[{"_1":2,"_85":-5,"_86":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6481044,"mediaKeyId","5783205-d10e619b4f43adf31ede5d662b637eb7","parentId",5783205,"title","Commission debates Airbnb cap, enforcement language as town drafts short-term rental ordinance","audioSeconds",2390,"startMs",2394000,"endMs",3635,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5783205-d10e619b4f43adf31ede5d662b637eb7&start=2394&end=3","thumbnailUrl","https://d352y6ypj4mjo3.cloudfront.net/AudioPlaceholder.png","articleUrl","/articles/6481044/Utah/Commission-debates-Airbnb-cap-enforcement-language-as-town-drafts-short-term-rental-ordinance","mediaUrl","author","Meadow Meadow Town Planning And Zoning","date","2025-09-16T19:00:00Z","article","The Meadow Planning and Zoning Commission reopened a long-deliberated short-term rental ordinance, discussing limits on the number of short-term rentals, possible enforcement language, licensing fees, and how to implement caps without forcing existing operators out of compliance.

Commissioners reviewed a condensed draft and noted the draft’s draft cap language and enforcement provisions would raise enforcement and legal questions. The draft currently includes language limiting short-term rentals “to 1 short term rental at all times” and an enforcement clause stating that a guest who “violates any local ordinance or state law shall be subject to arrest.” Members questioned both provisions and the practicality of enforcement by local police: “Can they be arrested for… local, now state and federal, that's different. Local, that's another question,” a commissioner said while the group examined the enforcement section.

On the cap, commissioners favored a flexible approach that would let the town adjust the permitted number by resolution rather than embed a fixed number in the ordinance. The chair explained that a resolution would allow the council to raise or lower the cap without reopening the ordinance: “That way, it can be changed without having to open up the ordinance,” the chair said. Several members suggested setting the cap initially at a number equal to the current number of operating short-term rentals plus one (a compromise enabling limited growth while avoiding forced removals), while others argued for a more restrictive starting point.

Commissioners also raised enforcement and compliance practicalities. The panel discussed that some short-term operators in town were already operating without licenses and that imposing criminal arrest language could invite legal challenges. One commissioner noted guidance from attorneys: “The attorneys have advised if you've got anything on the books that you can't or revoke enforced should be taken off because it'll be challenged.” The commission discussed relying on business-license fees and civil enforcement mechanisms, rather than criminal penalties, and the chair proposed that operational details like the numerical cap and licensing fees be set by council resolution for flexibility.

The meeting included comments from residents and business users of Airbnb who said short-term rentals can be well-maintained, provide revenue to homeowners, and are often policed by platform rules and guest reviews. Other commissioners raised housing-supply concerns, noting that large-scale conversion of local housing to short-term rentals can reduce housing available to full-time residents.

Rather than adopting final ordinance language at this meeting, the commission directed staff to: (1) continue to refine the condensed ordinance to remove legally problematic criminal-enforcement wording; (2) prepare a draft resolution mechanism for the council to set and update a numerical cap; and (3) clarify licensing and revenue collection approaches. The commission did not record a roll-call vote on the ordinance itself; members discussed the measures and agreed to return with a revised draft.","mediaType","Audio","parentTitle","09.16.25 Planning & Zoning Meeting - 09.16.25 Part 1","oneSentenceSummary","The Meadow Planning and Zoning Commission reopened a long-deliberated short-term rental ordinance, discussing limits on the number of short-term rentals, possible enforcement language, licensing fees, and how to implement caps without forcing existing operators out of compliance.","taxTitle","Meadow, Millard County, Utah","taxId",80004,"location","Utah","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":50,"_51":82,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":83,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":84,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6481049,"Meadow planning commission refines draft subdivision ordinance, flags attorney review and final-plat signing",2286,58000,2344000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5783205-d10e619b4f43adf31ede5d662b637eb7&start=58&end=2344","/articles/6481049/Utah/Meadow-planning-commission-refines-draft-subdivision-ordinance-flags-attorney-review-and-final-plat-signing","Meadow’s Planning and Zoning Commission spent the bulk of its September meeting reviewing town council feedback on a draft subdivision ordinance, agreeing to clarify the process that distinguishes “simple lot” subdivisions from “minor” subdivisions and to seek outside legal and engineering input on several procedural questions before forwarding the revised draft to the council for a public hearing.

