes related to Short Term Rentals.
Early engagement of civic groups, homeowners and other interested stakeholders in this process seems beneficial and worthwhile.
Again, we look forward to hearing from you about the status of the development of the STR work group and further discussions or meetings.
Thank you,
Debbie Smith
Carol Turner
Clyde Miller
Jon Clark
Mason District Council of Community Associations Board
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mason District Council masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com
Date: Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 10:46 AM
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force
To: sully@fairfaxcounty.gov, leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov, smithk1110@gmail.com,
Dear Supervisors McKay and Smith,
The Mason District Council of Community Associations (MDC) is requesting to be included in the short term rentals task force/group being developed by county staff (at your recommendation) in order to initiate an analysis of Short Term Rentals and study possible changes to county code and policies.
Our non-HOA citizens associations and residents are especially interested in this issue.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Mason District Council Board
Debbie Smith, Chair
Carol Turner, Vice Chair
Jon Clark, Treasurer
Clyde Miller, Secretary
______________________________________________________________________
For the above reasons, and many others not included in this e-mail, we urge a postponement of the authorization to advertise public hearings on short term lodgings in order to allow further, serious discussion and assessment of the issue.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith - Chair
Carol Turner - Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser - Second Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Jon Clark - Treasurer
Mason District Council Board
COUNTY TO OVERHAUL ZONING ORDINANCE
This initiative must be followed closely.
Link to County SURVEY (closes Feb 14th) on the zoning ordinance overhaul.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZMOD
Related Article:
MDC LETTER TO CHAIRMAN BULOVA re: SHORT TERM RENTALS / LODGING and RESPONSE
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chairman <Chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Date: Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 11:01 AM
Subject: RE: The STR Issue Not Addressed
To: Mason District Council <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Dear Members of the Mason District Council:
Thank you for sharing your position on short term rentals (STRs) in Fairfax County. I will certainly keep your comments in mind regarding the impact of short term rentals on the community as the Board of Supervisors takes this issue up later in the year.
As the Board of Supervisors prepares to take this issue up this winter, Fairfax County staff is engaging residents through a variety of ways to gauge their opinion of short term rentals. You can find more information on this process at https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-zoning/zoning/short-term-property-rentals . I encourage you to share any additional thoughts you may have regarding short term rentals via the phone number or email address listed on the web page, and to be on the lookout for public meetings on the issue that will be scheduled in the future.
The hearings on STRs will focus on a multitude of issues, as the question of whether to approve these dwelling units and the specific regulations that would apply if so is a complex one. Community input will be a valuable component to the staff report and Board assessment of the issue of STRs in the county.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns on short term rentals. I look forward to continuing this conversation with the residents of Fairfax County as the Board considers how to address this issue.
Sincerely,
Sharon Bulova
Chairman
------------------- Original Message -------------------
From: Mason District Council
Received: 1/18/2018 9:46 AM
To: _ CRMPChairman; chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: Clayton Medford; Clayton Medford
Subject: The STR Issue Not Addressed
Dear Chairman Bulova,
As you are aware, many citizens are gravely concerned about the potential consequences of short-term rentals (STRs) in our residential neighborhoods. The purpose of this email is to ask for the county’s plan to discuss and consult the community on the question whether STRs should be allowed in dwelling units in Fairfax County. The current narrow focus on STR regulations appears to overlook this central question.
In the Mar 14 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Supervisor McKay, in a motion made jointly with Supervisor K. Smith, proposed that staff analyze STRs with the possibility of proposing regulations. His motion was based solely on the Board’s policy “to encourage the new sharing economy.” There was no discussion of the foreseen community benefits of STRs or why they should be allowed. The Planning Commission STR workshop on Nov 1 was limited to discussing draft regulations developed by staff. No discussion of why or whether STRs should be allowed was relevant to the purpose of the workshop. A number of Development Process Committee and community meetings have been held in the same context: earnest discussion of regulations but little or no discussion from county representatives about whether STRs should be allowed. The county’s STR initiatives to date seem to be predicated on the assumption that STRs in dwelling units will be allowed. But, they are illegal and most residents appear to oppose them.
Section 10-302 of the Zoning Ordinance at #7 states that rentals in dwelling units as a home occupation are limited to the following:
7. The letting for hire of not more than two (2) rooms for rooming or boarding use for not more than two (2) persons, neither of whom is a transient.
