City council members are drafting an ordinance that would restrict short-term rental properties in Birmingham after homeowners complaints about crime and nuisances tied to the properties.
“Even with all the improvements we’ve made to Birmingham, our population continues to drop. And we believe that part of the reason is because so many of our residences have been snapped up by investors and turned into short-term rentals,” Valerie Abbott of Glen Iris told council members at a meeting Tuesday morning.
Abbott, a longtime member of the city council, was among a group of residents from various neighborhoods, including College Hills, Druid Hills, and Forest Park, who spoke in favor of restricting rentals through companies like Airbnb and VRBO within the city. As chair of the council planning and zoning committee, Abbott was an advocate for regulating short-term rentals…