Arkansas bill would encroach on local authority

Eureka Springs Mayor Butch Berry said city officials and residents across the state should be alarmed about Senate Bill 197 introduced in the Arkansas Legislature that would prohibit cities from excluding short-term rentals, including in residential areas now protected from commercial uses.

“This bill basically says that a local government shall not enact or enforce an ordinance, resolution, rule, or other requirement of any type that prohibits or limits the use of a property as short-term rentals,” Berry said in an email encouraging concerned people to contact elected state representatives. “As you know, we have enacted an ordinance that prevents STRs in residential neighborhoods. This law would make that invalid.”

Berry said the Arkansas Municipal League is aware of the proposed legislation and working to minimize the damage that could create. “However, they have said that with the attitude of many legislators about government infringement on property rights, this may be difficult to fight,” Berry said.

Berry said this is a major concern for Eureka Springs, which currently has an abundance of STRs in residential neighborhoods.

“It is creating serious problems with noise, traffic and other issues with permanent residents,” Berry said. “It is also taking away housing stock from local people in need of places to live. We have enacted an ordinance prohibiting STRs in residential zones. This proposed law would make our local ordinance invalid. This is an issue that should remain under local control.”

Berry urged people to encourage friends and neighbors in Eureka Springs and across the state to contact their state senators and representatives and let them know how damaging this bill would be to cities.

Sen. Bryan King, who represents Eureka Springs and surrounding areas, said in an interview that he has gotten calls and emails both for and against the bill. 

“I want to be cautious and listen to both sides of the argument right now,” King said. “Eureka probably has the most heavily defined zones of any city in my district. It makes it more expensive to live there because of the historic district requirements. I can see where short-term lodging is an issue.”

Rep. Harlan Breaux was also non-committal.

“I want to see what the people think about it,” Breaux said in a phone interview. “The mayor of Eureka said they don’t want it. I’m checking with Holiday Island and Berryville. I’m going to vote the way most people want.”

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Joshua Bryant and Rep. Brit McKenzie, both of Rogers. Neither responded to requests for comment from ESI prior to deadline. McKenzie has been quoted as saying the bill is both a fundamental defense of private property rights and the direct result of requests made to him by citizens when he campaigned.

McKenzie said STRs are ways for your neighbors or relatives to generate income and are of particular interest in his district surrounding Beaver Lake where there are homeowners who live there in the winter and rent their homes out in the spring and summer.

Eureka Springs resident Gwen Bennett, who has worked as a citizen for decades to prevent commercial encroachment in residential areas, said she finds the act hypocritical. She said the Republican thought is that states don’t want to be told what to do by the federal government.

“We should stress that cities don’t want to be told what to do by big government in Little Rock,” Bennett wrote in an email. “We need a coordinated effort of the business community, Chamber, motels, bed and breakfasts and citizens stressing that our tourism will be destroyed if there is no housing for workers. Stressing big government and the damage that this will do to our only industry is important.”

Rogers Mayor Greg Hines said he doesn’t believe the legislation was generated by concerns from local citizens, but by Airbnb.

“I don’t have to come home from Little Rock to find out what people think,” Hines said. “When I go to the grocery store for eggs and milk, people tell me what concerns them. I suspect if this was on the minds of people in Rogers, I would have heard about it.”

Hines said the issue is much broader than Airbnb and seems like an attack on local control for land use, zoning and permitting.

“I just don’t understand this coming from the Republican side of the House and the Senate,” Hines said. “Historically, local control is one of the key pillars of Republicans. This should be a local decision. This is a broad solution in search of a problem.”

Hines said if the City of Rogers were considering new regulations regarding STRs, it would go through a long vetting process by numerous commissions and officials, then discussed at a town hall meeting before action was taken.

 “It takes years to work through these things looking at existing laws before we even think of new regulations,” Hines said. “I am not against Airbnbs. I stay in them all the time. I am against anything that would stop local control regulating the use of them. One solution doesn’t cover all the concerns that may arise. People live in the city for a reason. A lot of times it is because they want public safety, an abundance of utilities, EMS, sidewalks, roads, trails and protection for their property values.”

Hines said the proposed legislation wouldn’t apply to subdivisions that have property owner associations that determine regulations. But it would apply to people like him who don’t have the protection of a POA. He called the legislation a “knee jerk reaction without enough accountability for the unintended consequences.”

“We already have a lot of Airbnbs in Roger, and for the most part these are owner-occupied homes with accessory dwelling units,” Hines said. “We haven’t had any problems with our Airbnbs or VRBOs and I don’t suspect we will have any problems. If we did, we don’t want to go to Little Rock in order to address a local issue.”

The bill is currently pending before the Arkansas Senate’s City, County and Local Affairs Committee.