Sec. 6.4.6. Overnight Lodging

  1. Overnight Lodging Use Category
    Accommodations arranged for short term stays. Overnight lodging includes the following uses.
    1. Bed and Breakfast.
    2. Hospitality House.
    3. Hotel, Motel, Inn.
    4. Hostel.
    5. Short-Term Rental.
  2. Bed and Breakfast
    1. Defined
      A detached house or other structure constructed for a use permitted within the district that has no more than 5 guest rooms. Breakfast is customarily served to guests.
    2. Use Standards
      1. The facility is located within one or more of the following:
        1. A General Historic Overlay District or Streetside Historic Overlay District;
        2. A property designated as a Historic Landmark;
        3. A property listed on the National Register of Historic Places; or
        4. A property identified as a contributing structure within a National Register Historic District, as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended.
      2. The use is located in a structure originally constructed as a detached house.
      3. In R-1o, no exterior advertising is allowed except a small unlit announcement sign not to exceed 2 square feet in area and 3½ feet in height.
      4. In R-10, special events such as wedding receptions are not permitted.
  3. Hospitality House
    1. Defined
      A detached house associated with a hospital or similar long-term stay facility that provides overnight lodging for families of patients.
    2. Use Standards
      A hospitality house in an R-10 District is subject to the following:
      1. Must be associated with a serving hospitals licensed by the State of North Carolina pursuant to N.C.Gen.Stat. §131E-176 et seq;
      2. Must be located within one-half mile of the associated hospital (determined by a straight line from property line to property line);
      3. Contains rooms without individual cooking facilities for lodging of visitors but not for rent to the general public;
      4. Provides a maximum of 6 bedrooms with a maximum occupancy of 12 persons; and
      5. Complies with standards for a detached house.
  4. Hotel, Motel, Inn
    1. ​​​​​​​Defined
      A facility that contains one or more rooms for overnight guests containing registration facilities, on-site management, cleaning services and combined utilities.
    2. Use Standards
      In the OP- and OX- districts, the minimum lot size for a hotel, motel, inn is 2½ acres.
  5. Short-Term Rental
    1. Defined
      A dwelling unit that can be used for overnight lodging accommodations that is provided to renters for no longer than 30 days for compensation. A portion of or the entire dwelling unit can be used for lodging, including part or all of an accessory structure.
    2. Use Standards
      1. Every short-term rental operator shall first apply for and procure a miscellaneous zoning permit from the City.
      2. Cooking facilities are not permitted in any bedroom. For the purpose of this regulation, cooking facilities include any refrigerator in excess of seven cubic feet; any stovetop range that operates on 220 volt electric service; any appliance that operates on natural gas; or any cooktop, whether integrated into a countertop or a separate appliance, which contains more than two cooking surfaces or burners. This shall not prohibit cooking facilities within a one-room studio short term rental. For the purpose of this regulation, a studio shall be a single-room rental with a sleeping area, living area and kitchen/eating area in one consolidated room.
      3. No exterior advertising shall be allowed.
      4. In residential zoning districts, short term renters shall not utilize the premises for holding special events or gatherings.
      5. For single-unit and two-unit living the premise shall not be used for “Live-Work” or a “Day Care, Home”. For multi-unit living the dwelling unit shall not be used for “Live-Work” or a “Day Care, Home”.
      6. For any multi-unit living use, no more than 25%, or two dwelling units, whichever is greater, may be used for short term rental in any single building.
      7. Short term rental operators shall comply with all applicable State and local laws, including those relating to fire and building codes, smoke detecting and carbon monoxide detecting equipment, housing codes, and payment of taxes to appropriate governmental entities, including occupancy taxes.
      8. Every short-term rental operator shall maintain for a period of three (3) years a list of all short-term rental lodgers staying on the premises.
      9. The zoning permit number authorizing the short-term rental shall be conspicuously posted on:
        1. all advertisements for short term rentals, and
        2. the subject property.
    3. Civil Penalty
      Violations of section 6.4.6.E shall be subject to the civil penalties as set forth in section 10.4.2 of this UDO.
    4. Revocation of permit
      ​​​​​​​The City shall revoke the short-term rental permit following a written determination that any resident of the facility, resident manager of the facility, and/or operator of the facility have been:
      1. Convicted of violating a Criminal Law within a 365-day period on the short-term rental premise. “Criminal Law” means a conviction of any of the following:
        1. Article 27 of Chapter 14 of the North Carolina General Statutes.
        2. Article 3 of Chapter 18B of the North Carolina General Statutes.
        3. N.C.G.S 14-71.1. iv. N.C.G.S 14-292.
      2. Received within a 365-day period two or more “Verified Violations” of any combination of:
        1. Any City Code zoning regulation on the short-term rental premise.
        2. Any noise regulation on the short-term rental premise.
        3. Any nuisance prohibited by City Code section 12-6002 on the shortterm rental premise.
      3. A Verified Violation means a determination made by a City Code enforcement official, Police Officer, or judge, with notice of violation of the City Code, opportunity to respond to the noticed alleged offenses and an order or other mandate issued to the owner or any other person imposing a sanction or requiring further actions to comply with the City Code, including, without any limitation, the payment of civil penalties or administrative fees, or implementation of corrective measures, or cessation of activities, or conviction of a criminal Code offense for failure to comply with the Code provisions listed in this subsection. A verified violation that is appealed continues as a verified violation unless it is overturned on appeal. If the violation is reinstated on a further appeal, it resumes its status as a verified violation.  

        ​​​​​​​Once lawfully revoked, a new permit for a short-term rental cannot be issued or re-instated for the premise for a period of 365 days.