A rental of less than 30 days is considered “transient’ and so is not allowed. Section 2-302 precludes the county issuing special permits for STRs in dwelling units because the use is prohibited by Section 10-302. The same prohibition would apply to an ad hoc county registry authorizing the operation of STRs. In this context, the current activity to develop regulations for STRs is limited to answering the question, “What regulations would apply IF the county were to allow STRs in dwelling units?” Actually allowing them to operate would require an amendment to Section 10-302 of the Zoning Ordinance. When are we going to talk about whether STRs should be allowed? On the current course, we risk not having the discussion.
The concern is that the Board and the community will debate regulations to a point where the Board will adopt regulations and then declare that STRs are legal because regulations have been adopted. The goal of this email is to prevent such an outcome. The task of formulating STR regulations is separate from the question whether STRs should be allowed.
The Board and the community are dealing with two questions and both need to be addressed:
(1) What regulations would apply if STRs were allowed?
(2) Should STRs be allowed?
It is recommended that the county clearly organize STR discussions to specifically address both questions. For example, discussions in Development Process Committee and community meetings formally should be in two parts: Part 1 - What regulations would apply? and Part 2 - Should STRs be allowed?. Supervisors and the public should address both questions.
The Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors hearings at the end of this process clearly should be on the question of whether STRs should be allowed given the final set of regulations proposed by the county. The staff report supporting the hearings explicitly should address both questions and should provide an informed assessment of expected community costs and benefits of allowing STRs in dwelling units in Fairfax County.
Please let us know the Board’s plan for addressing the question of whether STRs should be allowed. In addition, please provide your views on two questions:
() Should the STR hearings, in the end, focus on the question of whether STRs should be allowed in dwelling units given the final regulations proposed by the county?
() Should the staff report supporting STR hearings provide an informed assessment of expected community costs and benefits associated with allowing STRs in dwelling units in Fairfax County?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith - Chair
Carol Turner - Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser - Second Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Jon Clark - Treasurer
The Board of the Mason District Council of Community Associations
CC: Board of Supervisors
ALERT: JAN 11, 2018 SHORT TERM RENTALS
Short Term Rentals (like Airbnb) Found in Violation of Zoning Ordinance
Yesterday, in 2 separate cases, the Board of Zoning Appeals upheld the determination by the County Zoning Administrator finding the property owners in both cases in violation of the Zoning Ordinance for allowing use of their homes for transient occupancy-- less than 30 days (Short Term Rental). One of the cases involved a home here in Mason District and the other in Mt. Vernon District.
The Mason District Council of Community Associations wishes to acknowledge Mason residents who were actively involved in this matter and all who offered testimony, written or oral, for the BZA hearing.
Mason District Council of Community Associations presented the following testimony at the BZA public hearing on Nov. 29th, 2017:
The Mason District Council of Community Associations (MDC) urges that the Notice of Violation in this matter be upheld.
The Staff Report (page 7) concludes that:
“Unless and until the Board amends the Zoning Ordinance to allow short-term rental, such a use of a dwelling is not a permitted use, in any circumstances, under the current Zoning Ordinance.”
The Staff Report also concludes (page 8) that:
“The intensity associated with transient occupancy of a dwelling … is such that the health, safety, and welfare of the community need to be considered prior to approval” (as a bed and breakfast).
MDC strongly supports these conclusions. MDC supports current law prohibiting short term rentals, which promote private gain but offer little or no benefit to the broader community. We believe it is premature to presume that any particular changes will be made in the current Zoning Ordinance.
As a matter of policy the Mason District Council believes that zoning laws on the books should be, and must be, enforced. The intensity associated with short term rentals poses substantial risk of harm to the health, safety, and welfare of our established residential communities.
Thank you.
WATCH: Board of Supervisors Committee Discusses Short Term Rental/Lodging - MANY CONCERNS REMAIN
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=9&clip_id=918
MASON DISTRICT COUNCIL COMMENTS ON SHORT TERM RENTALS:
Supervisor Gross,
Thank you for meeting with members of the Mason District Council Board (MDC) and community on October 30. It was a productive conversation.
As we discussed, MDC urges your support in opposing STRs in Fairfax County for the following reasons:
1. There is No Demonstrated Need
· Very few Fairfax County residents appear to be interested in STRs. No more than a handful of advocates for STRs have attended the county meetings.
