NEWS RELEASE
December 29, 2017
For Immediate Release

SAVANNAH, GA (December 29, 2017)—The City of Savannah has filed suit against Arnold and Arlene Belzer, for operating an unlicensed Short-Term Vacation Rental, or STVR.
The suit was filed in Superior Court on December 21st. The suit contends the Belzers operate a vacation rental unit in their home at 34 Washington Avenue, a single-family residential district, a use which is prohibited by the City’s Zoning Ordinance.  

The City has received and responded to numerous complaints from residents of the neighborhood about this illegal vacation rental, but the defendants have resisted repeated citations against this use. The City will now seek temporary and permanent injunctions halting this illegal commercial use in a residential neighborhood, along with fines and attorney’s fees against the owners.

The City contends residents are harmed and will continue to be harmed by the defendants’ violations of the Zoning Ordinance. The City also contends that the defendants have acted in bad faith by refusing to comply with the Zoning Ordinance and Short-term Vacation Rental Ordinance.

The City will continue to file complaints in Superior Court to seek injunctions against those individuals who ignore warnings and citations for violations of the Zoning and STVR Ordinances.  

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