Columbia’s short-term rental policy under review after shooting
The Columbia City Council will reevaluate short-term rental properties after a deadly shooting June 6 at an Airbnb that resulted in the death of an 18-year-old.
“What happened that morning was nothing short of terrifying,” said Ebonn Twilley, who lives next door to the Airbnb property and made the 911 call. “What should have been a typical Elmwood Park day with neighbors making coffee and walking their dogs … instead was a day that was started with gunshots and a murder.”
Twilley and other Columbia residents have petitioned the city of Columbia to take action.
On Tuesday, the city council voted to pause new permits on short-term rental properties in residential neighborhoods while they reevaluate citywide policies.
“We want to make sure that if there is somebody operating a rental … that’s not abiding by the rules, we need to have the ability to address it,” Mayor Daniel Rickenmann said.
Currently, Columbia’s policy requires properties to have a permit and a business license to operate. Owners of short-term rentals must keep records of building code compliance and the names and contact information of every person who stays there.
The policy also requires that guests who book their stay be at least 18 years old. And the property can host up to two people per bedroom, not including children.
Residents of the Elmwood Park neighborhood said the city of Columbia is not properly enforcing this policy.
Justin Barstow is one of those residents.
He said there’s a short-term rental in his neighborhood that advertises it can sleep 22 people in a four-bedroom house, which is against Columbia’s policy.
Parking and noise disturbances are consistent issues, and Barstow said he has had to pick up trash from the rental property’s front yard so animals do not get into it.
“We have no idea how many are actually in our neighborhoods,” said John Wilkinson, president of the Elmwood Park Neighborhood Association.
“Not a single non-owner occupied STR (short-term rental) operator has notified our neighborhood association about the existence or location of a single STR in our neighborhood nor provided contact information, as is explicitly required in the STR ordinance,” Wilkinson added.
City council members said Tuesday that although there would be a pause on new permits, they still want to support the business.
Kandie Wright lives in Historic Melrose and owns three short-term rentals, two of which were previously condemned buildings in her neighborhood.
“We aren’t slick investors just trying to turn a profit,” Wright said Tuesday at the city council meeting. “We care about our neighborhoods and safety and the fabric of our neighborhoods.”
In a statement, Airbnb said, "We remain available to City leaders as they consider ways to strengthen enforcement of existing short-term rental rules during the moratorium.”
Two charged in Airbnb shooting
Over 30 shots were fired at an Airbnb property in the Elmwood Park neighborhood in the early morning hours of Friday, June 6 in what police described as a “war zone.”
Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said at a June 8 press conference that multiple guns were involved in the shooting, resulting in “indescribable” damage.
Police said they have arrested and charged two people in connection with the shooting.
Holbrook said they are still looking for one more potential suspect, a 15-year-old male.
There is no motive at this time, Holbrook said.
The Airbnb is owned by Cornerstone Properties, and Holbrook said the owner has been ordered to cease operations with the home rental company.
Holbrook said Cornerstone Properties Airbnb rental will be condemned as a “public nuisance.”
The property had no prior history with the Columbia Police Department.
“I’m mad about these young people shooting each other, and that’s the brunt of why I’m mad,” Rickenmann said Tuesday.
June, he noted, happens to be both Gun Violence Awareness Month and National Homeownership Month.
