Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Dec. 4, 2019, edition 1 / Page 2
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A2 THE CHOWAN HERALD, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 Town Council hears pros, cons of AirBnB’s Public hearing held on proposed ordinance BY MILES LAYTON Staff Writer Edenton is in the process of reviewing and revising a proposed ordinance that seeks to codify regulations regarding short term rentals and AirBnB businesses. During ar recent public hearing before Town Coun cil, Cynthia Harding and Anne Edwards voiced their opinions regarding the mat ter that has long been perco lating up through Town Hall. The hearing was held as part of the Nov. 12 council meet ing. Harding’s family has a short-term rental above the garage at their Court Street home. She asked that any proposed law, when consid ering any potential noise problems, utilize the police department versus the homeowner as the first point of contact to get the matter resolved. She also said potential renters may not necessarily pay attention to some of the regulations’ finer points, such as the noise ordinance or dealing with trash re moval with regard to the list ing. Harding continued, “Peo ple say we want to level the playing field between these short-term rentals and the traditional bed-and-break- fasts. What I want to stress is that when we have guests stay, I ask them, ‘Where else did you look?’ They are typ ically not looking at the ho tels, because they want to be in town or at the traditional BnB’s because they want a kitchen or they are bringing a family. If you go on the websites of all of our tradi tional bnb’s, they will say ‘no children.’ So if you’ve got someone traveling with a young child, a bnb is not an option. If they want to stay in town, they have to look into an AirBnB or short- term rental” Harding said short-term rentals allow people a better means of lodging as they ex plore the area, perhaps with the intent to move to Eden ton. Those folks like to stay in a neighborhood and see what it’s like to live in town. “The clientele that we’ve had, while we’ve had fine, fine people, they have a dif ferent purpose, a different need out of their stay, so that’s why they are drawn to these short-term rentals. That’s something to con sider as well,” she said. Harding thanked policy- makers/shapers for crafting the ordinance, but she hoped it “could be seen with clear eyes and without bias toward traditional bnb’s be cause this market that we serve is a valuable one. The people who come here eat at our restaurants, shop in our stores, come to our spe cial events — they are con tributing in other ways to the town of Edenton. We hear about the nuisance things, but I want to make sure everyone knows about the benefits to the town as well” Anne Edwards, of King Street, also gave an impas sioned speech about the short-term rental issue. Ed wards said she is not against AirBnB in town and has known folks who have run these places for many years without complaint She said the things that have made these AirBnB’s successful is that they all share three things are first, lots of space around their properties; sec ond, offer off-street parking; third, on-site management who is there all the time to monitor matters. Edwards said however, her goal is encourage coun cil to table any considera tion for approving any short- term rental ordinance. “Edenton is special and does not deserve, in my opinion, to have an ordi nance that is sort of passed on, that we can’t figure it out; it’s too complicated; to have it turned into every other city or town across the globe that has the ability to introduce AirBnB rentals because there are people who are money-grubbing for their own profit for their own operation, and for a town or city that thinks it can garner a few coins on bed tax or tax paying visitor dollars,” she said. Edwards then shared her experience with AirBnB so as to better explain the ef fects of a short-term rental ordinance. She said soon af ter her neighbor’s house sold, there was a loud party in September. “Their behavior, espe cially the noise, rivaled any thing that I have seen at any of the fraternity parties I at tended in my youth,” Ed wards said. “Keep in mind that these party-hearties’ are 13 feet away from my home. A friend of mine who is a football fan said, ‘Golly, the space between you and the place next door is not enough to make a first down.’ I thought about call ing the police to report the disturbance, but I didn’t be cause for all I knew, these were the children and friends of my neighbors, thus not a great way to wel come new folks to the neighborhood.” Another weekend, Ed wards said, there was an other loud party with six older adults on the screen porch who were carrying on all weekend until 2:15 am. Sunday morning. Edwards said she was close enough to hear a man with a cough so bad that she imagined he could have spewed his lungs on her side yard. Edwards said for the same reasons as the party with the 20-some- things, she didn’t call the po lice on this older group of party goers. Edwards later learned that the house next to her had been turned into an AirBnB. Employing a West Vir ginia mining reference, “Be ing the canary in the coal mine - a bird who smells noxious fumes and dies to protect the coal miners - I’m telling you that I’ve had some pretty noxious smells going on; this canary (point ing to herself) has suffered.” Edwards again stressed that she is not anti-AirBnB, but offered some sugges tions about how to strengthen the proposed or dinance. She asked policy- makers