CAPE CHARLES, Va. — The Cape Charles Town Council has approved a series of text amendments to the town’s zoning ordinance, establishing a new section in Article IV to create a Short-Term Rental (STR) Zoning Ordinance. The amendments also revised existing sections to include definitions associated with STRs, designated zoning districts where STRs are allowed as a by-right use, and corrected internal references related to STRs.
While most of the proposed amendments passed with marginal contention, the Council made an unexpected adjustment, changing the designation of Accessory Use for STRs from a by-right use to one requiring a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). The move introduces an additional layer of oversight and regulation for property owners seeking to operate STRs as accessory uses in Cape Charles. Each section of the new ordinance will go from by-right to conditional use.
Opinion: The Cape Charles Town Council’s decision to require a Conditional Use Permit for STRs is certainly one way to go about it, but the way it was brought forth is not a good look, even for this group. Intentional or not, there is the appearance that certain members of the Town Council met behind closed doors and came up with a plan to spring the Conditional Use amendment at the 11th hour. Why was this never discussed before? The town has been dealing with this for almost three years, why was the CUP approach not part of the public discussion? The agenda package never mentions CUP, and specifically states only by-right uses. Why would a lame-duck council push this through? The fact that the town manager had ready (yet sketchy) financial numbers regarding the costs of going the CUP route is somewhat suspect.
The new STR Zoning Ordinance aims to address several community concerns. Under Housing Objectives and Strategies, the town seeks to mitigate the impacts of STRs on the existing housing stock. Key initiatives include developing and maintaining an inventory of STR units in collaboration with local real estate and property management groups. The inventory will identify whether units are located within the Historic District or Bay Creek Planned Unit Development and coordinate with stakeholders to assess how and when these units are utilized.
Economy Objectives and Strategies outlined in the amendments emphasize achieving a balance between year-round residents, tourists, and second homeowners. To support this goal, the Council plans to implement STR regulations designed to protect the quality of life for permanent residents while accommodating the needs of visitors and seasonal property owners.
“The decision to require a CUP for accessory STRs reflects our commitment to balancing community needs with economic opportunities,” said a council member. “This ensures that our regulatory framework remains robust and responsive to the evolving dynamics of short-term rentals.”
The adoption of these amendments marks a significant step in the town’s efforts to regulate the growing short-term rental market, which has become a contentious issue in Cape Charles and other small tourist destinations.
CUPs are a compromise to protect long-time residents from getting priced out of the place they call home. STR owners are grandfathered in. They claim doomsday is ahead — that people currently are only buying to rent, house sales will haunt and that house values will plummet. The catch there is, they’re not buying them to rent to locals. No, that would be too risky. Instead they’re cashing in big time at locals’ expense. For many whose families have called Cape Charles home since the ferry operated, this would be a celebrated outcome. STRs have dried up the inventory of long term rentals and have caused taxes to skyrocket.
Where are all of the people that have been busting down the doors trying to buy homes to live full time in Cape Charles (An area with very little infrastructure to support even a small growth in the population)?? Not one STR owner is doing anything on a full timers expense Cathy, we pay significantly more into the town through taxes and fees, and because of the tourist season – our home puts significantly less strain on the town compared to full timers. You clearly have NO idea what the operating cost is.
Whoa, there. Our home’s appraisal has tripled in only 9 years, and not because of any improvements we have made. Likewise, our taxes have tripled in the same time period. But unlike STR owners, we have to tighten our belts to pay these taxes, because these are our homes and not the cost of doing business, which you just pass on to your customers. Until 2020, we knew all of our neighbors. Now we don’t even know who owns 40% of these houses, much less the people who stay there. Do you know YOUR neighbors, where YOU live? There are costs beyond dollars and cents. We have former neighbors who lost their dream of retiring here, thanks to out of control taxes. In Williamsburg, another tourist town, tourist dollars keep taxes low and schools with everything they need for excellence, and locals there accept the inconvenience of tourists because of the benefits their money provides. Here, taxes just keep escalating, and the schools? Please. Teachers don’t get paid what they need to afford decent housing, if it even existed. And where do the workers who clean those STRs, cut the grass at those STRs, wait on your table, cook in the restaurants, run the cash registers, where do those people live? And how do they get to work? Their kids aren’t going to expensive private schools. They want what you do for their families, but thanks to the greed that made this town gentrified on steroids, they are barely getting by. Mean family income here is right around $50k. They aren’t buying homes here with that income. They can hardly find a place to rent. YOU clearly have no idea what a strain YOUR business puts on people who live here. Greed. The love of money. Not a good look. Disgusting to hear the complaints from people running businesses in residential areas…how is that even legal? STR owners rake in thousands of dollars, at the expense of the sense of community and diversity of community that people who live here used to enjoy. What benefit do the people who live here get for giving up “Mayberry”? And don’t tell me that more restaurants and shops compensate for what we have lost.
