AUGUSTA, Ga. — A fight over what Augusta’s proposed zoning rewrite would mean for families who lease their houses to visitors for Masters Week grew sharper this week, with a local attorney saying the written draft would shut those rentals down and city leaders insisting it will not.
The Oct. 14 Planning Commission draft is the first full rewrite of the city’s zoning rules since 1963. It treats any home offered for less than 30 days as a short-term rental, which would cover a house leased for a single week in April.
The draft confines those rentals to downtown, farm zones and a pair of mixed-use districts. Every suburban and neighborhood residential district would be off limits, and owners in allowed areas would need a zoning compliance permit, city registration and payment of the hotel occupancy tax.
Attorney Jack Long, an Augusta native, reviewed the document and told the Planning Commission it handles a homeowner who leaves town for a week the same way it handles a corporate investor.
Mayor Garrett Johnson called reports of a Masters rental ban false and cited a federal provision for homes rented out under 15 days. Commissioner Tina Slendak said residents who rent during the tournament would not be affected. The city attorney said staff intend to add a carve-out tied to that federal standard, though no such language appeared in the version released to the public.
Augusta’s planning chief expects commissioners to see a finished version in November. Residents can send comments through the city website, and the zoning survey stays open through Sunday, Nov. 1.
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