Fort Payne’s approved Short-Term Rental ordinance | News

STATE OF ALABAMA

COUNTY OF DeKALB

CITY OF FORT PAYNE

Ordinance No. 2024-08

An Ordinance to Regulate Short-Term Rentals in Residential Districts

The following regulations apply to short-term rental of dwellings in districts zoned residential in the city limits. These regulations do not apply in districts in which commercial lodging is permitted.

Permitted Zones:

1.     R-1 Low Density Residential District: Short Term Rental shall not be a permitted use in this zone. However, the owner of a single-family dwelling who wants to use the property as such, must apply for a Conditional Use to use the Single-Family Dwelling as a short-term rental, to be approved by the City of Fort Payne, Zoning Board of Adjustments

2.    R-2 Medium Density Residential District:  Short Term Rental shall be a permitted use in this district in asingle-family dwelling.

3.    R-3 High Density Residential District:  Short Term Rental shall be a permitted use in this district.

4.     R-4 Garden Home Residential District: Short Term Rental, shall be a permitted use in this district in a single-family dwelling.

5.    R-5 Downtown Redevelopment Residential District: Short Term Rental shall be a permitted use in this district in a single-family dwelling.

6.     Rural Farm District: Short Term Rental shall be a permitted use in this district in a single-family dwelling.

7.     Current Short-Term Rentals located in the R-1 District, in operation prior to this ordinance, if, by passing all inspections of the Fire Marshall, City Building Inspector, obtains the proper licensing and registration, provides proof of lodging taxes paid prior, shall be granted a conditional use by the Zoning Administrator until such time that the STR is sold or transferred to new owner. Owners of STRs which fall into this provision will have until June 30th, 2025, to meet these requirements.

(1)     For purposes of this article, “short-term rental” (STR) means the rental of a dwelling unit for less than thirty (30) consecutive days per rental period and the rental unit itself.

(2)     The STR must pass an initial safety inspection by the City Fire Marshall and Building Inspector prior to any licensing or rental use of the STR Unit.

(3)     The property owner of the STR must have a residential building unit renting and leasing license from the city before a property owned by the property owner can be advertised or operated for STR. In addition, the property owner must submit a STR annual permit application to the city and obtain and maintain a STR annual permit for each STR unit. The cost of the STR Permit shall be twenty dollars ($20.00) per unit, per permit year. Permits shall be renewed during the month of January each year.

(4)     The property owner must provide with the STR permit application the name, address and telephone number of an emergency contact that will respond within one (1) hour to complaints about the condition or operation of the STR or conduct of renters or their guests. The emergency contact must be able to respond on-site within twelve (12) hours if requested by the city. The emergency contact must answer calls twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week for the duration of each short-term rental period. Prior to any change to the emergency contact, the owner must submit the revised contact information to the city building official.

(5)     The STR may only be rented for lodging use. The STR may not be rented for weddings, parties, concerts or similar events or used for such events during any short-term rental period.

(6)     Insurance. All STR owners must obtain and maintain vacation rental property insurance that covers the lodging use of the site. Proof of insurance must be provided within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the STR permit. Proof of insurance must be resubmitted each year for renewal of the STR permit.

(7)     Occupancy. The dwelling may not be rented to more than one (1) party simultaneously. Occupancy is limited to no more than two (2) persons plus two (2) persons per bedroom. To be considered a bedroom, the room must meet the minimum requirements of the International Building Code adopted by the city as it pertains to a bedroom.

(8)    The number of bedrooms is to be determined by the city building official as part of the STR permit application process. The city building official may inspect the dwelling to verify information submitted with the STR permit application.

(9)     The property owner must, by written agreement with the renter, limit overnight occupancy of the STR to the maximum occupancy approved with the STR permit.

(10)  No on-premises signage legible from any right-of-way may advertise the STR. You may have a sign no larger than four square feet which displays the address and property name only.

