🎯 STRisker: Bulletin - Columbia, SC
Columbia Planning Commission Rejects STR Zoning Plan, Sending Debate to City Council
Airbnb Debate Heats Up as Columbia Commission Rejects New Short-Term Rental Limits
Columbia’s push to rein in short-term rentals took a dramatic turn Thursday after the Planning Commission voted down a set of zoning rules that would have limited where Airbnbs could legally operate.
The Commission’s 5–3 vote means the proposal now heads to City Council with a “do not adopt” recommendation. With another major decision expected on Dec. 16, the future of STRs in Columbia remains very much in flux.
The rejected proposal was ambitious in scope. Rather than permitting STRs throughout residential neighborhoods, it would have allowed them only in commercial and mixed-use zones, with one exception: rentals located on four-lane roads. Everything else? Off-limits for new STRs. Existing rentals would have been grandfathered in, but the plan would have cut off nearly all future growth in most neighborhoods.
That scale worried local operators. David Bergmann, whose company operates around 90 STRs across Columbia, said the rules would take out roughly 85 of his properties. He wasn’t alone—many hosts argued the proposal amounted to a near-ban and would damage a business sector that’s become part of the city’s tourism economy.
Neighborhood groups, however, saw the proposal differently. For leaders like Denise Wellman of the Cottontown neighborhood, the restrictions represented a necessary step to protect Columbia’s historic districts and rebuild a sense of local community. Supporters pointed to increased disruption on residential streets as STRs have multiplied, and many cited the fatal shooting at a short-term rental in Elmwood Park as evidence the system needs stronger safeguards.
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Columbia has already been operating under a pause on new STR licenses since the Elmwood Park incident earlier this year. That shooting where four people were injured and one person died reignited concerns about where STRs should be allowed and what oversight the city needs. The city ultimately revoked the license for that property, but the fallout continues to shape policy discussions.
Even though the Commission rejected the zoning restrictions, its members acknowledged the city still needs updated STR rules. The question is whether the Council will aim for a more balanced approach or push ahead with the tighter limits the Commission opposed. Commission member Steve Cook summed it up: “This feels really extreme. There’s probably a middle ground.”
All eyes now turn to the Dec. 16 City Council meeting, where the debate is expected to reach another critical moment. For now, STR owners, neighborhood associations, and city officials remain in a holding pattern as Columbia decides what comes next.
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