· You told us that you do not have a large number of constituents seeking this use.
· The County’s own survey cannot be relied upon for soundness since it was susceptible to multiple entries by individuals using various devices and also had no controls limiting entries to county residents only. Supervisor McKay identified a suspiciously large number of responses from a single zip code within his district.
2. Avenues for Room and Whole Home Rentals Already Exist
· Under current law, rooms and entire homes can be lawfully rented month-to-month. One family can take in up to two renters or up to four unrelated people may live in one house. This can all be arranged by individual property owners or lessees without paying service fees to a STR platform.
3. Harmful Impacts to Quality of Life/Character of Neighborhoods/HOAs
· Zoning laws have historically protected residential neighborhoods from incompatible transient use and commercial activity.
· Problems related to STRs reported by neighbors include: lack of parking, large parties and events, increased noise, activity and crime – loitering, trespass, public intoxication, underage drinking, public urination, vandalism, destruction of property, theft and littering.
· Increased tensions and hostilities within neighborhoods.
· HOAs with documents that do not specifically address STRs, or do not have rental minimums, will need to consider amending or changing their association documents in order to limit or prohibit STRs in their communities. This is often a laborious and expensive legal process and would impose a significant burden on thousands of County residents.
4. No Demonstrated Benefit to Neighborhood
· Cities and towns around the nation and world are further restricting and sometimes banning STRs.
· STRs offer no benefits at all for the vast majority of county residents.
5. No Work Group with Community Members
· No meaningful ongoing discussions/meetings with community representatives were conducted to review and assess this possible sweeping zoning change with the potential to affect all residential zoning districts.
· When we met with Planning and Zoning officials in August they admitted they had only spoken to one neighborhood leader in the County.
6. Questionable Cost Benefit
· The cost of enacting and enforcing a new STR ordinance could likely exceed revenue generated by the use.
· Increased strains on County budget for additional staffing to process permits, as well as enforce regulations, i.e., inspectors for public health and safety, police officers and code investigators, as well as taxation office personnel.
· Recent reports by Arlington Commissioner of Revenue show after eight months of STR legalization, just 67 business tax accounts have been created.
· Through July of 2017 Arlington assessed only $18,000 via the 7.25% transient occupancy tax (TOT) which is split between the local and state governments and only $780 via the business license tax.
· Harmful impacts to existing hotels and hospitality businesses operating in Fairfax County must be considered.
7. Compliance and Enforcement Concerns
· Residents at County meetings consistently rate inadequate code enforcement as a top concern.
· There are just 33 DCC investigators that work 7,000 to 10,000 cases per year.
· County representatives readily admit enforcement challenges currently exist even though STRs are not permitted in Fairfax County.
· At County meetings the public has been told there are no plans to increase budget and staffing for DCC.
· MDC members have, for years, been vocal in their disappointment and lack of confidence in County code enforcement.
· DCC representatives at County meetings cite 36 STR complaints (by address, not number of overall calls) since the beginning of the prior year. DCC served just 3 Notices of Violation, with 2 more in the works, and 15 open cases.
· Residents are deeply concerned about additional strains on our police to address increased calls related to parking, noise, nuisance and property crimes and other crimes often associated with STRs.
· Many regulations for STRs are complicated and unrealistic to monitor and enforce.
· Airbnb and others have facilitated illegal short term rentals in Fairfax County by allowing hosts to advertise on their platforms.
· Airbnb has been accused of manipulating data to avoid regulations in other jurisdictions.
In closing, even though a small minority of landlords may be looking to cash in on STRs, that doesn’t justify the many significant problems STRs create for the larger community.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith – Chair
Carol Turner – Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser – Second Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Jon Clark - Treasurer
Board of the Mason District Council of Community Associations
SHORT TERM RENTALS (like Airbnb) UPDATES:
Video of Nov. 29th, 2017 Board of Zoning Appeals hearings on the appeals of homeowners in Mason District and Mt. Vernon District cited for allowing Short Term Rental of the their homes.
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=906
Video of Nov. 1, 2017 Planning Commission Workshop and Public Comment/Questions on Draft Short Term Rental Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment:
http://video.fairfaxcounty.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=5&clip_id=886
Draft Design Guidelines prepared without contacting immediate neighborhoods
Without contacting the immediate neighborhoods around 7 Corners/Bailey’s Crossroads or the Mason District Council of Community Associations, the County has completed a draft of future design guidelines of these areas.
