麻花视频

Councilman Peter Volosin and husband Malcolm Quigley filed a petition with the 麻花视频 Circuit Court on Friday, requesting further review of their application to open a homestay.

The couple applied for, and was denied, a permit to list their two-bedroom basement on Airbnb, a popular short-term rental platform. That denial during the board of zoning appeals meeting June 11 was made in error, the homeowners鈥� petition said.

鈥淭he decision of the BZA must be reversed,鈥� the petition said.

Dozens of Volosin and Quigley鈥檚 south 麻花视频 neighbors turned out to the typically quiet board of zoning appeals meeting to oppose the plans. Neighbors said such a use would increase crime, jam up parking and otherwise disturb the peace.

With two of its members absent, the board of zoning appeals voted 3-2 on Volosin鈥檚 application. Because the measure requires a majority vote from the seven-member board, it failed to pass.

The error occurred, the petition says, when the two board members who voted nay 鈥� Edward Garner and Byron Hamlar 鈥� did not stick to the six specific review standards established by city code.

鈥淭here is evidence that the BZA members who voted to deny the request believed it met the necessary criteria for approval, but used a reason outside of the code for denying the application,鈥� the petition said. 鈥淭he two 鈥榥o鈥� votes from BZA members are based on criteria outside of the law and therefore invalid.鈥�

The six standards with which board members are required to judge an application are based on appropriateness of: appearance, utility usage, traffic generation, flood potential, land use, and comprehensive plan. Issues other than those criteria are not to be considered.

鈥淏ZA members Hamlar and Garner made their decisions based on issues outside of the criteria specified in 麻花视频 Code,鈥� the petition said. 鈥淏oth BZA members publicly admitted that the homestay request met the standards, but their decision was based on public sentiment, which is not a legal criteria under 麻花视频 Code.鈥�

Both Garner and Hamlar mentioned the broad neighborhood opposition as reasoning behind their 鈥榥o鈥� votes. Volosin鈥檚 appeal says that is not a valid reason, and requests reversal of the decision.

鈥淒enial 鈥� under these circumstances violates Petitioner鈥檚 property rights to use their home in conformance with state and city codes,鈥� the petition says.

Appeals go to the circuit court, rather than the city council, for consideration because the board of zoning appeals is a quasi-judicial body, planning staff said during a July 7 joint meeting with the council.

鈥淎 judge at that point would be the decision-maker about whether or not to send that back down to the board of zoning appeals,鈥� Zoning Administrator Phillip Moore said. 鈥淥r to uphold the decision that the board has made.鈥�

Most of the board of zoning appeals鈥� agenda deals with special exception permits, like for homestays, he said. Since the city began regulating the use in 2014, the board has approved 44 out of 60 homestay applications.

Volosin said he wonders how many Airbnb units are operating without proper permitting. Moore said the planning and zoning office is constantly doing research and enforcement, but it鈥檚 a challenge due to the ease with which people can list their property online.

鈥淓nforcement on these is a difficult process,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淭he platforms are notorious for things like hiding addresses, and coaching their hosts on ways to skirt around regulation.鈥�

Homestays are allowed by-right in some of the city鈥檚 zoning designations, such as downtown, but the use requires a special permit in residential areas, he said.

Garner, one of the board of zoning appeals members, said there was 鈥渜uite a bit of public input鈥� regarding 鈥渁 recent denial鈥� that the board heard. He questioned whether people are aware of the board鈥檚 requirement to adhere to the decision criteria strictly worded in city code.

鈥淚t appears to me that people don鈥檛 seem to be aware,鈥� Garner said.

Moore said board management is important. One seat was vacant during the board鈥檚 vote on Volosin鈥檚 application, and one member was absent.

鈥淚f we have an absence on the board, or a board seat goes unfilled for months at a time, that鈥檚 putting our applicants at a disadvantage,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淏ecause that seat is essentially a no-vote for their application.鈥�

For board members, sticking to and explaining the six criteria behind their decision-making is essential to helping the public understand, Moore said.

鈥淭he public record is really important when individual board members are sharing their voting decision, because it gives a judge, in the event of an appeal, a window into how those six criteria were used in order to formulate that decision,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淲hen we鈥檙e not sticking to those criteria, it sets us up for appeal.鈥