Public hearing on short-term RV rental set for Sept. 12

By Randy Arrington

STANLEY, Aug. 9 — The Stanley Council will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 12 regarding a request by a town resident for a special use permit to continue using an RV parked outside his home as a short-term Airbnb rental.

Dustin Grimm appeared before the Council at its Aug. 9 meeting to answer any questions about the SUP application he submitted to the Town on Aug. 2.

“This rental makes it possible for my wife to work from home to provide supplemental income,” Grimm’s application states.

The RV that Grimm has already been renting out to travelers through Airbnb sits near his home at 774 West Main Street. The RV is supplied water through a garden hose connected to the home, and sewage is dumped from the RV into the home’s septic system. The Health Department will need to inspect the site before Council will consider the application.

The residence sits within a medium-density residential zoning district that allows short-term rentals by special use permit. Grimm told Council that he will only have one RV on site for rent, and he holds up to $1 million in liability insurance through Airbnb. The home owner said ample parking is available in his yard, and the addition of tourists will only add about three bags of trash per week. The maximum stay he allows is 10 days.

Council members expressed concerns over the request at last week’s meeting that approval may set a bad precedent. The Stanley Planning Commission is expected to review the application soon and offer a recommendation to the Council.

In other business at its Aug. 9 meeting, the Stanley Council took the following actions:

• Heard a report that $232,539.37 remain in ARPA funds, with the main project benefitting from those remaining funds likely being the completion of the Well No. 7 — a longterm project that will help strengthen the Town’s water supply and should be at the testing stage this fall.

• Heard that applications are being accepted for an open Public Works position.

• Heard about plans for the 75th anniversary celebration for the Stanley Volunteer Fire Department set for Sept. 22-23. Friday’s activities would be at the fire hall, while Council approved for activities to be held at Ed Good Memorial Park on Saturday.

• Heard a report from Police Chief Ryan Dean stating there were 390 calls for service in July, with 273 being self-initiated and seven citations written. In June those figures stood at 629 calls for service, 553 self-initiated, and three citations written. The National Night Out event held on Aug. 2 at Hawksbill Park drew more than 400 attendees. Chief Dean, Town Manager Terry Pettit and a few other volunteers will be traveling to New Jersey on Sept. 6 to help build a playground with the Where Angels Play Foundation. The non-profit group came to Stanley and built a playground at Hawksbill Park in memory of fallen Stanley police officer Nick Winum earlier this summer. The local folks are just returning the favor with some free labor.

• Heard a recreation report from Rec Director Terri Beers that since Memorial Day weekend, the Hawksbill Pool has hosted 6,175 swimmers, including dozens from other countries.

• Prior to last week’s meeting, the Town received notice from Travis Hoke that he was not moving forward with his effort to purchase Al’s Trailer Park. Hoke had previously approached the Town about his plan to purchase, and then expand, the trailer park that sits just off Route 340 Business. Final details could not be worked out with the seller, and Hoke notified the Town and the media that he was not moving forward with the project. Subsequently, the Council canceled a planned Aug. 9 public hearing.

For more information on the Town of Stanley,

visit www.townofstanley.com

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