Danville considers new rules for short-term rentals

Amid a boom in local short-term residential rentals like Airbnbs, Danville officials are examining ways to regulate the practice.

Caesars Entertainment opened its temporary Danville Casino in May, drawing some area visitors. Additional factors driving short-term rentals, speculates Danville City Manager Ken Larking, may include construction on local projects such as the $100 million White Mill redevelopment and the $650 million permanent Caesars Virginia resort casino, along with a new Navy training program for defense industry manufacturing workers at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.

Short-term rentals are adding to an affordable housing shortage for the region’s growing workforce. A study last year commissioned by the city found that Danville has a housing shortfall of about 600 units based on current housing supply and projected job and population growth, as well as residents’ ages and income levels. 

At least 100 short-term rentals are listed in the Danville area and not all have been vetted, says Renee Burton, Danville’s director of planning and zoning. About 30 comply with city law, but others are operating under the radar.

Danville allows for short-term rentals of bedrooms or basements as an accessory use, but special-use permits and a business license are required to rent out a house — a fact of which many residents offering their properties for short-term rentals aren’t aware, Larking says. “As soon as we know about them,” he says, “we let them know what the rules are.”

To address the issue, city staff are proposing several ordinance changes, including: requiring special-use permits for all rentals, whether a room or a house; charging a $500 fee for hosts; conducting annual inspections; collecting back taxes from hosts; limiting concurrent short-term rentals to 150, or about 1% of the parcels in the city; limiting stays to between 18 hours and 30 days; and requiring property owners to live within 30 miles or designate a local agent.

Additionally, standards are needed to address safety and ensure short-term rentals are compatible with neighborhoods, Larking says, adding that other questions should be considered, including, “Is there room to park? Will this become a nuisance to the neighbors?”

Danville’s planning commission has signed off on some changes, which are under review by Danville City Council, but a vote had not been set as of mid-November.