The Mathews County Planning Commission, meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 12, voted unanimously to hold a public hearing next month on proposed changes to the county’s special regulations for short-term vacation rentals.
One proposed change would require that each short-term vacation rental operator obtain an annual business license from the commissioner of the revenue and become part of a rental registry, as allowed by the Code of Virginia. Not doing so could result in fines not exceeding $500 per violation.
Additional changes would add verbiage from the Virginia Code stating that localities are allowed to levy additional taxes, including sales tax and transient tax, on the gross proceeds of such a business and that localities are allowed to perform inspections on rental property by the building official or agent.
During discussion of the matter, planning and zoning director Bobby Andrade told commission members that there are around 210 known short-term vacation rentals in Mathews, and that...