Rock Hill unveils plans to crack down on homeless people living in hotels. Here’s why
New rules to prevent people without homes from living in Rock Hill hotels could impact where any guests can stay, how long they are there for and even how future hotels in the city are built.
City management offered up zoning code changes that the Rock Hill Planning Commission will review Tuesday night. The commission will make a recommendation to Rock Hill City Council, which will make a final decision.Council agendas haven’t been posted for this year but that group next meets Jan. 13.
The proposed changes mostly relate to hotels, but also would impact camping and self-storage sites in the city. New rules are intended to cut down on calls for police service, medical calls for drug overdoses, panhandling and loitering caused by people living in hotels, according to the city.
There have been instances of someone living long-term in a storage facility and a campsite, according to the city, which is why those rules could change too.
Rock Hill hotel regulations
City rules already prohibit people from living in hotels. People can’t stay in any hotel or a combination of hotels for more than 30 straight days.
There are exceptions for people relocating to the area for employment, short-term workers, homeowners undertaking a large remodeling project and people who suffered total or significant damage to their homes. On-site living space for a hotel owner or manager is allowed too.
Guests have to show evidence that they have a residence apart from the hotel to get those exceptions, and then can stay up to six months. The city can opt to allow longer stays.
New rules would:
▪ Cap hotel stays for any guest at 30 total nights per year in any city hotel
▪ Prohibit renting rooms with exterior doors to residents of York County or surrounding counties. (Rooms with exterior doors, or access facing outside, create more service calls and other impacts the new rules look to avoid, according to the city.)
▪ Allow room inspections upon request by the city to ensure compliance
▪ Require additional information on guests that is available to the city for ensuring compliance
▪ Make hotels display information on addiction, housing and human trafficking in public areas
A one-time exception would allow someone without a home to stay in hotels up to 90 nights in a year, provided that person is accepted into a city program that helps them get permanent housing.
Violations of the new rules would be penalized through the city zoning ordinance. Multiple violations could mean condemnation or demolition of a hotel by the city, with costs assessed as a lien on the property.
New and remodeled Rock Hill hotels
The rules also would mandate that any new hotels built in the city have rooms facing interior hallways or common areas.
New hotels would be required to have security cameras installed around the property, and owners would have to meet with city police on designs aimed at crime prevention.
Parking space would be required for recreational vehicles, buses and tractor trailers to prevent guests from parking them on the street.
New rules would encourage hotel owners to allow city police jurisdiction over parking lots. Posting police jurisdiction signs informs people that police can treat private property parking lots more like public spaces.
The city would create redevelopment incentives that would be available for existing hotels that use exterior room access or have multiple people using the homeless exception for longer stays. Some incentives would allow for larger signs or signs closer together than a hotel typically would be allowed.
Self-storage, camping rules
The city also would add a rule stating people can’t live in self-storage units.
One residence would be allowed as part of a self-storage business, for its operator. It’s similar for camp sites, where one full-time campground employee could live there. For anyone else, the maximum stay is 14 nights out of any 60-day period.
The city doesn’t have any campgrounds now.
Ebenezer Park, for instance, is in the Rock Hill area but it’s run by York County. The new rules allow camping on a home or farm site in the city, at up to two nights per month. Someone living at the home or farm has to be a camper, according to the proposed rule.
This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 12:06 PM.
