TVRs will now be called “short-term rentals” –  specially permitted homes or condominiums with up to six rooms and located in districts that are not designated by the county for hotels or resorts.

Bed-and-breakfast and short-term rental owners fall under the new commercialized residential tax rate, which is $4 for every $1,000 of assessed value. The proprietors must also pay the state’s transient accommodations tax, which is 9.25 percent of a customer’s bill.

The draft ordinance requires that a short-term rental owner control no more than one rental property, and be a full-time county resident or have a licensed local real estate agent managing the rental. And either the owner or the agent must live no more than 15 minutes away or have a live-in manager.

The application process is intended to cost a few hundred dollars and take three to six months to either pass or reject. The planning director would have administrative authority unless an application is objected to; then it would go to the island planning commission for a review and vote.

The bill has been crafted and strongly supported by Councilmembers Don Couch and Gladys Baisa.