Mason District Council is communicating with county reps to learn how and when community input was sought and provided.
Meanwhile, the county will share it’s draft design guidelines at the Tues., Nov. 28th meeting of the Mason District Land Use Committee at the Mason District Government Center at 7:30 pm (6507 Columbia Pike Annandale 22003).
Please see here for information about the draft. http://www.fcrevit.org/programs/UDGupdate.html
Please Attend the Short Term Rental Workshop:
Take part in the conversation and planning.
November 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM
November 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM
Board Conference Room, Government Center
Staff will update the Commission and seek input on proposed regulations, followed by discussions and public comments
IMPORTANT UPDATE: SHORT-TERM RENTALS
COUNTY DENIES MDC's REQUEST FOR COMMUNITY MEETING
Dear Mason District Neighbors,
The County has denied our request for a community meeting in Mason District to address Short-Term Rentals (like Airbnb). We have included correspondence below for your information.
As many of you know, short term rentals are not permitted in Fairfax County except in special circumstances. Despite this fact, hundreds of short-term rentals do operate illegally in the County (see flouting zoning laws remarks by Va. Sen. Stanley - Feb. 2017). Frustrated residents say the County is not doing enough to shut them down and are alarmed at harmful impacts to their neighborhoods and quality of life. Over the last few years, Mason residents have expressed great concern about the lack of enforcement of current zoning regulations on registered complaints. With the County now exploring changes possibly allowing short term rentals, concern is mounting about strains on the County’s resources, such as code compliance investigators and police, and their ability to handle potential growing numbers of these rentals in our neighborhoods.
Please see highlighted section and links in correspondence below to find locations of scheduled community meetings and other ways (including a survey) to learn more and express your thoughts and concerns about short-term rentals operating in our neighborhoods.
A major concern with the county’s survey (link in correspondence), is that it does not contain a question asking survey-takers if they oppose or support Short-Term Rentals. Text boxes must be used to indicate this and other concerns. The survey closes August 31.
We encourage you to attend any of the community meetings and to express your individual thoughts and concerns or community association position or resolutions to the Board of Supervisors clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov; the Planning Commission plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov and the other contacts indicated in the correspondence included here.
It is important for you and your communities to become involved as the County looks at changes related to Short-Term Rentals.
Sincerely,
The Board of Mason District Council of Community Associations
Debbie Smith – Chair
Carol Turner – Vice Chair
Debbie Fraser – 2nd Vice Chair
Clyde Miller – Secretary
Jon Clark – Treasurer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mason District Council <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Aug 10, 2017 at 11:39 AM
Subject: Re: Request STR Meeting for Mason District
To: "Pesto, Donna" <Donna.Pesto@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Cc: "Yegazu, Lily" <Lily.Yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Johnson, Leslie" <Leslie.Johnson@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Selden, Fred" <Fred.Selden@fairfaxcounty.gov>, Mason BOS Email <Mason@fairfaxcounty.gov>, chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov, braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov, dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov, sully@fairfaxcounty.gov, springfield@fairfaxcounty.gov, hntrmill@fairfaxcounty.gov, mtvernon@fairfaxcounty.gov, leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov, provdist@fairfaxcounty.gov, Clayton.Medford@fairfaxcounty.gov,
Donna,
Your response is disappointing.
As you and others are aware, Mason District residents account for a large number of responses on the STR survey. There is obviously a great deal of concern in Mason District. A meeting here appears warranted and wise.
Our community members would like to participate in developing any proposed draft presented to the Board of Supervisors.
It is ironic, after Chairman Bulova’s Community Council initiative to explore how to reach and engage larger numbers of community members early-on in land use matters, that a request for timely participation would be outright rejected.
Also, would you please explain how the County arrived at the locations for the only community meetings scheduled on STRs?
We encourage the County to reassess its decision and schedule a meeting in Mason District sooner rather than later.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith
Chair
Mason District Council of Community Associations
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Pesto, Donna <Donna.Pesto@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Date: Wed, Aug 2, 2017 at 11:01 AM
Subject: RE: Request STR Meeting for Mason District
To: "masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com" <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Cc: "Yegazu, Lily" <Lily.Yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Johnson, Leslie" <Leslie.Johnson@fairfaxcounty.gov>, "Selden, Fred" <Fred.Selden@fairfaxcounty.gov>, Mason BOS Email Mason@fairfaxcounty.gov
Thank you for your email inquiry regarding the zoning analysis of short term rental uses. At this time, we are conducting a survey to receive input regarding the use of a dwelling for short term rentals, with the survey closing on August 31, 2017. The survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/short-term-rentals.
