Friday, July 21, 2006
Residents Tired of Timeshare Rentals
Residents of a Valley community are tired of not knowing who their neighbors are going to be from week-to-week or what kind of noise they're going to make. There are several people in the Massanutten area who are fed-up with homes in their neighborhood being rented to out-of-towner timeshare owners.
They say they're dealing with partying, property damage, littering, and cars lined up along the street. One Valley man is taking the issue to the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors to try and put a stop to what he calls "the cross between a fraternity house and a bed and breakfast."
Gene Hauze lives in a residential neighborhood in Massanutten. He says about two years ago he found out the hard way about timeshare renting. "I was sleeping at night and there was partying going on in the home behind my house about 100 yards away and there was loud noise and carrying on until about three o'clock in the morning," says Gene Hauze, a resident in Massanutten. He says he called the police and three people were arrested that night.
Hauze has now filed a formal complaint to the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors regarding what he believes is a zoning violation. "They're renting these out on a nightly basis for up to $600 a night and a weekly basis, some of the homes up to $3500 a night, they're packing 20, 30 people into the homes and it's a business," says Hauze.
Hauze says in Massanutten there are timeshare units allowed, but only in designated areas. "This is not a Massanutten problem, this is a problem for all of Rockingham County because it affects all the residential zoning areas," says Hauze. He hopes the board will clarify what is meant by single-family private dwellings and whether or not that includes weekly rentals.
Officials at the Massanutten Property Owners Association say this is definitely an issue that they are looking at. It's also under review by the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors and they plan to propose a solution to the timeshare problem in the next month or two.
They say they're dealing with partying, property damage, littering, and cars lined up along the street. One Valley man is taking the issue to the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors to try and put a stop to what he calls "the cross between a fraternity house and a bed and breakfast."
Gene Hauze lives in a residential neighborhood in Massanutten. He says about two years ago he found out the hard way about timeshare renting. "I was sleeping at night and there was partying going on in the home behind my house about 100 yards away and there was loud noise and carrying on until about three o'clock in the morning," says Gene Hauze, a resident in Massanutten. He says he called the police and three people were arrested that night.
Hauze has now filed a formal complaint to the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors regarding what he believes is a zoning violation. "They're renting these out on a nightly basis for up to $600 a night and a weekly basis, some of the homes up to $3500 a night, they're packing 20, 30 people into the homes and it's a business," says Hauze.
Hauze says in Massanutten there are timeshare units allowed, but only in designated areas. "This is not a Massanutten problem, this is a problem for all of Rockingham County because it affects all the residential zoning areas," says Hauze. He hopes the board will clarify what is meant by single-family private dwellings and whether or not that includes weekly rentals.
Officials at the Massanutten Property Owners Association say this is definitely an issue that they are looking at. It's also under review by the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors and they plan to propose a solution to the timeshare problem in the next month or two.
# posted by John @ 5:21 AM 
