The rules regarding short-term rentals in the city of Wilmington are expected to be a topic of discussion during the City Council's agenda briefing Monday, according to a news release Friday.

A group of downtown residents has written letters to city officials on the topic, seeking enforcement of rules that are already in place.

For the group, Residents of Old Wilmington, one of the main issues is the need to maintain zoning distinctions, throughout the entire city, between areas where businesses can be located and residential communities, said Syliva Kochler, president of ROW. Short-term vacation rentals, in the group's view, are businesses.

"Good zoning and code enforcement makes for a healthy city, and what we are advocating is a win-win for Wilmington. We can have healthy neighborhoods in residential zoned areas and we can have good tourist accommodations in business-zoned areas, and that's what we want," Kochler said Friday.  

Rentals of seven days or longer are allowed in residential areas and do not have a detrimental effect on neighborhoods, bringing in visitors to the city who boost the economy by spending money, said David Billitto, who operates short-term rentals in Wilmington and throughout the state. Some of those visitors, he said, are retirees who are trying to decide where in Wilmington they want to live.

Those who want the enforcement issue addressed say some property owners are not sticking to the seven-day rule, renting out homes for less than seven days to vacationers. But they also say it's not about keeping visitors out of the city.

"We support our tourism industry and we like businesses like short term vacation rental that support toursim. But these are businesses that belong in business districts like the CBD [Central Business District]," Kochler wrote in an email Friday. 

City staff members have been researching the issue and how it is addressed in other parts of the state. The City Council's discussion Monday is expected to be about "how to proceed with the issue of short-term rentals inside the city limits and whether or not current regulations should be revised," according to the city's release.