Lee's Summit city leaders discussed whether to temporarily relax short-term rental rules to accommodate visitors for the 2026 FIFA World Cup but decided by council consensus not to change the city's regulations for the June 1–July 31 window.

"We are expecting a rise in short-term rentals during this time period," Amy Nassif, deputy director of development services, told the council, describing staff recommendations and regional guidance. "Having a permit just to track and provide us with data would help us with documentation and help us with our resources and enforcement efforts."

Staff reported there are 23 licensed short-term rentals in the city, and staff estimates 60–70 units may be operating; Development Services receives roughly eight to 10 short-term-rental complaints a year, Nassif said. The city noted regional projections that the Kansas City area could see 450,000 to 650,000 visitors related to World Cup activities and cited Mid-America Regional Council guidance encouraging temporary permitting easing to address a shortfall in lodging.

Council members debated the tradeoffs. Councilmember Lovell questioned whether relaxing rules for 60 days would create more enforcement headaches than benefits and pressed staff on who would be liable and how complaints would be handled. "If I have a rowdy person during this time...What's the expectation I can have as somebody who is a neighbor and is dealing with this?" she asked. Councilmember Hodges said public-safety concerns and potential neighborhood impacts weighed against changing the rules for a short period, calling safety the primary consideration.

Other members argued for a pragmatic approach. Councilmember Shields said loosening some requirements could let the city track short-term rentals and collect tax revenue rather than trying to chase unlicensed listings. "I think the best that we can do is to try to channel it so that if you get as many of them to follow the rules and get the license as possible, it's a lot less that you need to try to chase down," Shields said.

After extended discussion, Mayor Baird summarized the council's views and said the consensus was to not enact temporary regulatory relaxations at this time. Staff said it will continue non-World-Cup work: legal staff will correct a municipal-code inconsistency between the city's license-tax wording and the UDO definition of short-term rentals, and neighborhood services plans cross-training and coordination with police for enforcement regardless of council action.

Nassif also told the council that if the city were to issue permits, it would gain contact information and the ability to require the transient-guest tax; currently the city collects transient-guest tax when properties are licensed, but staff noted private online platforms' tax remittance practices are handled outside the city's authorization. The council did not take a formal vote; the outcome was a direction not to amend short-term rental regulations for the World Cup window.