Judge dismisses Tybee Island vacation rental lawsuit

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - A Chatham County judge has dismissed a high-profile civil case on Tybee Island centered on short-term vacation rental regulations.

The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by the property owner advocacy group Tybee Alliance, argued that short-term vacation rentals (STVRs) should be classified and protected as residential housing. However, the judge ruled that because short-term rentals lack a “relatively continuous physical presence,” the City of Tybee Island has the authority to enforce stricter regulations on them.

Seeking a Balance for the Island

Tybee Island Mayor Brian West believes the ruling provides necessary guardrails that will benefit the community as a whole.

“We feel like the pendulum kind of swung way over to getting rid of all short-term rentals in residential areas, and the council we have right now—now the pendulum swung back to allowing everyone to have one,” Mayor West said. “We feel like we’ve swung the pendulum to the middle.”

Mayor West emphasized that preliminary research highlighted the significant “economic gravity” vacation rentals hold. The goal, he explained, is finding a healthy balance between permanent residential living and tourism activity.

Property Owners React

Local property owners, however, expressed surprise and disappointment. Jenny Rutherford, a Tybee real estate business owner who spoke independently, disagreed with the legal reasoning behind the dismissal.

“I’m surprised, I really am surprised because I read through the brief,” Rutherford said. “It was talking about how the state has not defined residential rental property, and therefore the judge needed to use common sense to define that—and the way he did that, I disagree with.”

Despite her disagreement with the ruling, Rutherford noted that the current city council has taken a more moderate approach than the 2023 administration, which she described as wanting to “get rid of every short-term rental.”

What’s Next for Tybee

The ruling clears the way for the city to move forward with new zoning plans. Next week, Tybee’s City Council is scheduled to review an ordinance designed to shrink the number of vacation rentals permitted in strictly residential neighborhoods while increasing allowed limits in designated tourist corridors.