By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
Short-term rental owners are closer to knowing the specific rules as city Commissioners acted on the first reading of the ordinance and followed with a second reading the next day, making the short-term rental ordinance official
“As everybody knows, we’ve been looking at this for quite a while,” said Mayor Joe Meyer. “The moratorium has expired, and we’ve made a commitment that we would get this ordinance adopted so that the short-term rental advocates could know what the rules are and get back in business as soon as possible.”
Two weeks ago at the Life Learning Center, the city held a public hearing to discuss short-term rentals, a topic Commissioners have been debating since December. All the members were there, and they heard eight people give their input.
“The input from the audience was, quite frankly, professional, fair, honest and generally supportive,” Meyer said, adding there was just a “handful” of changes to be made on the policy side, with “nothing of significance in terms of substance.
“About a half dozen technical half dozen changes were made to the ordinance, as well as a number of other minor technical language and grammatical changes. Overall, I think the changes improve the ordinance significantly.”
In December, Commissioners voted to approve a temporary moratorium on the city’s acceptance, review, and processing of new license applications for short-term rental dwellings.
Citing “many hundreds” of short-term rentals in the city, City Solicitor David Davidson explained the emergency, as well as the need to legislate it.
“It’s safe to say that there are many hundreds of short-term rentals going on in the city where we have permits and licenses for maybe 20 percent of those — probably not even 20 percent — so we have a state of affairs in the city where our laws are not being adhered to that I think is a pretty significant occurrence, and by itself would be suggestive of an emergency,” Davidson said. “We also have the fact that the short-term rentals are directly impacting the availability of affordable housing. Apartment buildings that once housed two, three, four families now sit empty except on weekends.”
Back in December, Commissioners voted 4-0 and approved the temporary moratorium. Later in the meeting, Commissioner Ron Washington proposed a motion.
“I’ve received a lot of public feedback about our short-term rentals, pros and cons,” he said. “I just want to make sure that as we’re going through this process over the next six months that our public, our citizens, are heard — so I’m going to offer this amendment up to the Board of Commissioners: I make a motion to order the city manager to solicit public input on short-term rentals. The city manager shall invite the public to a hearing to discuss the pros and cons of short-term rentals. He shall generate a report of said hearing to the commissioner.”
Commissioners then approved the amendment.
Parking Authority Assets Transferred
Commissioners approved four connected items — two amendments and two transfers — which effectively moves all parking assets from the city to the Parking Authority.
In 2018, the city created the Parking Authority, one of just three in the state (along with Lexington and Louisville) as an enterprise fund, which means it can charge fees and generate revenue.
They also set up a memorandum of understanding that called for the city to transfer assets to the Parking Authority. This transfer satisfies that memorandum, and benefits the city in three ways, according to the Mayor. It should result in better management of parking asset, the Parking Authority making money for the city. will allow the Authority to borrow money
Covington Academy of Heritage Trades
Commissioners approved two grant agreements with the Kentucky Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet and the Kentucky Heritage Council (KHC) to fund:
• The expenses related to instructor fees at the Covington Academy of Heritage Trades in the amount of $21.000. This is a reimbursement grant program, which requires matching funds in the amount of $14,000. Matching funds will be a cash match from the Covington Academy of Heritage trades through program income and fundraising.
• The expenses related to marketing at the Covington Academy of Heritage Trades in the amount of $12,000. This is a reimbursement grant program. This grant requires matching funds in the amount of $8,000.
Second Reading of Ordinances
Commissioners heard second readings, and voted to approve, these ordinances:
• An ordinance amending the Covington code: Chapter 92 nuisances, that will address noise problems in the city — especially in relation to bars. This ordinance change will “empower the ABC administrator to get involved in regulating noise if it is coming from bars and to try to deal with those issues,” said City Solicitor David Davidson.
• An ordinance amending the Covington code: chapter 112 alcoholic beverages.
• An ordinance amending the city’s 2022/2023 budget, reappropriating and reapportioning the anticipated general fund revenue and the anticipated revenue of all other funds of the city of Covington, Ky., for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023, among the various departments and for the general and special purposes as indicated in the “recommended all funds operating budget 2022/2023” to meet the expenses of the city of Covington, Ky., for the said fiscal year.
• An ordinance amending section 110.03 of the Covington Code of Ordinances to increase certain occupational license tax thresholds and provide for review of the occupational license tax thresholds by the city’s finance director every five years.
• An ordinance appropriating and apportioning the anticipated general fund revenue and the anticipated revenue of all other funds of the city of Covington, Ky., for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, among the various departments and for the general and special purposes as indicated in the “recommended all funds operating budget 2023/2024” to meet the expenses of the city of Covington for the fiscal year.
Essentially, these changes would: Add $1.5 million to general fund transfer revenue and expense, add a new fund, Fund 13 — National Opioid Settlement, with revenue of $800,000, and add $1.5 million to Self-Insured Employee Health Plan Fund revenue and expense.
Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a caucus meeting held at 6 p.m., July 11, at the City Building at 20 W. Pike St. in Covington.