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21 <br /> The existing Tourist Home land use category is being eliminated as part of this <br /> process. <br /> The existing Rooming House land use category shall continue to be permitted under <br /> the `Residential Land Use' category in the same general use zoning districts as <br /> detailed herein. <br /> 14.Is the rental of a house impacted by the proposed amendments? <br /> The rental of a house for use as a single-family residence is not impacted by these <br /> proposed amendments. <br /> 15.What about rental of a house for use as an Airbnb? <br /> The rental of a house for short term purposes is a concern staff and BOCC members <br /> have previously heard from local residents. <br /> Unfortunately, there are concerns over what authority Orange County has to regulate <br /> this activity, which can be summarized as follows: <br /> • Regulations controlling the duration of a private lease, or the nature of <br /> occupancy of a private residence, go beyond regulating a property's use. Such <br /> regulations could be construed as restraining the manner in which the property <br /> is owned, which is prohibited by North Carolina case law. <br /> • It is unlawful to regulate residential rental property by implementing permitting <br /> programs or by requiring homeowners to pay a special fee. <br /> • There is a State law, specifically the North Carolina Vacation Rental Act, <br /> appearing to preempt local regulation of vacation rental agreements in <br /> residential properties. The Act defines "vacation rental" as being the "[t]he rental <br /> of residential property for vacation, leisure, or recreation purposes for fewer <br /> than 90 days . . .." <br /> From a regulatory standpoint, the proposed Ordinance amendment package attempts <br /> to address this issue as follows: <br /> a. Short Term Rental— Non-host Occupied is defined as follows: A dwelling which <br /> provides guestrooms for overnight rental or lease but is not occupied by a host; <br /> b. The land use is not permitted for development within residential zoning districts; <br /> c. If a residence is rented as part of a transient lease (i.e. nightly/weekly), without <br /> the owner being present on the property, we have a violation of local land use <br /> regulations through the created of an unpermitted land use. <br /> As currently recommended by staff, this activity would not be permitted within <br /> residential general use zoning districts and would only be permitted in identified non- <br /> residential general use zoning districts. <br /> 16.How are airports being handled? <br /> An airport is currently permitted within the Rural Buffer (RB), Agricultural Residential <br /> (AR) and Rural Residential (R-1) general use zoning districts subject to the issuance <br /> of a Class A Special Use Permit. <br /> As part of these proposed amendments, staff is recommending: <br />