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Perry locals split on popularity of short-term rentals

Meetings to discuss the rentals are set for April’s city council agenda, and people will be able to attend and voice their opinion on the housing.

PERRY, Ga. — In Perry, hundreds of rental options are available with a swipe of a finger.

However, not everyone is happy about the short-term visitors. Some say as the rental market gets hotter, it's cooling down their sense of community.

Short term rentals are moving in, but some people say they’ve packed up the idea of having strangers around.

"We all know each other in this neighborhood, I know all my neighbors and
We're here for each other and we don't want a bunch of strangers in here doing God knows what else," Amy Shumaker said.

The city has posted signs in front of several properties that owners want to turn into short-term rentals, but Amy Shumaker and Theresa Clubb say they aren’t too open.

"We're just afraid of what's going to happen once we get all these Airbnb's in here or short term rentals and people are going to be coming in for the weekend, we don't know what they're going to be doing," Shumaker said.

"Honestly, I don't think they should approve any until the city can figure out the rules and the zoning and have penalties,” Clubb said.

The women argue the issue of safety and failure of regulation.

If you pull up Airbnb and search for rentals in Perry, more than 500 results come up, but there's far fewer than that on the city's record.

"We only have nine that are legally registered through the city, and we actually have a system that helps us to track,” Perry’s Community Planner Emily Carson said.

To qualify a short-term rental in Perry, you must submit an application. It goes through the planning commission where the application is recommended for approval or denial and then moves to council.

Emily Carson says that's where the regulations are.

"Should the residents, or guest, or applicants not comply with those regulations, that special exemption can be denied," Carson continued.

Just as some see the cons, others see the pros of the booming market.

"We create job opportunities for maintenance, for lawn care, for cleaning services and people that may not always have all the other avenues to make money,” Kiamate Perry said.

Perry says the rentals also contributes to tourism-- and for those who are skeptical, she assures that guests are vetted and most homeowners are responsible.

“You can say, ‘No, I don't want this client here’ because of course we wouldn’t want our neighbors to feel unsafe, but for the most part, we wouldn't want our house to be trashed,” Perry continued.

Meetings to discuss the rentals are set for April’s city council agenda, and people will be able to attend and voice their opinion on the housing.

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