North Myrtle Beach City Council will discuss changing zoning regulations for short-term residential rentals, in order to help solve the parking shortage.
City Council will meet at a workshop on Tuesday to consider changing zoning requirements to limit how many people can stay in a short-term rental home.
Most short-term rental houses in the city were built in zones that allow a maximum of five bedrooms in each home, according to city spokesperson Pat Dowling. Those residential zones are spread out in pockets across the city, including from 1st to 28th Avenue South and 5th to 39th Avenue North.
However, Dowling said many renters are bending the rules.
“There’s been a trend for the last couple of years and it’s getting larger. They’re turning the media room, the den, the living room, the dining room into sleep areas. And then they advertise it, come on down and sleep 20 people, 30 people,” he said.
Rentals exceeding the occupancy permitted by the zoning is only adding to the city’s parking problem, according to Dowling. Houses in those zones are only required to have three parking spaces.
“You’re not just sleeping one family anymore, you’re sleeping many. And it does create a problem for surrounding residents. And overall it contributes to the overall parking problem in the city.”
“They park in the yards, they’re all over. Especially when you have that many cars in one rental,” said Jane Bullard.
Bullard lives off of 7th Avenue North, and she says parking can become a free for all in her neighborhood.
“I see it all the time. These houses that look like they could probably hold 5 bedrooms maybe but there’ll be, in some of the houses, 10, 14 cars parked,” she said.
Dowling said city council has not yet considered any specific restrictions or recommendations as Tuesday will be the first time council members will gather to discuss the issue. The workshop will begin at 2 PM at city hall.
