The City Council of Alexandria, Virginia, convened on February 22, 2025, for a public hearing focused on regulations surrounding short-term rentals, including Airbnbs. The meeting featured discussions on parking requirements, noise enforcement, and the delegation of authority to city officials.

The session began with a discussion on the proposed parking requirement of 500 feet for short-term rentals. Council members engaged in a detailed analysis of this distance, contextualizing it as approximately 167 yards, or about a football field and a half. This comparison aimed to clarify the implications of the parking requirement for residents and visitors. Councilman Moritz emphasized that this distance would allow ample opportunity for finding parking spaces, referencing local landmarks to illustrate the point.

Vice Mayor Bagley proposed a motion to approve the planning commission's recommendation regarding short-term rentals, suggesting a modification to allow for flexibility in parking arrangements. The proposed amendment would enable the director of planning and zoning to approve alternative arrangements within the enhanced transit area, should the standard 500-foot requirement be impractical.

The council also addressed concerns regarding noise violations associated with short-term rentals. Staff clarified that noise complaints would be investigated by a separate department, and citations for violations would be issued to property owners. Operators of short-term rentals would have the option to remove disruptive guests from rental platforms like Airbnb or VRBO if they received a citation.

The meeting concluded with a consensus on the need for ongoing evaluation of the regulations, with council members expressing a desire to revisit the issue if challenges arose in the implementation of the new rules. The council's discussions highlighted the balance between accommodating short-term rentals and addressing community concerns about parking and noise.