After the survey closes, we will be compiling the responses for presentation at three community-wide meetings currently scheduled for September. We will be soliciting any additional public input at these community meetings, which will be used to inform the drafting of a strawman of potential zoning regulations. Those meeting dates/times can be found on our dedicated webpage: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/shorttermrentals/shorttermrentals-calendar.htm. These meetings are not specific to any group or district, but rather, all are open to all members of the public.
At this time, we aren’t scheduling additional citizen meetings to take public comment, but staff would be happy to meet with representatives of your group during regular business hours, should you want to schedule such meeting. In the alternative, we are also accepting comments, resolutions, and other input via email at ordadmin@fairfaxcounty.gov. After a strawman is drafted and presented to the Board of Supervisors (likely at a Development Process Committee meeting), there may be additional community-wide meetings scheduled to take public input on the strawman. If that is the case, we will make certain to schedule one in the Mason/Providence District area.
If you would like to set up a meeting, please contact Lily Yegazu (lily.yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov) or me to find a suitable time.
Thank you,
Donna Pesto
Deputy Zoning Administrator
703-324-1314
From: Mason District Council [mailto:masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2017 1:15 PM
To: Yegazu, Lily <Lily.Yegazu@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Johnson, Leslie <Leslie.Johnson@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Mason BOS Email <Mason@FairfaxCounty.gov>
Cc:
Subject: Request STR Meeting for Mason District
Dear Penny, Leslie and Lily,
The Mason District Council board requests that a county meeting on Short-Term Rentals (STR) be scheduled for Mason District. We have learned that county meetings are already on the calendar for several other districts. As you know, the short-term rentals issue is generating concern with a large number of residents of Mason that we would like the opportunity to have addressed at a STR meeting in Mason District.
Sincerely,
Debbie Smith
Carol Turner
Debbie Fraser
Clyde Miller
Jon Clark
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming County STR Community Meetings:
Staff will present an update on the survey results and take questions and comments.
September 5, 2017, 7:00 PM - Hunter Mill District Community Room, 1801 Cameron Glen Drive, Reston, VA
September 13, 2017, 7:00 PM - South County Government Center, 8350 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA
September 25, 2017, 7:00 PM - Dranesville District Community Room, 1437 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA
MASON DISTRICT COUNCIL SENDS EMAIL TO TWO SUPERVISORS REQUESTING TO PARTICIPATE ON WORK GROUP STUDYING SHORT TERM RENTALS BUT RECEIVES NO RESPONSE; MDC FOLLOWS UP AND RECEIVES GENERIC RESPONSE WITH NO ACTION
--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: SupervisorMcKay <SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Date: Mon, Jun 5, 2017 at 12:01 PM
Subject: RE: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
To: "masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com" <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email regarding short term rentals. Public input and participation is extremely important in deciding how the County will regulate this growing use. I agree that all interested stakeholders need to be engaged early in this process. I look forward to working with you regarding this issue.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey C. McKay
Lee District Supervisor
From: Mason District Council [mailto:masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2017 6:49 PM
To: Sully District BOS <sully@fairfaxcounty.gov>; Leedist BOS Email <LeedistBOSEmail@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Cc: SupervisorMcKay <SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov>; smithk1110@gmail.com
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force Follow-up
Dear Supervisors Smith and McKay,
We are following up on our correspondence (see below) sent to you on April 28th to which we have received no response.
MDC board members are interested in participating in discussion of possible code or policy changes related to Short Term Rentals.
Early engagement of civic groups, homeowners and other interested stakeholders in this process seems beneficial and worthwhile.
Again, we look forward to hearing from you about the status of the development of the STR work group and further discussions or meetings.
Thank you,
Debbie Smith
Carol Turner
Clyde Miller
Jon Clark
Mason District Council of Community Associations Board
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mason District Council <masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 10:46 AM
Subject: Short Term Rentals - County Task Force
To: sully@fairfaxcounty.gov, leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov
Cc: SupervisorMcKay@fairfaxcounty.gov, smithk1110@gmail.com,
Dear Supervisors McKay and Smith,
The Mason District Council of Community Associations (MDC) is requesting to be included in the short term rentals task force/group being developed by county staff (at your recommendation) in order to initiate an analysis of Short Term Rentals and study possible changes to county code and policies.
