The York County Planning Commission on Nov. 10 recommended that County Council amend Chapter 155 of the zoning code to change extended-stay hotel operations from permitted uses to conditional uses, a move staff said was prompted by concerns raised by the sheriff’s office about crime and vagrancy in certain budget hotels.

Assistant County Manager David Garner told the commission the proposal "came from the sheriff's office" and creates an extended-stay classification in the use table while establishing a multiagency enforcement approach involving building codes, planning and zoning, the sheriff’s office and the fire marshal. He said the change is countywide but will focus enforcement on problem corridors such as the Carowinds Boulevard area.

Commissioners focused most of their questions on how the ordinance would affect families temporarily living in hotels. A commissioner citing school-district McKinney-Vento counts said school staff identified 212 families living in hotels in the 2024 school year and about 110 families in the 2025 school year; the official stressed stays can range from six months to two years and asked what families would do if stays were limited to 180 days.

Garner said the county currently lacks an address-level registry of hotel occupants and that privacy rules constrain the school district from sharing home addresses; the proposed ordinance would add a registry requirement and an education period for managers and owners so staff can better coordinate resources and enforcement. He added staff can request comparative data from Rock Hill and the sheriff's office but did not have outcome data from Rock Hill on hand.

After discussion the commission adopted a motion recommending the ordinance to County Council with amendments intended to reduce unintended harm to households in need. The commission’s amendments direct staff to clarify the long-term/extended-stay definition (including explicitly recognizing new construction and remodeling as acceptable temporary reasons for longer stays) and to add an exemption for "families with children who are experiencing homelessness," including children not yet school-age and family stays that include school enrollment through summer months. The commission voted to approve the recommendation by voice vote and asked staff to forward refined ordinance language to Council for its public hearing and third reading.

The commission did not record a roll-call tally during its voice vote; staff said the matter will appear on the council agenda for final action and that enforcement details (fines, registry operations, and interjurisdictional coordination) will be specified in the ordinance language and implementation procedures.

What happens next: The county will draft the ordinance amendments incorporating the commission’s clarifications and forward them to County Council for public hearing and further action. The proposal includes registry and penalty language but staff will supply requested comparative data from Rock Hill and additional enforcement details as part of the draft ordinance package.