The Mathews County Planning Commission, at its meeting on Tuesday in the historic courthouse, voted unanimously to recommend that the board of supervisors approve changes to the regulations governing short-term vacation rental properties.

The changes, if adopted, would include a requirement that the owner obtain a short-term vacation rental zoning permit and an annual business license from the commissioner of the revenue.

Additionally, the proposed regulation includes verbiage referring to sections of the Virginia Code related to short-term vacation rental properties.

One such reference states that Virginia allows localities by ordinance to establish a short-term rental registry and requires operators to register annually, and that the business licenses would comprise such a registry in Mathews. Failure to register annually “could result in fines not exceeding $500 per violation,” says the proposed regulation.

The document also refers to the Virginia Code allowing localities to levy additional taxes, including sales tax and transient tax, on a short-term vacation rental’s gross proceeds, as well as allowing localities to perform inspections on rental property, conducted by the building official or his agent.

There was no public comment on the matter.

Supervisors are expected to set a date for their own public hearing on the matter at next week’s board meeting, to be held at 6 p.m. next Thursday, Dec. 18, in the historic courthouse on Court Street.

The commission also voted to hold a public hearing in January on a proposal by ProSafe Acquisitions LLC to build a 75,000-square-foot storage facility on property adjacent to the Dollar General Market at Cobbs Creek.

Finally, commission members re-elected Billy Cook as their chairman and Harry Meeks as vice chair for 2026 on split votes. The vote on Cook was 6-2, with commission members Donald Morgan and Byron Rauch opposed. The vote on Meeks was 7-1, with Rauch opposed.