Our non-HOA citizens associations and residents are especially interested in this issue.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Mason District Council Board
Debbie Smith, Chair
Carol Turner, Vice Chair
Jon Clark, Treasurer
Clyde Miller, Secretary
Meeting on August 15th, 2017 at Mason Government Center
MDC will co-host a community meeting with the Bailey’s Crossroads/Seven Corners Revitalization Corporation (BC7RC) on August 15, 2017 at 7:30 pm. at the Mason District Government Center, 6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale. This meeting is open to all.
We will have a presentation by county representatives and discussion of:
1) Proposed Sign Ordinance changes as a result of a recent Supreme Court decision
and have also invited representatives to update us on the county’s initiative regarding
2) Re-purposing of vacant buildings
We hope you will join us on August 15th and take part in the conversation.
SHORT-TERM RENTALS (like Airbnb) SURVEY
The county is exploring zoning regulations related to Short-term rentals (any dwelling rented for less than 30 days). Currently, the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance prohibits property owners from renting their homes as short-term rentals (unless the Board of Supervisors approves a Special Exception for a bed and breakfast use). Early in 2017, the General Assembly passed legislation (SB 1578) preserving the authority of local governments like Fairfax County to regulate Short-term rentals. The County is now conducting a Short Term Rental Survey to gather feedback from residents. There has been concern expressed that the survey does not provide a questions allowing residents to indicate if they oppose Short-Term Rentals. We understand that you can skip answering the questions and use text boxes to provide your thoughts and comments.
Feb 22, 2017
UPDATE! Short-Term Rentals
Short Term Rental Bill 1578S1 passed the House without amendment by a vote of 86-14. It is now on its way to the desk of the Governor. Thank you to all who participated in this process.
Feb 21, 2017
ACTION - Email Delegates Today to Vote to Support SB1578S1
A bill addressing Short Term Rentals (like Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway) has passed the Senate and is expected to reach the floor of the Virginia House for a final vote tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 22nd.
SB1578S1 reflects the main concerns of community members at our October Short Term Rental Forum -- to preserve the authority of local governments (like Fairfax County) to allow or prohibit and also regulate Short Term Rentals.
Please email Fairfax County Delegates to Richmond and urge their support of SB1578S1 and all the powers it maintains for local governments.
Fairfax County Delegates to Richmond
DelKMurphy@house.virginia.gov;
DelTHugo@house.virginia.gov;
DelRSullivan@house.virginia.gov;
DelMKeam@house.virginia.gov;
DelEFiller-Corn@house.virginia.gov;
DelALopez@house.virginia.gov;
DelKPlum@house.virginia.gov;
DelDAlbo@house.virginia.gov;
DelMSimon@house.virginia.gov;
DelDBulova@house.virginia.gov;
DelMSickles@house.virginia.gov;
DelJLeMunyon@house.virginia.gov;
DelKKory@house.virginia.gov;
DelPKrizek@house.virginia.gov;
DelJBoysko@house.virginia.gov;
DelVwatts@house.virginia.gov;
DelMLevine@house.virginia.gov;
Update Feb 8, 2017 Short-Term Rentals
SB 1578 re: "Airbnb"/Short Term Rentals passed through the Virginia Senate Local Govt Committee. Watch the committee hearing held Feb 2nd:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQEm-6coCyI
Feb 22, 2017
UPDATE! Short-Term Rentals
Short Term Rental Bill 1578S1 passed the House without amendment by a vote of 86-14. It is now on its way to the desk of the Governor. Thank you to all who participated in this process.
Feb 21, 2017
ACTION - Email Delegates Today to Vote to Support SB1578S1
A bill addressing Short Term Rentals (like Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway) has passed the Senate and is expected to reach the floor of the Virginia House for a final vote tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 22nd.
SB1578S1 reflects the main concerns of community members at our October Short Term Rental Forum -- to preserve the authority of local governments (like Fairfax County) to allow or prohibit and also regulate Short Term Rentals.
Please email Fairfax County Delegates to Richmond and urge their support of SB1578S1 and all the powers it maintains for local governments.
