Re-worked short term rental rules voted in Seneca

To the consternation of the meeting room audience, Seneca Planning Commission voted last night in favor of an amended short-term rental policy. The 4-1 vote, however, amounts to a recommendation only, meaning that the final say at the city level belongs to the city council during its November and December meeting dates. The planning commissioners changed the ordinance to set minimum rentals from two to five days and to require a property agent to be within 25 miles of the city. That doesn’t go far enough, however, for Flora Riley, representing the Normandy Shores Property Owners Association. Another lakeside home owner, David Arnold, told 101.7/WGOG NEWS immediately after the vote that he had thought government officials were in place to follow the wishes of the public. Arnold conceded, however, part of the commission’s motivation might have been a pending lawsuit by an Atlanta couple denying them the right to rent their White Oak Cliffs house. But, if that be the case, the legal action Chace versus Seneca was the elephant in last night’s City Hall meeting room.