There were few seats available at Monday’s Gulf Shores council meeting. Residents filled council chambers to be part of a public hearing to discuss amending the zoning ordinance to allow short-term rentals on all waterfront properties between West Brigadoon Trail and Middle Brigadoon Trail. The area being considered was not part of the single family and duplex tourist rental overlay district that was previously adopted by city council.

Numerous residents and property owners stepped to the microphone to both support and oppose the amendment.

There are 42 properties affected by the amendment and most of the residents who addressed the council on Monday were in favor of the amendment.

“To include these properties is simply allowing, through proper licensing, these home owners to utilize their property in a way that is advantageous to the homeowner, the local economy, and the city of Gulf Shores,” said William Burrell. Burrell owns property on Brigadoon Trail.

“I am 100 percent against this,” said resident Phil Rutherford. “My neighbors next to me and two houses over from me used to rent theirs but they have stopped. We had a bunch of bad experiences out of both of them. I have been in court in this same room with one of them about a dog that barked 24 hours a day.”

Rutherford said that after one renter caused $5,000 worth of damage to his neighbor’s home, the owner realized it was better not to rent.

“I don’t want to rent mine, and I have neighbors who don’t want to rent theirs and I don’t think that anybody in a residential R1 zone should have to rent,” Rutherford said.

One resident insisted that the amount of traffic would be increased, should the amendment pass, making the neighborhood unsafe.

“Has anyone given any long-term thought about the traffic problem,” asked Shelton Craig. “We’ve got West Beach with all sorts of traffic problems, and in the middle of the summer, as Fort Morgan develops more and more, it’s going to get to where you can’t even get out in the street. What we do now is going to be with us for a long time.”

Most property owners who addressed the council, however, said that while they had no intention of ever renting out their homes, they wanted to have the right to do so in the future if they needed to.

“I purchased my property in 2004 and rebuilt it after the storm for hopefully a summer home or maybe a retirement home,” said Nelson Wingo who lives on Middle Brigadoon Trail. “Our area is basically family oriented and most of the people who come in there are families with small children. We do not want the live parties and things that they have over on the Gulf. But I would like to have the option open that if I needed to rent it on a short-term basis, I would be able to do that.”

Andy Bauer, Director of Planning and Zoning for the city, reiterated to attendees the amendment being considered would only affect short-term rentals, or rentals for less that 180 days.

No action was taken on the proposed amendment.