Property owners in Florence were denied a permit to use one of their homes as a short-term rental after neighbors came to a May 10 board of adjustments meeting in droves to voice their concerns.
The property is a single story house located in the Hopeful Heights neighborhood in Florence near Am Yealy Elementary School.
John Barry owns the house, according to the permit application, but the business would have been jointly managed by John Barry and his wife and daughter, Susan Barry and Skyler Barry.
The Barrys live in Union and own other rental properties in Boone and Campbell Counties.
Following a presentation from the planning commission’s staff, Susan Barry answered questions from both board members and local residents at the May 10 meeting.
According to a draft of the meeting’s minutes, the Barrys hoped to market the property to tourists coming in from out of the region to visit the Ark Encounter, Creation Museum or those who want close access to Cincinnati. Ideally, she said, they could rent out the house to a maximum of nine people, which she said would be enough to accommodate two families.
As neighbors came up to speak on the potential of a short-term rental property in their area, some protests were expressed.
Given the property’s proximity to a school–school bus routes also run along the road where the house sits–many people were concerned about the safety of the children in the neighborhood.
William Turner, who lives on the road where the house is located, asked if the Barrys would be performing background checks on the guests.
Susan Barry said they do background checks on their long-term tenants but would not do them on short-term tenants. Barry added that not performing background checks on guests was industry standard for short-term rentals.
Mike Storms, who lives on an adjacent street, brought up a long-term rental property across from his house to make his case as to why short-term rentals, or any rentals for that matter, shouldn’t be allowed in the neighborhood.
According to the meeting minutes, Mike Storm said, “the owners [of the long-term property] were renting rooms out of the house illegally, and it was a disaster.”
Jeanean Storms, who resides with Mike Storms, echoed the concern.
According to the minutes, Jeanean Storms talked about how “the police do not enforce parking issues or the illegal room rentals that were taking place [on the street].” She said she has lost faith. She believes having a short-term rental house in the neighborhood will add even more issues. It is frustrating to own a home and have neighbors, like the ones that were renting rooms across from her, trash their properties. That rental house is now in foreclosure, and people climb through windows to get in.
Christy Fowler, who lives on the same street as the Storms, affirmed Jeanean Storm’s account of things.
Dovetailing with the specific concerns brought up by the Storms and Christy Fowler, several residents worried about crime coming into the neighborhood.
Jamie Lynch talked about how “short-term rentals are used to make drugs. There is also a problem with human trafficking. At the hospital she was recently pulled aside and asked to confirm she was not a victim of human trafficking. This type of activity could occur at a short-term rental house like this,” according to the minutes draft.
When board member Lois Evans asked Susan Barry about the family’s desire for short-term renters versus long-term renters, Barry responded that they believed short-term renters were better.
“The short-term renters pay top dollar while long-term renters pay the equivalent of a mortgage payment,” the minutes said.
The minutes’ description of the conversation added that Barry “hopes that the neighbors have seen the improvements [to the property] they are making. She wants the property to be a shining star and not an eyesore.”
When it came time to vote on the permit, board member Duane Froelicher asked for a motion to approve the conditional permit. Evans made a motion to approve the request, but no one seconded it.
Board member Thomas Judd “said he feels that the proposal is not in agreement with the Comprehensive Plan.” He also remarked on the opposition of local people at the meeting.
Evans replied, saying that local opposition was not enough justification for denying someone a permit.
Frolelicher then motioned to deny the request, which passed by a 2-1 vote with Froelicher and Judd voting in favor of the denial and Evans voting against it.
John and Skylar Barry did not respond to a request for comment.