Toccoa Tables Motel Extended Stay Ordinance

The City of Toccoa has tabled a proposed ordinance that would put tough regulations on hotels and motels in the city that offer extended stay rates.

At their meeting last week, Toccoa City Commissioners held a public hearing on the proposed extended stay hotel-motel ordinance.

The proposed ordinance includes rules that spell out how many people can stay in a room and how much space must be set aside for food preparation and storage.

Additionally, extended stay motels would have to have  automatic-off timers on stoves, and hard wired smoke detectors.

Other rules in the ordinance include requiring green space and recreation areas, as well as buffers between extended stay motels and residential neighborhoods.

City Manager Billy Morse also outlined two proposed amendments to the ordinance from the Stephens County Health Department that would require health inspections in the rooms.  The other amendment requires a list of all rooms that have extended stay occupancy to be turned in to the City on the first of each year.

More than a dozen people turned out to the public hearing last week to oppose the ordinance.  Many of them said they feel the ordinance is designed to shut down these hotels and motels.

Jennifer Morris said she has been homeless before and would be now if not for extended stay motels.

“If you all tear these motels down like this, if you all make it to where nobody can stay extended stay, I will be back in the same situation,” said Morris, who said a lot of other people would also end up on the streets if these motels closed.

David Williamson stays at the Host Inn. He said he does not understand why the city is trying to make it harder on these businesses.

“I read in the papers everyday, ‘Keep Toccoa Beautiful’,” said Williamson. “How is shutting a place of business down helping to keep Toccoa beautiful when you all are destroying business?”

Owners of the Country Hearth Inn and Host Inn each spoke. They said they need to offer the the extended stay option in order to stay open.

They claim the proposed ordinance would make staying in business harder.

Daniel Turpin said he feels the city is using this ordinance to force people to check out after 30 days, which would increase hotel and motel tax revenue for the city gets to put towards the Chamber of Commerce and other tourism promotion activities.

Last month, Toccoa City Clerk Fredda Wheeler told the commission the City was not realizing 40 to 89 percent of possible hotel and motel tax revenue because hotel and motel tax is not collected once someone stays more than 30 days.

That said, Toccoa Mayor Gail Fry told the crowd her first concern is safety.

“No one is here to put anyone out of a home,” said Fry. “Our job in the city is to make sure that our citizens are safe and even some of the owners themselves, they have stated that the conditions of the buildings are not up to par, and it is our job as the commission to make sure our community is a safe place to live.”

Commissioner Jeanette Jamieson said she thinks the solution for these individuals is to just have the hotels check people out after 30 days and check them right back in, avoiding the extended stay ordinance altogether.

“The entire definition of that changes if you check someone out on the 30th day and check them back in,” said Jamieson of extended stay, who said all it takes is a piece of paper.

“I understand (the situation),” said Jamieson of the people who spoke. “My heart is with them.”

Toccoa City Commissioners voted unanimously to table the ordinance to a future date to allow Jamieson’s question to be researched, as well as for the whole ordinance to be reviewed further.