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Welcome to our January 26, 2025 meeting of the City of Tuscaloosa Zoning Board of Adjustments.

Now any written comments sent to the staff or forwarded to the board directly.

At this time, I'd like to introduce the staff.

Hudson Cheshire, Associate City Attorney.

Joshua McKinney, zoning administrator.

Lim O'Leary, planner, and ask that the board members introduce themselves, starting to my left.

Joe Robinson.

Mary Catherine Holt.

Marty Hamner.

Tim Gillum.

Michelle Coley, Chair.

Paul Rollins Jr.

Rodney's rail pill, senior.

Now, virtue by virtue of the state law and city ordinances.

The purpose of the zoning board of adjustment is as follows.

Here's appeals from zoning officer decisions, grant special exceptions to the zoning code in accordance with the term terms as established by the city council.

Accordance with the terms as established by the city council, grants variances from the zoning codes when strict enforcement creates unnecessary hardship.

Circumstances that are not hardships, include those that are self-inflicted, are self-created, inconvenient, and are personal.

Now the zoning board of adjustments does not interpret or enforce subdivision covenants or HOA rules.

Those matters are not relevant areas of inquiry by the board on any petition.

Now there are sign-up sheets that were located outside for the public comment.

Four speakers are allowed to speak in favor of a petition, and four speakers are allowed to speak in opposition of a petition.

All speakers will have a maximum of five minutes unless the board votes to allow longer time.

Now the board will take up items in the order of our final agenda.

The board will initially receive a presentation from the staff as to the details of the agenda item.

Now, after the staff's presentation, I will call upon the petitioner to present their case.

The petitioner will have a maximum of 10 minutes unless the board votes to allow a longer time.

Now at the conclusion of the petitioner's remarks, I will call on any party in order of sign-up who desires to support the petition.

Thereafter, I will call on any party in order of sign-up who wishes to oppose the petition.

Now, when it's your turn for comment, please introduce yourself, stating your name and address to the board to provide your remarks.

Any written comments have been included into the record.

Now, after receiving the remarks of those who oppose the petition, the petitioner will have the opportunity to respond to those objections.

Any rebuttal will be limited to two minutes unless the board votes to allow longer time.

Now, if the petitioner presents any new information in response to the objections, the board will allow those who oppose the petition the opportunity to respond to the new information only.

Now any response will be limited to two minutes unless the board allows for a longer time.

Now during the course of the presentation, you may be interrupted by any member of the board for clarification or additional information.

Now such interruptions will not reduce your allotted time.

Now once the board members are satisfied that they have received all relevant information.

Now after the vote, you are free to leave.

Now the proceedings are video recorded and broadcast live.

All in-person public comments should be made at the podium into the microphone.

Any party aggrieved by any final judgment or decision of such zoning board of adjustments may within 15 days thereafter appeal therefrom to the circuit court by filing with such board a written notice of appeal specifying the judgment or decision from which the appeal is taken.

Now do any members of the board have any conflicts of interest as to the agenda matters?

If so, please state the same for the record.

Okay.

Yes, it has.

Okay.

At this time, let's move forward with our presentation.

All right.

Good afternoon, board.

Starting with our first case of the year, ZBA 0126.

Andrea Renee Box petitions for special exception to allow the short-term rental of a property located at 2816, 14th Street East, zone SFR1, Council District 5.

Here we have an aerial view of the property.

And its zoning.

Here we have a view of that property from the street.

And its parking.

Braden Box will be the primary contact and will be available 24 hours a day during rental periods in case of an emergency.

The petitioner does not have experience with short-term rentals, but has 10 years of experience managing long-term rentals.

House is equipped with cameras, motion detection, window locks, and keypad locks.

It is not owner occupied, and it will be occupied by the petitioner's children when not being rented short-term.

The house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Petitioner is requesting four adults and two vehicles.

If approved, staff recommends four and two.

We did not receive any public comment.

Do you have any questions for staff?

No questions.

Thank you.

Ms.

Bach.

Hi, I'm Andrea Vox.

Um my husband and I just purchased this house for our son and daughter.

Um my son is a freshman at the university, and my daughter is a rising um freshman, so she's be here in the fall.

And so for us, this is an investment for them.

And my son will move in to the house this summer or in August.

And then I'm just looking at short-term rental it for a few months until we can get him there and offset some cost.

Any questions for Ms.

Box?

Okay, thank you.

We don't have anybody signed up to speak for or against this petition.

Is there anybody in the audience that would like to speak for or against this petition?

At this time, we'll close public comment and go to board comment, starting with Miss Mary Catherine.

I have no issues with the special exception.

Um I think this is exactly what short-term rentals are supposed to be used for.

So I'm in favor.

Agree with my colleague on that.

Yeah, I'm in favor as well.

There's others around the area there, no issue here.

I agree with my fellow board members.

I have no issues, I'm in favor.

All right, at this time we'll close board comment.

I'll read the ZBA-01-26.

Andrea Renee Box petitions for a special exception to allow the short-term rental of a property located at 2816 14th Street East, Zone SFR-1, Council District 5 voting my left.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Petition is approved.

Next.

So here we have a special exception request to allow short-term rental properly located at 2516 Stanford Drive and is Council District 6.

There's an aerial view of it, uh, just south of Hardgrove uh Road and east of uh Stone Hidden Um Park.

And in a zone SFR2.

And then here's a picture of the residents.

Uh so Ms.

