Augusta's draft zoning code allows short-term rentals only downtown, on farmland and in 2 mixed-use districts, with a permit. What it means for Masters week renters.

Augusta’s proposed zoning code would allow short-term rentals only downtown, on agricultural land and in two mixed-use districts. None of the city’s suburban or neighborhood residential districts would allow them.

The rule is in the Oct. 14 Planning Commission draft of the new zoning ordinance, the first full rewrite since 1963. The same rule was in the Sept. 22 public review draft. Nothing is final. The Augusta Commission has the last vote, and the city has not published a date for it.

What counts as a short-term rental

The draft defines a short-term rental property as any home in Augusta offered for lease or occupancy for less than 30 days. That covers a house rented out for a single week, such as Masters week.

Where the draft would allow them

The draft’s use table lists short-term rentals as “permitted with conditions” in these districts, with a zoning compliance permit that city staff approve:

District Allowed?
Agricultural (AG) Yes, with a permit
Neighborhood Center (NC) Yes, with a permit
Medical Mixed-Use (MMU) Yes, with a permit
Downtown Historic Core, Riverfront and Cultural Arts subdistricts Yes, with a permit
Estate, Large Suburban and Standard Suburban Residential No
Middle Neighborhood, Neighborhood Residential, Townhouse No
Manufactured Home, Multi-Family and High-Density Residential No
Office, business, institutional and industrial districts No

A use the table does not list in a district is “expressly prohibited” there, the draft says. The draft’s new backyard cottages, or accessory dwelling units, also cannot be used as short-term rentals unless the ordinance expressly permits it.

When the ordinance is adopted, a new zoning map sets every lot’s district. Appendix A of the draft shows how each current district relates to the new ones.

The rules for owners

Where short-term rentals are allowed, the draft’s short-term rental section sets these conditions:

  • a zoning compliance permit for each property
  • registration with Augusta for each property, including payment of the hotel occupancy tax
  • no more than two adults per bedroom, and no more than six unrelated people at a time
  • an owner or agent reachable by phone at all times, able to respond within one hour of a complaint
  • working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and an exit plan posted inside each bedroom door
  • quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. posted in the home
  • trash cans at the curb no more than 24 hours before pickup and taken in within 24 hours after
  • one parking space per bedroom, except downtown

The Augusta Commission could revoke or suspend a permit after three repeated violations.

What the rules say now

The current ordinance, the November 2019 version on the city’s website, has no short-term rental category. The closest use it defines is a “tourist house,” a private dwelling that supplies temporary accommodations to overnight guests for a fee.

Where the rewrite stands

The Planning Commission held a special called meeting and public hearing on the draft at 2 p.m. Wednesday. After the hearing, the commission decides whether to recommend the ordinance to the Augusta Commission, according to the city’s meeting notice. As of Thursday afternoon, the city had not posted a result, any changes to the draft or a date for the Augusta Commission’s vote on its zoning rewrite page.

We will update this story when the city publishes the outcome.

What it means for you