Homeowner seeks OK for short-term rental

According to Summerfield’s UDO, short-term rentals such as those arranged through Airbnb and Vrbo are only allowed in principal dwellings, not other structures on the property

by CHRIS BURRITT

SUMMERFIELD – A homeowner in the Trotter Ridge subdivision is asking for an amendment to Summerfield’s development rules so she can operate a shortterm rental in a barn on her property.

The town’s unified development ordinance (UDO) imposes numerous restrictions on short-term rentals, such as those arranged by online booking services Airbnb and Vrbo. In Summerfield, shortterm rentals must be located within the principal dwelling on the property, not in any other structure such as “a cabin, hut, tent, yurt, treehouse, teepee, etc.,” according the UDO.

Joanne Bond, of 6070 Windsor

Farme Road, is asking for the removal of the principal dwelling requirement so she can convert her two-story barn into a short-term rental, according to Summerfield’s notice of two public hearings related to her text amendment application last month.

Bond’s short-term rental would be “an asset to visitors coming to the area to investigate suitable schools, universities and potential small businesses,” she said in the application. “If accommodations like this are professionally presented, I believe they will attract potential people to the area.” threat that a legislative bill to de-annex the 973 acres he owns in Summerfield will be introduced with the support of state Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger. Berger represents District 26, which encompasses Summerfield, and has urged the town to seek a compromise with Couch over the developer’s plans to build apartments in Summerfield.

Bond didn’t reply to a request for an interview last week. The Planning Board is slated to consider her application during its meeting next Monday, April 24. The board will send its recommendation to the Town Council for a final decision during its meeting May 9.

The board and the council will hold public hearings during their meetings to give residents the opportunity to express their views about the text amendment application.

Representatives of the town met with Couch and his attorneys and lobbyists last month.

“All listened, aired some frustrations, and discussed the need to compromise,” Sessoms wrote in the statement. “While the town is committed to maintaining Summerfield’s character, leaders offered some points of negotiation in hopes of moving toward the middle. Th is initial offer has not yet yielded any productive dialog, but the town continues to seek reasonable responses.

“The collective advice is that compromise remains the best outcome for our community and the town should still pursue good-faith negotiations,” the mayor continued. “For now, we are doing so. If these efforts are reciprocated, the town will present more details to residents before making substantive decisions. In the meantime, Council members have met with Senator Berger and others, and we’re grateful for the on-going calls and communications to representatives. Residents sharing their opinions about external involvement in this matter is helpful.”

In conclusion, Sessoms wrote, “Rest assured that your Council members are actively engaged in finding the best solution. Patience is greatly appreciated – we are at times simply waiting for responses. The Northwest Observer has been kind enough to offer us space each edition so we can share important news. We’ll also share the same on social media.”

S’FIELD FIRE DISTRICT

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If Couch is eventually allowed to build apartments in the town, Foushee said she may no longer be alive. Even so, she said, she believes “there should be an opportunity for others. When a person gets to be my age, they should be able to stay in Summerfield. I think we deserve that.”

As a member of the committee that drafted a unified development ordinance (UDO) in 2018, Foushee said she recommended the town make housing accommodations for the elderly to downsize in Summerfield and for law enforcement officers, firefighters and other first responders to afford to live in the town.

While the UDO adopted by the council in 2021 allows construction of multifamily housing such as duplexes, it doesn’t allow apartments.

In his meeting last month with Sen. Berger, fire chief Johnson said he shared his views about the lack of moderately priced housing in Summerfield as part of a wide-ranging discussion with the lawmaker. Assistant fire chief Jenna Daniels also attended the meeting, described by Johnson as part of the fire district’s efforts to build relationships with state legislators.

Johnson

Johnson said. “It just centered around affordable housing for firefighters.” five of the fire district’s six full-time firefighters who live in town due to arrangements with their families and friends. He added that he and the five others are “paying nowhere close to the average Summerfield home price.”

Six of Summerfield’s 41 full-time firefighters live in the town, including one who recently rented the house owned by the town at 5448 Bunch Road. The house is located on 120 acres that Summerfield plans to develop as Bandera Farms Park. Rather than leave the house vacant, the council voted to lease it for $500 a month for up to one year.

None of Summerfield Fire District’s part-time firefighters live inside of the Summerfield town limits, according to Johnson. Nine of the 37 volunteers live within the town.

Johnson said he’s “not OK” with the situation. Twenty years ago, he said he “wanted to live in this town where I grew up” but that he and his wife “could not find a house or land that we could afford.”

In their talks with Berger, Johnson said he and Daniels “discussed affordable housing for our firefighters and about how many of our staff and volunteers actually live in the town limits and the reasons why the number is so low.”

Johnson cited salaries for Summerfield firefighters that start at $40,365 a year. New employees with two-year degrees in a related field get 5% more and those with four-year degrees get an additional 10%, he said.

“No comments ever came up about apartments during my conversation in Raleigh” with Berger,

Of the fire district’s 82 firefighters, 15 of them – or 18.3% – live in Summerfield.

The chief listed himself among

“We started looking in Rockingham County, and that’s when my parents ended up giving us a plot on part of the family farm land,” he said. Summerfield Fire District covers 47 square miles that includes the town of Summerfield and portions of Rockingham County.