Lockhart will be the primary contact and will be available 24 hours a day during rental periods in case of emergency.

Uh the petitioner uh currently manages 60 properties and has managed short-term rentals for several insurance companies and the VA hospital.

The house is equipped with smart home cameras, doorbell cameras, and motion sensor lighting.

The house is not um owner occupied and will be vacant uh when um not rented short-term rental.

Uh the house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The petitioner is requesting eight adults and four vehicles.

If approved, staff recommends six adults, three vehicles based on existing driveway, off-street parking, and occupancy as it relates to parking.

Any questions?

All right, all right, Miss Lockhart.

Good evening.

Um, I'm Vanessa Lockhart, and I am a property manager, and I petitioned the board last year on March 24, 25, and was granted short-term rental on this property.

However, the owner decided to do some renovations.

So it took longer than we anticipated when I went to get my business license, it did the six months had expired.

So everything is the same.

I'm still a property manager.

I still have uh my contacts with the VA and the insurance companies that I place short-term rentals in, and I petitioned to have this granted.

When you were granted last time, was it 63?

It was six three.

Okay.

You have no issue there, right?

Excuse me.

You have no issue.

No.

And where the renovations had any square footage to the property.

No.

No.

Uh just updating it.

Countertops and things like that.

All right.

Thank you.

We don't have anybody signed up to speak for or against.

Is there anybody in the audience that likes to speak for or against this petition?

All right, we'll close public comment and go to board comment.

I have no issues with this.

Um as long as we abide by staff recommendations of six adults and three vehicles.

I have no issues.

Again, the six adults with the three bedrooms will be more appropriate.

I'm in agreement to the section three.

I agree as well, and with Ms.

Lockhart's uh experience, I have no issues with it.

So I'm in agreement.

I'm in favor of staff recommendations.

All right, at this time I'll close board comment and I'll read the petition.

ZBA-02-26, but that's the lock art petitions for a special exception to allow the short-term rental of a property located at 2516 Stanford Drive, zone SFR-2, Council District 6.

Voting?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Petition is approved.

Next.

All right.

Moving on to our final case tonight, ZBA 0326.

Budget Real Estate LLC petitions for special exception to allow the short-term rental of a property located at 904 16th Avenue.

Zoned Mru H, Council District 4.

Here we have an aerial view of the property.

And its zoning.

This is just off of Queen City.

And active STRs in the area.

Here we have a photo of that structure from the street.

And it's parking.

There is a gravel driveway along 9th Street.

This house did appear before you guys back in April of 2025.

And it was approved with the condition that the gravity driveway is not used for parking.

If it's approved tonight, staff will request that we place the same condition on this property.

Tanner Ashcraft will be the primary contact and will be available 24 hours a day during rental periods in case of emergency.

Petitioner has multiple years of experience managing short-term rentals.

House is equipped with exterior cameras and noise detection and smart locks.

The house is not owner occupied, will be used as a vacation home by the owners when not rented short-term.

It's a three-bedroom, three-bathroom house.

Petitioner is requesting six adults and three vehicles.

If approved, staff recommends four and two, provided that no vehicles are allowed to park in the gravel area.

Can you go back and show us where they should be parking?

Yes.

So this is the driveway.

It is a shared drive.

And it is here.

Do you have any questions for staff?

If they did pave that side driveway, could they get six and three?

The primary issue with it is that a lot of it is in right-of-way.

So that was why our engineers decided that it would be best to not allow vehicles parking there.

I feel that if it were paved, it would not change that.

Any more questions?

All right, thank you.

Thank you.

All right, Tanner.

Good evening.

Uh Tanner Ashcraft, 1120 Queen City Avenue.

Um, another you know, house coming on our portfolio.

We actually manage the house next door with the shared driveway, so that really uh I guess is convenient with a with a shear driveway.

We've got control over that.

So I was actually not aware that it was turned down like I didn't know they went before that.

I wasn't involved last year, so I had no idea that it was turned down for the parking back then.

They couldn't have the gravel, they couldn't park on the gravel.

I think it was approved, but they didn't that's correct.

It was approved with the condition that no vehicles park in the gravel area.

Okay.

Um yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Um I'm so when we saw the gravel back there, we assumed you could park there.

Um anyway, but that's no problem.

The one next door is four and two, and I know the game.

Okay, all right.

Any questions for Tanner?

All right, thank you.

Thank you.

All right, we don't have anybody signed up to speak for or against.

Is there anybody in the audience that'd like to speak for or against this petition?

Okay, at this time we'll close public comment, start with board comment.

I have no issues um with the staff recommendations, especially since this was approved previously.

Appropriate for the area and supportive.

No issues here.

I don't see any issues as well.

I have no issues.

I'm in favor of staff recommendations.

Okay, well, close board comment.

I'll read the petition.

ZBA-03-26, budget real estate LLC petitions for a special exception to allow the short-term rental of a property located at 904 16th Avenue zone MRU-H with the condition no use of the gravel driveway.

Uh in four, you know what I was saying?

Four night uh 30.

I didn't say any of that, y'all.

I think it's okay.

On the on the prior two, everybody was clear on what what was being voted on.

This is the first one that there hasn't been a discussion of the limitations.

So it's uh four four adults, two vehicles, thirty nights, one year probation.

That's the part I wasn't saying.

Okay.

All right, voting.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Okay, petition is approved.

Thank you, board.

And we're adjourned.