Update: 2/28/2025 – Captions on two photos accompanying this story implied that the committee took public comments about the proposed regulations. It did not. Those captions have been changed to reflect that.

Short-term rentals would not be allowed in any Birmingham single-family residential district under the latest version of proposed regulations being advanced by the City Council’s Planning and Zoning Committee.

In most zoning districts besides single-family residential, short-term rentals would be permitted with various restrictions. Those include limiting the number of short-term rentals to 1% of residential units and setting a minimum 1,000 feet spacing requirement between them.

Special exceptions would be allowed in some zones, and rentals of space in owner-occupied homes would not be subject to the 1% cap or spacing requirements. In all cases, a responsible party must be located within 10 miles of the short-term unit.

The P&Z committee discussed the newest proposal Wednesday and decided to send the plan to the City Council’s committee of the whole for consideration.

“It’s a huge win to have the committee decide against short-term rentals in single-family zones,” said Elizabeth Sanfelippo, president of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association and Red Mountain Community, who attended the meeting. “Although there are some responsible short-term rental owners and managers, some bad characters have made the situation intolerable for residents.”

She cited issues related to trash, noise and traffic, all of which are addressed in the draft zoning amendment and code requirements.

“There is a huge housing shortage,” said Alton Parker, a Forest Park resident who attended the meeting. “This might go a long way toward stopping that.”

Parker said Birmingham has lost 15,000 housing units over the past 20 years, and short-term rentals are one factor contributing to that loss. For example, he said corporate entities have purchased newly built houses near the Uptown Entertainment District, in the Norwood, Druid Hills and Fountain Heights neighborhoods, and have turned them into short-term rentals.

“This reduces the number of people we can have in our city, reduces the number of kids in our schools,” Parker said.

Under the draft amendment, if applications for short-term rental permits exceed the 1% cap, a random drawing would be used to select properties for approval. The 1% cap would equate to 1,067 of Birmingham’s more than 106,700 total housing units, said Katrina Thomas, director of the Planning, Engineering and Permits Department.

Short-term rentals are defined in the draft proposal as “the transient use of any dwelling or any part of a dwelling for overnight occupancy for less than 30 consecutive days.”

Homeowners who would be allowed to offer hosted homestays would have to occupy the dwelling 75% of the time and have a homestead exemption.

A large majority of short-term-rental units in Birmingham are in residential neighborhoods, said Delaine Crim, who manages seven short-term-rental properties downtown and in Crestwood and owns two of them.

“They just decreased tax revenue by $1.5 million,” said Judson Young, adding that’s just revenue going directly to the city and does not include other revenue short-term rentals generate throughout the economy. “We’re supporting local people. My landscaper, he’s a local person. My maintenance person, that’s a local person. We’re providing 1,200 jobs and $50 million worth of economic impact.”

Young owns and operates two short-term rentals in West End and Titusville.

Tristan Parsons, who owns two short-term rentals downtown and previously owned one in Woodlawn, said that for young adults such as himself, a hotel is a last resort.

“If I’m going to visit a city that I haven’t been to, I’m looking at Airbnb,” he said. “We’re growing the city and getting more people in here. We’re spending how many millions of dollars on an amphitheater, and then where are people going to stay?”

Parsons, Crim and Young said short-term rentals add value to neighborhoods, complaints about them have been exaggerated, and the vast majority of guests are respectful neighbors.

They said legal action, particularly from people with existing permits, is likely if the City Council bans short-term rentals in single-family-residential zones.

The Planning and Zoning Committee, composed of councilors Valerie Abbott and Crystal Smitherman and council President Darrell O’Quinn, voted to advance their suggestions for code and zoning requirements to the City Council’s Committee of the Whole, with a recommendation for approval. During Committee of the Whole meetings, councilors typically ask questions, see presentations and make requests. The committee can advance an item to a City Council meeting for a potential vote. The next Committee of the Whole meeting is scheduled for March 19.

Location Restrictions

The Planning and Zoning Committee is making the following recommendations for different zoning categories.

• Single-family residential zones — Short-term rentals not permitted.
• Two-family residential zones and urban neighborhoods — Short-term rentals permitted subject to 1% cap and 1,000-foot spacing; hosted homestays permitted in owner-occupied homes subject to code requirements.
• Commercial and agricultural districts — Short-term rentals and hosted homestays permitted subject to code requirements.
• Multiple dwelling districts – Short-term rentals permitted subject to 1% cap and 1,000-foot spacing; hosted homestays permitted subject to 1% cap and 1,000-foot spacing.
• Mixed use zones – Short-term rentals permitted subject to 1% cap; hosted homestays permitted subject to code requirements.
• Planned mixed use zones – Short-term rentals permitted subject to 1% cap and 1,000-foot spacing; hosted homestays permitted subject to code requirements.

Proposed Requirements for All Short-Term Rentals

Requirements the Planning and Zoning Committee discussed that could apply to all short-term rentals include:

• No short-term rentals in manufactured homes, recreational vehicles or any structure not permanently affixed to the ground.
• Noise restrictions that would be stricter than the city’s overall noise ordinance; noise monitors that send notifications to owners or managers.
• Owners or managers provide trash receptacles and pickup schedules for guests as well as a booklet with the city’s rules regarding things such as noise and parking.
• Could not generate more or different types of traffic.
• Habitable spaces for guests could not be hallways, kitchens or bathrooms.
• Minimum primary guest age of 25.
• Carbon monoxide detectors.
• Responsible party located within 10 miles.

A process that allows short-term rental permits to be revoked due to complaints such as about crime.