Fairfax County Delegates to Richmond
DelKMurphy@house.virginia.gov;
DelTHugo@house.virginia.gov;
DelRSullivan@house.virginia.gov;
DelMKeam@house.virginia.gov;
DelEFiller-Corn@house.virginia.gov;
DelALopez@house.virginia.gov;
DelKPlum@house.virginia.gov;
DelDAlbo@house.virginia.gov;
DelMSimon@house.virginia.gov;
DelDBulova@house.virginia.gov;
DelMSickles@house.virginia.gov;
DelJLeMunyon@house.virginia.gov;
DelKKory@house.virginia.gov;
DelPKrizek@house.virginia.gov;
DelJBoysko@house.virginia.gov;
DelVwatts@house.virginia.gov;
DelMLevine@house.virginia.gov;
Update Feb 8, 2017 Short-Term Rentals
SB 1578 re: "Airbnb"/Short Term Rentals passed through the Virginia Senate Local Govt Committee. Watch the committee hearing held Feb 2nd:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQEm-6coCyI
February 1, 2017 Short-Term Rentals
We received Supervisor Gross’s email below regarding proposed legislation in Richmond related to Short Term Rentals (rental of homes or parts of homes for lodging of less than 30 consecutive days such as arranged by Airbnb, Homeaway, VRBO and similar hosting platforms)We included the summary and links for proposed Senate Bills 1578 and 1579 referenced in Supervisor Gross’s email.
At our October MDC forum on Short Term Rentals, concerns were raised about Short Term Rentals which are currently not allowed in Fairfax County http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/short-term-rentals.htm. Many residents expressed concern with commercialization of neighborhoods and for safety. Many also focused on the importance for localities (i.e. Fairfax County) to retain power to decide if short term rentals should be allowed rather than have the State make this determination. The proposed Senate Bill 1579 (Patron - Senator Stanley) seems to best address this concern.
Please be in touch with elected representatives to Richmond regarding yours questions, thoughts or concerns.
Fairfax County members of the Senate Local Government Committee: Marsden, Favola, Surovell
All members of the Senate Local Government Committee:
district20@senate.virginia.gov;
district24@senate.virginia.gov;district37@senate.virginia.gov; district31@senate.virginia.gov; district06@senate.virginia.gov; district36@senate.virginia.gov; district08@senate.virginia.gov; district12@senate.virginia.gov; district11@senate.virginia.gov;
district10@senate.virginia.gov; district29@senate.virginia.gov; district40@senate.virginia.gov; district09@senate.virginia.gov;
Thank you,
Mason District Council of Community Associations
Debbie Smith - Chair
Carol Turner - Vice Chair
Clyde Miller - Secretary
Jon Clark - Treasurer
Text of proposed Senate Bills:
S.B. 1578 Short-term rental; registration of persons offering property for rental.
Patron: Norment
Short-term rental of property. Authorizes a locality to adopt an ordinance requiring the registration of persons offering property for short-term rental. The bill defines "short-term rental" as the provision of a room or space suitable for sleeping or lodging for less than 30 consecutive days. Persons and entities already licensed related to the rental or management of property by the Board of Health, the Real Estate Board, or a locality would not be required to register. The bill authorizes localities to impose fees and penalties on persons who violate the registry ordinance or who offer short-term rentals that have multiple violations of state or federal laws or ordinances, including those related to alcoholic beverage control. The bill amends the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Act to clarify that certain property rented on a short-term basis is considered a bed and breakfast establishment for purposes of ABC licensing and that the exception from ABC licensing for serving alcoholic beverages to guests in a residence does not apply if the guest is a short-term lessee of the residence.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 4.1-100, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, and 4.1-200 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 5 of Chapter 9 of Title 15.2 a section numbered 15.2-983, relating to the short-term rental of property.
17100761D
S.B. 1579 Short-term rental; affirms rights of localities to regulate rental of property.
Patron: Stanley
Short-term rental of property. Affirms the rights of localities to regulate the short-term rental of property, defined as the provision of space suitable for sleeping or lodging for fewer than 30 days. If a locality allows short-term rentals, the locality shall require that the person offering property for rental notify adjacent landowners in writing, obtain local permission to offer the property for rental, and carry a minimum of $500,000 of commercial premises liability insurance. If a locality prohibits short-term rentals, any person or entity, including an online hosting platform, that advertises the availability of a short-term rental in the locality shall be subject to a $10,000 fine per violation.
