“It means that anyone can now come in and apply for a building permit and business license for an Airbnb,” Helmick said.
By Lydia Crawley, The Parsons Advocate
DAVIS, W.Va. — The Town of Davis Council unanimously voted to end the Town’s ongoing moratorium on Short Term Rentals within the Town limits. The end of the moratorium became effective as of the vote on Wednesday, June 12th.
The moratorium, initially scheduled to end the last day of June, has been in effect for over two years and has been renewed multiple times, according to Tomson. “We have a moratorium that is in effect right now,” Tomson said. “Its been in effect for over two years. Its been renewed a couple of times. Its set to expire the 30th of this month.”
Tomson made the motion to repeal the moratorium. The motion came following a special election in which a Town proposed zoning ordinance tied to the issue of Short Term Rentals was voted down in a 80 to 115 vote by Davis residents. The motion to repeal the moratorium was unanimously approved by the council.“I propose that we go ahead and cancel it today, as opposed to waiting until the 30th,” Tomson said.
The end of the moratorium paves the way for new business applications for short term rentals, according to Council Member Jennie Helmick. “It means that anyone can now come in and apply for a building permit and business license for an Airbnb,” Helmick said.
While applications are now open to the eight individuals that were on a waiting list for new Short Term Rental approvals by the Town during the moratorium, approval is still not assured, according to Town of Davis Office Manager Joni Felton. “The ones that we have on the list, technically they need to come to council to get an approval, correct,” Felton said. “So its not an automatic that they (get approval).”
