At the Maryville Planning and Zoning Commission’s 6-1 recommendation, the Maryville City Council voted unanimously against a special-use permit that would make a townhome into a short-term rental property Monday evening.
Danielle Erickson applied to have her property at 724 Prather Ave. be used as a short-term rental, similar to what’s found on Airbnb or Vrbo.
Erickson said she fell in love with the property when she first saw it and that it had already been renovated and restored before she purchased it.
“My request for a short-term rental permit is not about maximizing income,” Erickson said. “While the property would pay for itself, I’m not trying to turn it into a money-maker or operate it at maximum capacity. I have intentionally limited occupancy and made layout decisions, including converting one of the bedrooms into an office that further (decreases) the number of guests who would be able to stay in the home at one time.”
Erickson said a long-term rental would likely be occupied by college students. While she said she didn’t want to diminish college students’ importance to the community, she also didn’t want the house to go through the increased wear and tear that comes with renting to that demographic.
That is why she hoped to receive approval for short-term renting to attract non-college students to the home.
“This is not a party house, that is not the market I’m targeting, it is not the kind of operation I want to run,” Erickson said. “My goal is to attract professionals, University visitors and (families) visiting their college students. Guests are typically quiet, respectful and in town for a specific purpose and a short stay.”
However, the property is zoned R-2, meaning it is meant to be used as a single-family residence.
It is also located within the University Neighborhood Overlay District, which Maryville Public Works Director Matt Smith said is also meant for single-family residential use.
“Short-term rentals are only permitted by right within the Campus Town Overlay and the C-2 General Business District,” Smith said. “Because this property is outside of those areas, approval requires a two-step process; first, a special-use permit approved by the City Council, and second is issuance of a short-term rental permit. If approved and operated at a short-term rental, the property would be subject to the city’s 5% transient guest tax.”
A nearby property at 730 Prather Ave. was approved for short-term rental in 2021 without neighborhood opposition. Smith said this time, multiple members of the neighborhood raised concerns about traffic noise and other potential impacts a short-term rental property could have in this area.
Many of those community members were present at the City Council meeting.
David Howell, who lives across the street from the property in question, said he does not like the idea of having a short-term rental.
“It’s caused a lot of problems, there’s been a few loud people, there’re problems with parking on the street, facing the wrong way, that type of thing,” Howell said.
He said he felt this specific neighborhood needed to stay the way it was — quiet and relatively free of college renters.
Fellow community member Steve Howard agreed with Howell. He said the nearby short-term rental property has brought noise and activity at all hours of the night throughout the whole street.
“I think it lowers the value of our homes,” Howard said. “Anyone that would come to buy a house that was next to this, I think they would take that into consideration. I think it would lower the value of our home greatly, so I am very much against this.”
In addition to this, the Council also unanimously voted not to approve a short-term rental permit for a property owned by Jeff and Lisa Yosten at 1007 W. 17th St. Similarly, the property is zoned R-2 and is located within the University Neighborhood Overlay District.
Other City Council Business:
- A general election will be held April 7 for Maryville residents to elect City Council members with three spots open; there are two three-year terms and one two-year term. There are three candidates for the three-year terms: incumbents Erin Allen and Bryan Williams, and Stephanie Campbell. Incumbent Benjamin Lipiec is the only candidate running for the two-year term.
- The Missouri Department of Economic Development awarded Maryville a $530,000 grant, which will be used for a new fire truck for the Maryville Fire Department.