Last month, nearly three years after Tybee Island City Council set a 90-day moratorium for issuing short-term vacation rental permits (STRs) in residential zones, the council set in motion a long-term plan to clear out STRs in those areas completely.
The ordinance, which passed 4-1, will drastically limit STRs on the island, making it so that those who have permits for STRs in residential zones can't transfer them upon sale of the home or death of the owner. Areas zoned residential R-1, R-1-B and R-2 make up around 85% of the island's land mass.
The discussion of the ordinance and subsequent decision drew a number of property owners to city council and planning and zoning meetings over the span of four months, with more than 20 of the owners speaking whenever the topic was on the agenda.
Although many of those who spoke referenced potentially ruined retirement plans, infringed upon property rights, and potential impacts to the island's economy and small businesses, not every property owner on Tybee is against the ordinance.
'We look out for each other'
Since the ordinance was proposed in February, Carol Nathan, a resident of Tybee since 1990, recounted at several city council meetings a story of a neighbor who had a heart attack.
"I've known him for 22 years, but everybody on the street knew this guy, and when he had his heart attack, his wife called 911 and the EMS came. The next call she made was to us," Nathan said. "She didn't call anyone that lives in the STRs on one side of her, or across the street from us. She didn't call any of those visitors, because you don't know those people. She called us, because we look out for each other."
Getting their neighborhoods ― and neighbors ― back was the crux of the issue for mostly year-round residents on Tybee. In 2020, during the pandemic, many of them realized they were the only person on their streets, surrounded by STRs and a revolving door of sometimes loud, disruptive guests. Tybee has 1,575 properties with STR permits, and nearly half, or 747, of those are in residential neighborhoods.
"I think it cuts right to the soul of the community," Nathan said. "You don't know who these folks are, and I'm not saying they're bad people at all. People come in with their families or groups of young people, and that's fine, but it should be in the commercial zones."
Many of those against the ordinance insisted that council slow down, take stock, think about how it would affect the economy and then come to a compromise. Supporters, including those on council, believe the approved ordinance is the compromise.
Shirley Wright, the chair of Forever Tybee — a nonprofit organization dedicated to informing and uniting residents —has lived on the island as a full-time resident since 2009. She remembers the first ordinance proposed to regulate them in 2011, remembers in 2015 when they started having public meetings about it and began registering them, and the working group that met every week for a few months in 2020 to help set rental rules.
"You know, we've been doing this for a long time," Wright said. "And I really feel that it is a really balanced approach, so much more so than in other communities where they have had to regulate STRs. It restores the intent of our zoning, and it gives them the right to continue to rent their property as they always have until they die."
Restoring the intent of residential zoning on the island was one of the reasons several council members supported the ordinance. STRs, according to council member and 30-year resident Bill Garbett, are a non-conforming use in residential zones - they probably should've never been allowed there in the first place, he said.
"Fifteen years ago, it was such a novelty that we all thought it was kind of neat and amusing," Garbett said. "Since they're all non-conforming uses, we could have just said, okay, all non-conforming STRs, their permits will terminate in five years, and that would be a disaster and unfair to countless people. This method really, gradually, reduces the numbers."
Although for some councilmembers, restoring the integrity of residential zoning ranked high, the pleas from residents who missed the sense of community pushed them to vote yes.
"It'll cost the city money," Garbett said. "Those hotel-motel taxes that we collect from those rentals, we will lose some of it. In my opinion, and those of the residents that I speak to, it doesn't outweigh the benefits. It'll be a slow process, so, we'll have some time to adjust."
Tybee Island may face lawsuits over STR ordinance
Marsha Marks and her husband purchased their vacation rental in 2008, and have been renting it out for the last 15 years, making their mortgage and property payments through their STR.
"Our dream was to retire there, or at least leave it to our daughter," Marks said. "But she won't be able to afford it because the taxes are ridiculous. So, after 15 years of running a very successful rental, after monitoring it very closely with no complaints, it just feels like they're saying you're out of luck."
Only one councilmember dissented to the vote, councilmember Michael “Spec” Hosti, who has lived on the island since 1954, insisting that Tybee feels more like a community now than it has ever been, with more families and more kids than ever.
Mayor Brian West also disagreed with the ordinance, agreeing that STRs don’t belong in some residential zones, but there could be room for some in designated areas.
“There’s so many different types of residential areas,” West said. “Some of them are on a path to the beach, and they have parking meters in their front yards. I feel like those areas should have been excluded from this ordinance, but the areas that don’t see as much vacation traffic should have these restrictions.”
West added that he feels like when people move to a place like Tybee, they should have the understanding that it’s a vacation destination. Angela Williams, who has deep roots on Tybee dating back to 1910, does not own a STR but agreed with West.
“I had no delusions when I moved here [full time] that it was going to be anything other than quiet winters and busy summertimes, because that’s when the tourists come,” Williams aid. “I have no trouble with the STRs around me. People have been renting down here for generations.”
Property owners who oppose the ordinance, have largely voiced concerns for their own changing or ruined retirement plans, or loss of income. They’ve also insisted that the limitation would have a great impact on the economy - 51% of Tybee overnight visitors stay in vacation rentals, for an average of 4 nights and spend around $100 per day.
West requested an economic impact study in March, which is still going to happen, but the city has not yet signed a contract with a consultant.
Tybee is facing a number of lawsuits already for this specific issue and stands to face more. Steve Buckner is already suing the city after restoring historical homes, which are required to be operated commercially for five years.
"It was an act of investment for me," Buckner said. "I think they should've commissioned an in-depth study, identified what the problems are, and how they could resolve those problems and meet the needs of all the stakeholders. As far as the new ordinance is concerned, this will likely result in additional legal action."
Destini Ambus is the general assignment reporter for Chatham County municipalities for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach her at dambus@gannett.com
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