(11)   The STR property owner and all occupants of the STR must comply with all applicable city ordinances and regulations including, but not limited to, building construction, fire safety, noise, and garbage collection and disposal.

(12)  The STR must have adequate off-street parking to accommodate all occupants parking needs. All occupant vehicles must park off the street and on the STR property. No recreational vehicles, buses, boats or trailers may be stored on the street or forward of the front property line of the STR property.

(13)  No food may be prepared or served to rental occupants by the STR property owner.

(14)  A copy of this article, the STR permit, emergency contact information and house rules that comply with this article must be posted in a conspicuous place in the STR.

(15)  Upon notification that a renter or a renter’s guest has violated any provisions of this article or any noise, garbage or other provisions of city ordinances and regulations, the STR owner or emergency contact must promptly notify the renter of the violation and take such action as is necessary to prevent a reoccurrence.

(16)  Notice. Each owner must, upon issuance of an STR permit or upon changes to an existing STR permit, provide written notice to all owners of residentially zoned property who own property adjacent to the STR property, which notice includes the following information:

a.        The names and telephone numbers of the owner and emergency contact (if not the owner).

b.        The city telephone number by which members of the public may report violations.

c.        The maximum number of renters permitted to stay in the unit. The permit application shall include the name and address of all property owners who own residential property adjacent to the STR property.

(17)   Taxation. The property owner is responsible for collecting and reporting taxes from any rental arrangement that is not subject to an established collection agreement with the city.

(18)  Garbage fees and garbage container storage. The property owner is responsible for paying an additional rate as set forth by the city for any garbage containers exceeding one (1) ninety-five-gallon containers. In addition, all garbage containers shall be stored off the street on the days not scheduled for garbage pickup by the city.

(19)  Definition of vehicles. Vehicles shall include cars, trucks, motorcycles, and off-road vehicles.

(Ord. No. 1097, § 1, 12-3-18)

Sec. 13-132. Violations.

The following procedures shall apply in the event a violation of this article occurs:

(1)    If, after investigation, the city determines that any provisions of this article have been violated, the city will notify the property owner in writing stating the provisions violated, necessary corrective action and a compliance due date, as applicable. In addition, the city will use its best efforts to immediately contact the property owner or emergency contact by telephone of any reported violation. Upon receipt of notice by telephone, the property owner or emergency contact shall have the obligation to immediately contact the renter concerning such violation and request the renter to immediately take action in order to end the violation. Any violations of this article by renters shall be considered a violation by the property owner.

(2)   Fines. In addition to the other remedies set out in this section, violations will be subject to fines as follows:

a.     Violation warning. The city may, in an exercise of discretion, issue a warning to the person responsible for the violation if that person has not been previously warned or cited for violating a provision of this article.

b.     First violation. Any person, firm or corporation that violates the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1.00 nor more than $500.00 or may be imprisoned or sentenced to hard labor for the city for a period not exceeding six months, at the discretion of the court trying the case. Each day of a violation shall be considered a separate offense.

(3)   If a violation of building, fire safety or property maintenance regulations has not been corrected by the compliance date, the city may cause the STR permit to be temporarily suspended. When a first-time violation has been corrected, the permit shall be re-instated for the remainder of its current approval period. The city may approve an extension of the compliance date if substantial progress toward compliance has been made provided that the public will not be adversely affected by the extension.

(4)   Recurring violations. When building, fire safety, property maintenance, noise, occupancy, parking, trespass or other violations concerning the conduct at the STR or by its renters or their guests are found to have occurred more than once in the same license year or within any six-month period, or if a conviction for the same had been issued against a STR property owner, any second or subsequent time a person is found to have violated the provisions of this article, the person is subject to a fine of up to five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each subsequent violation, and the revocation of the STR Permit.

(5)   Any person, who disagrees with the decision of the Municipal Court, shall have the right to appeal to the Circuit Court of Dekalb County, Alabama, “pursuant to Rule 30 of the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure.”