An excellent response!
As to your assessments going up, that is GREEDFLATION in action.
And when the dude who doesn’t live in Cape Charles because it is too low class, a good place to own rental property, a poor place to actually live in, tells you their home puts significantly less strain on the town compared to full timers, what is that based on, given that the dude making the statement doesn’t live in Cape Charles, and so, would have no idea what his short term tenants were up to while there, or what “strains” they put on Cape Charles.
What about all these golf cart interactions we read about in Cape Charles which require a police presence in Cape Charles?
Is that because of full time residents?
Are they the ones careering around like maniacs in out-of-control golf carts, like a version of the “WILD BUNCH” comes to Cape Charles?
Or is that the short term rental crowd?
If so, that cost of policing alone puts a strain on Cape Charles as does beach maintenance and all the other costs of being a town for tourists.
While STRs might be an easy target, the reality is that higher taxes are the result of a larger trend – it’s happening everywhere – even in the house I live in! When property values drop, that is not a good sign – certainly you don’t want to see your homes value decrease, do you?
Why don’t you get to know your neighbors and their guests? I don’t live in town, but know the names and phone numbers of my neighbors in Cape Charles!
Thank you for asking about my personal neighbors, I would love to share – it’s interesting! Our personal home is on a street totaling 5 houses on the water. Only 3 of those homes are occupied full time (including mine). When the current owner purchased a 100 year old house and vacant lot to turn them into 2 short term rentals, I took it upon myself to get the names and numbers of the owner and the manager. I offered to keep a spare key in case it was needed – and it came in handy when it caught on fire, and I was right there, with firefighters on the phone with the owner. We send the owner a Christmas card, and wish him happy thanksgiving. When we see guests – we talk to them and make it a point to ADD to their visit here. We have shared fish we have caught off our pier, local restaurant recommendations, lent out fishing poles and kayaks, returned dogs, and chatted with them for hours while our kids have played in the yard. And yes, we have yelled for guests to turn their music down – however the time I had to call the cops because of an out of control party – that was on my full time neighbor. I guess we’re just taking accountability for our own “sense of community” instead of using it as a battle cry. I also grew up in Virginia Beach, worked at the oceanfront and spent every summer in Nags Head where my grandmother lived year round – so when it comes to annoying tourist, I’ll be the choir here.
How does the town spend the additional revenue created from STR’s and the tourist – Would a more productive approach be to push town government to distribute the additional revenue better? Create affordable housing? create jobs? Placing all of weight on “STR’s are the whole problem” is going to have a really disappointing outcome and it’s economically short sighted.
I am going to be so transparent with you here- I genuinely hope you read. My Str did not make ANY profit this year, or last year! And I am not alone – this is not a cheap business. The expenses include – Property taxes town, Property taxes county (same as you!) TOT taxes – state (quarterly) county (quarterly) town (monthly), personal property on our personal golf cart, golf cart registration and insurance, Return of tangible property town, Return of tangible property county, Business license town, Business license county, Yearly rental inspection, SCC yearly (state), utilities (electric, Internet, trash – required to have 2 bins as an STR), upkeep of a 125 year old house and all of the furnishings (we need a new roof next year, yikes!), lawyer for LLC, CPA for taxes, mortgage, interest, insurance, website, lawn care, pest control Not to mention the time I spend keeping up with a town I am constantly reading I am not a part of, trying to keep up with the regulations, requirements, event calendar, etc.. I am a member of the historical society, I contribute to anything that I see come across including Central Park, and I support the local businesses more than I do in my own town honestly!
I am still working on my profit and loss for the year, but happy to circle back with final numbers on all of that – if y’all actually care to hear something that doesn’t align with your narrative.
You will not hear me complain about my economic status, I have a lot of privilege and my husband and I have worked very hard in our careers to build generational wealth for our children and provide a good life for them and, one week of vacation a year for our family and hopefully, in the future they will bring their own families there on their vacation – if that’s your definition of greedy, then guilty.
My understanding is that Cape Charles had lots of problems 20+ years ago and that the economic status and crime rate was less than the beloved Mayberry – and what it is now, in real life!
It would have been nice if you had presented us with some actual figures to support that statement.
What you are saying is that a community is better off with no full residents, only absentee landlords who live somewhere else that is nicer and better governed with a better class of citizens while their properties are used by tourists looking for some place to “let their hair down” like they are unable to do in their hometown.
It is an interesting concept.
Please tell us more!
What a wonderful, wonderful STR owner.
I wish she was my neighbor.