to look into neigh borhood density as it relates to proximity of houses to one another. Edwards suggested that potential AirBnB own ers get written permission from neighbors before set ting up shop. Per parking, Edwards took a page from Virginia Beach which prohibits park ing on the streets by the AirBnB, but directs travelers to park in public parking spa ces. Also maybe, policymak ers should consider restrict ing the type of vehicle that can be parked on the street Edwards spoke of a giant rental truck that was taking up two parking spaces by her house. She said the visi tors were not tourists, but filnrakers who may be stay ing for an extended period of time. Thus, Edwards said commercial usage for AirBnB should also be taken into consideration when crafting the ordinance. Edwards said control is dubious because AirBnB is more a thing on the Internet, less a local business that can be affected by input from various stakeholders and town regulatory bodies. Pol icy determines enforcement capabilities, particularly with absentee property management “Where is your con science? How dare this town expect me and others like me as long-term prop erty-tax-paying citizens of this town to sacrifice our parking spaces, to sacrifice our peace of mind, no noise, in favor of these people who own this and don’t even live here,” she said. Edwards noted her strug gles living next to a place owned by out-of-towners who might rent space to by packing guests back to back. She noted problems that may arise because of crime, potential for fraud and unscrupulous business practices. As Edwards com pared the price tag for a night at an AirBnB versus the lower priced traditional long-term rental, she pon dered whether the town’s cost-benefit analysis takes into consideration the townsfolk. “Edenton — is it for sale? Is it for sale against those of us who live here and love it?” she said. “Is that what you want — Edenton for sale—give up your control? A lack of enforcement? What can you do? Where is your conscience about those of us who have lived here forever, who have in vested in Edenton, who pay our property taxes, who try to obey the rules of local control—are you just going to throw that away and al low people to come in who don’t even live here and make money off of your town? Is that what you want? I don’t think so.” ELECTION Continued from Al have the opportunity to de cide if those qualifications are enough to return me to office for a second term in the Senate. It continues to be an honor and a privilege to represent the good and hard working people of the District I humbly and lov ingly serve.” En route to an impor tant law enforcement conference in Elizabeth City early Tuesday morn ing, Goodwin said, “I’ve learned a lot from my time in the General Assembly, but there’s more work to be done and I feel confident that I can do it. I hope the good voters of NC House 1 like the way they are being represented in the state house and choose to re-elect me to con tinue the work for our state and district.” The filing period con tinues through Dec. 20. In Chowan County, Republican Alex Ke- hayes, a former county commissioner, filed for the District 2 seat on the Chowan Board of Com missioners now held by Patti Kersey. Kersey has said she does not plan to seek re-election. “I running to continue the sound policies fiscally for our county,” Kehayes said. “We’re entering a time where we will need to make decisions regard ing a school. I’m graduate of John A. Holmes High School and education is something I’m interested in.” Also in Chowan, Republicans Chris Evans and Michael Dean filed to run for the at-large seat now held by Commis sioner Don Faircloth, a Democrat. • “After confirmation that our current at-large Commissioner will not seek re-election, and after several conversations and encouragement, it is my honor to announce that I will be seeking the office of Chowan County Com missioner,” Evans said. “I am asking everyone to please pray and please consider casting your vote for me when the elections are held. I look forward seeking all the support I can as I commit to working for the good of everyone in our county. I look forward receiving input from each of you as I seek the office of Com missioner at-large.” Dean said his motto is “service above all” and he feels his success in busi ness coupled with ample time to serve all people in Chowan County is a big plus. “I have some ideas for this county that I will share with commission ers even if I don’t suc ceed. But if I do, I’ll go af ter it like a pit bull on a steak,” Dean posted to so cial media shortly after fil ing as a candidate. District 3 commission seat that is currently held by Democrat Greg Bon ner is up for election too. Meanwhile, 170 legisla tive seats are up for grabs. Democrats will have a chance to take control of the General Assembly. Republicans have a 65-55 majority in the House and a 29-21 edge in the Senate. If Democrats oust enough Republicans to take charge of one or both chambers, then Democrats will have a much bigger role in the process of drawing new legislative and congres sional maps after the 2020 Census figures are out. Several state Supreme Court contests are set, with Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, a Democrat, fac ing a challenge from Republican Associate Justice Paul Newby. Two other incumbent Demo cratic justices are seeking a full eight-year term. Democrats hold a 6-1 majority on the court. But if Republicans sweep the three contests, the GOP may hope to swing one Democrat, perhaps cen trist Justice Sam Ervin IV, to win majority votes