Joey Garrison

jgarrison@tennessean.com

Mayor Megan Barry’s administration has tapped a consultant to review operations of the Metro Codes Department in order to identify the type of staffing, among other recommendations, needed to enforce regulations for Airbnb homes and other short-term rental properties.

Upcoming work includes deciding whether the codes department is best suited to carry out Airbnb enforcement. Meanwhile, the mayor has now eliminated the possibility of Nashville police being tasked with the role of Airbnb patrollers.

In a letter to Metro Council members Thursday, Barry said that police officers will continue to be responsible for enforcing noise violations and parking issues that affect the quality of neighborhoods in Nashville.

“However, enforcing (shorter-term rental property) violations such as operating without a license or exceeding the occupancy limits would be an inappropriate use of MNPD resources,” Barry said.

Barry’s letter was in response to requests from more than two dozen council members last month to consider changing schedules of a new position in the codes department and — a more controversial suggestion — have police be trained in short-term rental permit verification and other violations in order to more effectively enforce Airbnb rules.

The Metro Nashville Police Department opposed the idea from the outset, arguing police already have “plenty on their plates.”

In the more than a year and a half since Metro adopted a new permit and rules system for short-term rentals, Nashville is still struggling to figure out how to enforce the regulations. The issue has pitted neighborhood activists versus fans of the increasingly popular alternative for travelers.

People renting homes through the popular online network Airbnb or other companies are required to apply for a permit and pay taxes as a result of the 2015 regulations. They are also supposed to follow a list of property rules, including placing a cap on the number of guests that are allowed. This requirement has proven among the trickier to enforce.

Police are often the ones, particularly on weekend nights, who respond to noise complaints that are directed at homes in residential neighborhoods being used for Airbnb or other short-term rentals.

But some council members have complained that police lack the authority to carry out Nashville’s cap on the number of overnight guests allowed at such homes.

“I understand and share the frustration of many of you as it relates to some of the bad apples in the STRP marketplace,” Barry says in the letter. “I know that most who participate in this shared-economy model want to maintain strong, positive relationships with their neighbors when renting out their homes to visitors.

“It is my intention to do what we can as an administration to enforce the existing rules in a way that improves quality of life in our neighborhoods, while also maintaining our reputation as a welcoming city.”

According to the mayor, the newly hired consultant, Fiscal Choice Consulting, is to review the operation of the property standards division of the codes department. By the end of 2016, the consultant is to make recommendations related to size, organizational structure, work shift assignments and code administration of proactive property maintenance and enforcement.

The consultant has also been assigned to look at other functions of the property standards division besides just short-term rental properties. The property standards division conducts property maintenance, codes and zoning inspections.

In regards to Airbnb and short-term rental concerns, Barry said the consultant will interview members of both the council's Codes and Convention and Tourism committees as well as four members with the highest concentration of short-term rental properties in their neighborhoods. She said the plan is to look at best practices in other cities while also determining if the codes department is the proper place for the function of the property standards division.

Councilman Colby Sledge, who drafted the letter on behalf of 27 other council members who signed it, applauded Barry for the review.

"The steps outlined by the administration will go a long way toward ensuring everyone is playing by the same rules regarding short-term rentals," Sledge said. "We'll continue to work together so that residents and visitors alike can enjoy Nashville at its best."

In the letter Barry also says the finance department plans to make a practice of sending out quarterly notices to short-term rental property owners about their tax obligations. This was one suggestion that council members proposed to the mayor last month.

“As it relates to non-registered STRP properties, the finance department is in the process of reviewing options to help in identifying and tracking such properties so that everyone is operating under the same rules.”

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.