The commission discussed where to place the rule that the preliminary and final plat review sequence applies only to subdivisions designated as minor subdivisions, and agreed to change the simple-lot threshold from 10 lots to three lots so a “simple” subdivision would be three or fewer lots without required public improvements. “So let's change that if you guys are alright with that. So in the simple lot subdivision, any subdivision of 3 or fewer lots,” the meeting chair said while reviewing the draft language.

The question of mandatory attorney review drew sustained discussion. The draft currently says the town attorney “shall review the final plat and shall recommend approval if the attorney finds that these items” are met. Mayor Gary (speaking during the meeting) had questioned the use of “shall” and whether the town should leave the decision to retain counsel to the administrator. The chair replied that the town could be stricter than state law but noted that the state code might itself require “shall” in similar provisions. The commission did not change the wording at the meeting and agreed to get outside guidance: “I don't feel comfortable deciding on this from the knowledge I have, so I wonder if we ought to contact the guy from Sunrise or Jess Peterson with six counties and get some input on it,” the chair said.

Commissioners also discussed the final-plat signing list in section 10-9-8(e), which currently requires signatures from the town clerk, planning and zoning commission chair, mayor, and town engineer. Members asked whether one person could withhold signature and thus block a plat after administrative review is complete. The chair recommended “phoning a friend” — consulting Sunrise Engineering, the county planning entity referenced at the meeting as “6 counties,” or the Utah League of Cities and Towns — to understand practical implications of the required signatures and whether additional text is needed to prevent an individual from stopping a plat after technical review.

Other drafting fixes noted at the meeting included replacing references to submitting a mylar with a PDF, correcting inconsistent numeric deadlines (one discrepancy read “thirty” in words but “40” in numerals), and clarifying that a subdivision should follow the town’s general plan street grid rather than imply the ordinance includes a mapped exhibit in the code.

The commission did not formally vote to adopt the ordinance at the meeting. Instead, members agreed to revise the draft to (a) state explicitly that the preliminary/final review sequence applies only to minor subdivisions, (b) change the simple-lot definition to three or fewer lots, (c) check whether the attorney-review language should remain mandatory given state requirements, and (d) clarify the plat-signing and general-plan/map references. The commission chair said staff will contact outside counsel and planning resources and then send the revised draft back to town council so council can hold a public hearing in October if timing allows.

The commission also approved the August minutes and accepted the previous planning-and-zoning meeting minutes as written earlier in the agenda. Those procedural approvals were recorded during the meeting without a roll-call tally in the transcript.

What remains: the commission will (1) update the draft ordinance language to implement the three-lot simple-subdivision threshold consistently across sections 10-9-3, 10-9-5, and the definitions in 10-2-1; (2) seek external legal and engineering advice about mandatory attorney review and the practical effect of required signatories on final plats; and (3) correct clerical items such as PDF/mylar wording and inconsistent numeric deadlines before forwarding to the town council for a public hearing.","Meadow’s Planning and Zoning Commission spent the bulk of its September meeting reviewing town council feedback on a draft subdivision ordinance, agreeing to clarify the process that distinguishes “simple lot” subdivisions from “minor” subdivisions and to seek outside legal and engineering input before forwarding the revised draft to council for a public hearing.","actionData","errors"]

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Commission debates Airbnb cap, enforcement language as town drafts short-term rental ordinance

Meadow planning commission refines draft subdivision ordinance, flags attorney review and final-plat signing