on some divisive issues. President Trump will cast a large shadow over the state races. “There is a strong and increasing correlation be tween how votes in a state are cast for presi dent and for down-ballot offices,” John Dinan, po litical science professor at Wake Forest Univer sity, said. The relationship is es pecially strong for U.S. senate races, Dinan added. The Democratic Party has its sights on flipping a number of U.S. Senate seats. Democrats will have to pick up three seats to take control of the Senate. Several House seats held by Republicans are also the target of Democrats looking to strengthen their hold on the chamber. In the Democratic Party’s crosshairs is U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis. The fate of the senator from North Carolina may well be tied to Trump, Dinan said. “In every U.S. Senate election held around the country in 2016, the win ner of the Senate election aligned with the presiden tial election outcome in that state ... If Donald Trump carries North Carolina in 2020 there is a very good chance that Thom Tillis will win re- election.” While there’s a connec tion between the presi dency and lower-ballot elections, Dinan said, the governor’s election is an exception to that rule. “Governors are the main officials who are still assessed by voters on their own record, and to some degree indepen dently of voter behavior in presidential elections,” Dinan said. BUSES Continued from Al vehicular area shall bring that other vehicle to a full stop and shall remain stopped. The driver of the other vehicle shall not pro ceed to move, pass, or at tempt to pass the school bus until after the me chanical stop signal has been withdrawn, the flashing red stoplights have been turned off, and the bus has started to move. King advises folks who pass a stopped school bus to pull over and call the non-emergency number 252-482-4444 so as to let dispatchers know. School buses are equipped with cameras that record the coming and going of motorists. “We are entrusted with the most precious posses sion a parent has, their children,” Goodwin said. “Our school system takes that responsibility very se riously and we investigated every violation that occurs. SUBMITTED PHOTO This screenshot from a bus video shows a vehicle passing a stopped Edenton-Chowan Schools bus. Every bus in the school system is equipped with these cameras. We are fortunate that every one of our buses are equipped with interior and exterior high definition cameras to capture vehicle make and model, license plate numbers and a visual ofthe driver.” Safety is priority No. 1 for Edenton-Chowan Schools. “Parents and students deserve to know that when the bus arrives to pick them up or drop them off that they are going to be safe,” Goodwin said. “No one wants to contact a par ent whose child has been hurt or worse because of the negligence of another person.” Goodwin asks motorists to be alert and to think about others. “We ask that the public be mindful of our school buses and as soon as you glimpse of one of them to automatically look for the yellow lights to warn you they are preparing to make a bus stop or for the red lights to tell you that they are at a bus stop and are preparing to have a student load or unload from the bus,” she said. “Our stu dents are someone’s child, nieces or nephews, cousins, or grandchildren and when it comes to a child’s life we can’t be com placent or distracted.” COUNTY Continued from Al and costs around $1,200 an-nually will aid with the tracking of purchase, project and support re quests. Also, commissioners adopted a resolution au thorizing a lease of county- owned personal property, a portion of that certain space on Chowan County’s Central Communications Radio Tower, located at 100 W. Freemason Circle, Edenton. The lease of the above-described real prop erty to T-Mobile Northeast LLC, is for up to 25 years, with a minimum term of 15 years and a maximum of 25. ♦ Cha-ching - compensa tion to the county shall be provided annual rental of $24,000. In other matters, Com mission Chairwoman Patti Kersey was re-elected to lead the commission in 2020 and Commissioner Bob Kirby was elected as vice-chairman. Also, there was a retire ment recognition for Terry Parks’ service with the county’s Department of So cial Services. Lastly, county employ ees were recognized for years of service. To see these photos, see the Chowan Herald’s Face- book page. 5-Year Anniversary: Carol Copeland, Register of Deeds; Louann Fisher, Animal Control; Justin Gray, Sheriffs office; Stacy Hoggard, Department of Social Services; Kristen Jones, Central services; Holly Pierce, Sheriffs of fice; Melissa Radke, Tax of fice; Justin Saez, Sheriffs office; Sharon Valentine, DSS; Annette Ward, EMS 10-Year Anniversary: BANKRUPTCY Q. STRESSED OUT AND LOSING O SLEEP OVER YOUR t I— DEBTS? CALL ME C/J TODAY FOR A FREE - CONSULTATION ^ ABOUT BANKRUPTCY CALL ALLEN C. BROWN, PA • 252-481-1906 Lisa Armstrong, DSS; Colin Ryan, EMS 15-Year Anniversary: Tina Broome, DSS; Shelia Russell, Sheriffs office: Daryl Slade, Detention center 20-Year Anniversary: Brian Chappell, Recreation Department; Christopher Keeter, Detention center; Lesa Nolen, Water Depart ment; Kenneth Pierce, In spections; Keri Thrasher, Central office MERRY CHRISTMAS And BEST WISHES From CAVANAGH R1NGELMAN Certified Public Accountants PC 106 E KING ST-EDENTON NC-27932 252-482-1994 Cavanaghringelman.com 25-Year Anniversary: Dennis Rankins, Recre ation Department; Cheryl White, DSS
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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