CAPE CHARLES — The Cape Charles Town Council has adopted a resolution to explore whether accessory dwelling units (ADUs) should be permitted as short-term rentals, a change that could significantly alter the town’s approach to affordable housing.
The resolution came in response to a request from the Cape Charles Historic Civic League. The organization asked the town to review whether the current restriction limiting ADUs to long-term rentals has successfully created diverse housing options for workforce and long-term residents.
Currently, property owners with ADUs — small secondary dwelling units on residential properties — can only rent them to long-term tenants. The proposed zoning text amendment would allow these units to be used as short-term vacation rentals, similar to those listed on platforms like Airbnb.
The matter has been reviewed by the Planning Commission for consideration and recommendation back to the Town Council.
However, town staff expressed significant reservations about the proposal in their review. According to the staff report, the town lacks adequate data to evaluate whether ADUs have achieved their intended purpose, as no comprehensive database of accessory dwellings existed before 2025.
ADUs were originally approved in Cape Charles to increase the number of smaller units available for long-term rental at lower costs, based on their smaller size. By converting them into short-term rentals, the Town would be abandoning its original reason for approving ADUs.
In a surprising recommendation, staff suggested that if the amendment moves forward, the town should consider phasing out ADU construction entirely. Existing units would be grandfathered in, but no new ADUs would be permitted.
The proposed amendment includes specific restrictions to prevent both a main house and its ADU from operating as short-term rentals simultaneously. Property owners would need to choose whether their primary residence or the accessory unit could receive an annual short-term rental permit, but not both.
Additionally, ADUs seeking short-term rental permits would need to meet all existing STR ordinance requirements regarding bedrooms and occupancy limits, though they would be prohibited from utilizing the “plus two” occupancy allowance typically granted to short-term rentals.
Next steps will be sending the resolution back to the Planning Commission, and a scheduled public hearing.
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What a clown show. Create two tiers of property values in one zoning district or create a run on permits to build. Overwhelm parking and infrastructure. Expose the farce of finding “diverse housing options for workforce and long-term residents” verbal diarrhea. One simple solution not mentioned… required strict off street parking regulations. 24 hour parking access, not having three cars with one sitting on a sidewalk crammed into a residential building lot like a pimple about to pop or blocking in other vehicles. You want to overwhelm a single family lot with an additional structure to rent out weekly and basically run a small hotel then require commercial property parking regulations.
I was on the planning commission when ADUs were approved. There was disagreement among commissioners on approval. One thing that kind of swung the vote (at least my vote) was we all agreed they would never be used at STR’s. In Cape Charles, never say never.😉