Newport is opposing Kentucky Senate Bill 110, which would eliminate the ability for cities to regulate or control short-term rental through its land use processes.
The city discussed the bill at its Feb. 24 meeting and its potential impact on Newport if passed.
“At one point in time, we were number four in the state of Kentucky in terms of short-term rentals on the Airbnb website,” Newport Assistant City Manager Brian Steffen said. “The vast majority of them were illegal, not licensed. These are incredibly difficult to enforce against. We’ve had numerous problems with unlicensed short-term rentals in the past.”
SB 110 was introduced to the Senate Committee on Committees on Feb. 6 and the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Development, Tourism, & Labor on Feb. 11.
The bill’s only sponsor is Sen. Stephen West, a Republican who covers District 27 Bourbon, Fayette (part), Fleming, Harrison, Mason, Nicholas, Robertson and Rowan.
Steffen said the city does have certain areas right now that are permitted to have short-term rentals through a process. These include the central business district (East 10th Street to the north, Saratoga Street to the east, East 11th Street to the south, and Monmouth Street to the west) and the riverfront district, which he said are appropriate locations for high-turnover rentals, not inside neighborhoods.
Steffen said there are currently 12 licensed short-term rentals in the city.
Newport Commissioner Mike Radwanski said the city has acted over the years to ensure that basin neighborhoods have historical guidelines and to preserve their properties.
“If we have an influx in short-term rentals and Airbnb’s we’re not going to have a fabric of the neighborhood that we are accustomed to today, in the East row or in the West end,” Radwanski said.
He also pointed to the Northern Kentucky Area Development District housing study and its menu of solutions presented in January. Radwanski said none of those options included an influx of short-term rentals.
A study of housing in Northern Kentucky has revealed troubling trends for housing in the region, with the largest need being for “workforce housing” for households earning between $15 and $25 per hour, with monthly housing costs between $500 and $1,500. The region needs about 3,000 more housing units to provide for people within that income range, according to the study. The demand for one- to two-bedroom rentals and owned properties consistently exceeds their supply, while supply for three and four-bedroom properties consistently exceeds demand. The study suggests that the region needs to build 6,650 housing units to support economic development in the next five years, which equates to 1,330 units per year. Read more here.
Understanding NKY’s housing shortage
“What this bill is about is it’s about favoring corporate America over neighborhoods,” he said.
Radwanski called upon folks to contact their state senator or state representative and let them know their concerns.
Steffen said calls regarding short-term rentals and Airbnb are routinely the city’s highest call volume. He said those calls are weekly, if not daily. Without the ability to restrict short-term rentals, Steffen said Newport would see more and more investors coming in to buy homes for that specific purpose.
He said the city is still chasing down numerous unlicensed short-term rentals. Sites like Airbnb do not provide city addresses for the units, so staff must try to track them down, which takes a lot of time.
Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. said the city and county governments are objecting to the bill.
“This will impact our community in an unfavorable way, and it’s not just them being present; it’s all the issues and the ripple effect that are not being considered as we move forward with this, whether it’s parking safety, all the things that make our community strong,” he said.
Newport City Manager John Hayden said he, Steffen and other staff will be in Frankfort on Feb. 26, to speak with legislators. They plan to discuss topics like SB 110 and Kentucky House Bill 253 regarding the centralized collection of local occupational business taxes, which the city opposes.
“On this occupational license bill, for example, what this boils down to is, this is for the convenience of large corporations,” Hayden said. “This is your big players that don’t want to spend the time and send the taxes to the individual localities that they do business in, and this is our state government saying we’re willing to create an extra layer of bureaucracy in Frankfort help these large businesses. This doesn’t make sense.”