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 5 of Chapter 9 of Title 15.2 a section numbered 15.2-983, relating to the short-term rental of property.
17100686D
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mason BOS Email <Mason@fairfaxcounty.gov>
Date: Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 12:33 PM
Subject: Short Term Rental hearing in richmond
To: "masondistrictcouncil.org@gmail.com"
All: Just got word that the AirBnB bills (SB 1578 and SB 1579) will be heard tomorrow morning (February 2) at 10 a.m. in the Senate Local government Committee in Senate Room A in the General Assembly Building. This will be a special meeting of the committee (which was just announced). The three Fairfax County members of the committee are Senators Dave Marsden, Scott Surovell, and Barbara Favola. The bills that have been introduced are helpful to local governments, but I understand that AirBnB will be proposing a substitute bill that brings back some of the problematic issues from last session. Now is the time to weigh in with legislators with phone calls and emails. It also would be helpful to arrange a trip to Richmond to testify in person.
Hope this is helpful information.
Penny
Penelope A. Gross
Mason District Supervisor
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
Recent video uploads to MDC YouTube Page:
Lincolnia Planning Study - Land Use College Session #1 Oct. 25th, 2016
MDC District Forum on Short Term Rentals Oct. 5th, 2016
Next Membership Meeting with Elections:
Oct. 26th at 7:15 pm Belvedere Elem.
Community Meeting - Oct. 5th, 2016
re: Short-term Rentals (i.e., Airbnb, VRBO)
Neighbors,
All residents are invited to attend a meeting on issues related to the growth of short-term lodging/rentals in our neighborhoods (i.e., Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway).
Please join state and county government officials to discuss concerns about legislation in the Virginia General Assembly (SB416, The Limited Residential Lodging Act passed on April 1, 2016 that is undergoing further study to be completed by Dec.1, 2016).
SUMMARY AS PASSED on April 1, 2016: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+sum+SB416
Limited Residential Lodging Act; penalty. Establishes the Limited Residential Lodging Act (the Act), which allows persons to rent out their primary residences or portions thereof for charge for periods of less than 30 consecutive days or do so through a hosting platform. Localities are preempted from adopting ordinances or zoning restriction prohibiting such short-term rentals, but authorized to adopt ordinances requiring persons renting their primary residences to have a minimum of $500,000 of liability insurance, prohibiting persons from renting their primary residences if they fail to pay applicable taxes, and requiring persons renting their primary residences to register with the locality. A hosting platform must register with the Department of Taxation to collect and remit all applicable taxes on behalf of the property owner using the hosting platform. The bill defines "limited residential lodging," "booking transaction," and "hosting platform" and provides for penalties for violations of the Act. The bill contains a reenactment clause and directs the Virginia Housing Commission to convene a work group to further study the issues presented in the bill and make recommendations for consideration by the 2017 Session of the General Assembly.
The Mason District Council is pleased to work with our government representatives to offer this informational meeting to residents.
Panelists: Sen. David Marsden, Sen. Richard Saslaw, Del. Kaye Kory, Supervisor Penny Gross, and representatives from Fairfax County
Date: Wednesday, October 5th
Time: 7:00-9:00 pm
Place: Sleepy Hollow Elem School - 3333 Sleepy Hollow Road
Please let your community members know about this upcoming meeting.
Thank you,
Debbie Smith, Chair
Carol Turner, Vice Chair
Clyde Miller, Secretary
Jon Clark, Treasurer
Additional Info Short-Term Rentals:
VIDEO of MDC Oct. 5, 2016 Forum on Short-Term Rentals (like Airbnb, VRBO, Homeaway)
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/code/property/property-rental.htm
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/bosclerk/board-committees/meetings/2016/items-for-consideration.pdf
Virginia Housing Commission Short-Term Rental Workgroup Meeting Summary July 14, 2016
A Community Sample STR Resolution
http://www.propertyrightsmatter.org/
https://fcnp.com/2016/09/21/front-row-kaye-korys-richmond-report-3/
Contacts:
Del. Kaye Kory:
DELKKORY@HOUSE.VIRGINIA.GOV
Sen. David Marsden:
district37@cov.virginia.gov
Sen. Richard Saslaw:
district35@cov.virginia.gov
Elizabeth Palen - Virginia Division of Legislative Services:
epalen@dls.virginia.gov
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors:
clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov
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