Lorain committee moves to make short‑term rentals a permitted use, adds operator background checks

The Billings and Lands subcommittee of the Lorain City Council voted to send proposed changes to the city’s short‑term rental rules to full council after a briefing from Matt Kuzhenark, director of Building, Housing and Planning.

Under the proposal reviewed by the subcommittee, short‑term rentals would become a permitted use rather than a conditional use. That change would remove the current one‑time conditional‑use permit and its associated $500 fee while keeping existing standards requiring annual registration with the Building, Housing and Planning (BHP) Department, compliance with the city treasurer’s bed‑tax/occupancy tax requirements, and off‑street parking minimums.

Kuzhenark said the change would “bring the process in house up to an administrative process” and eliminate what he called “almost the rubber stamp that is the planning commission.” He told the subcommittee that the planning commission has been “obligated to approve any conditional use permit” that meets current standards, so the conditional process has produced few denials.

The proposal would also add a requirement that short‑term rental owners and operators submit a BCI background check as part of the annual registration. Kuzhenark said the city is drafting “revocation language so as we can either deny the short term rentals, based on finding some certain things in the background check. Either deny it or revoke it, if activity is, is, you know, having a, negative effect on the community.”

Council members asked how the city would identify unregistered short‑term rentals. Kuzhenark said staff cross‑reference BHP registration with treasurer records for collected bed taxes and pursue complaints. He said the department has identified “between 80 and 90 short term rentals” based on provider research and is working on an agreement with Airbnb to obtain addresses from providers that do not otherwise disclose specific locations.

Council questions also clarified operational details: the ordinance would keep an existing off‑street parking standard of 1.25 spaces per dwelling unit, Kuzhenark said, and the city would not require BHP to collect identification photos for every guest booked through platforms such as Airbnb or VRBO; the property owner or platform maintains those tenant/guest procedures.

Councilman Torresburg moved to send the item to full council for consideration; the motion received a second and passed on a voice vote with ayes and no nays noted. The subcommittee did not adopt the ordinance; it referred the draft to the full council for further consideration and any subsequent ordinance drafting.

Why it matters: The change shifts short‑term rental oversight from a one‑time public review to an ongoing administrative process. Supporters argued it streamlines city review while adding mechanisms — registration, tax compliance checks, parking standards and criminal‑history review — intended to help the city identify and, if necessary, revoke problematic operators.

What’s next: The subcommittee’s referral sends the draft ordinance to full council, where additional debate and any final vote would occur. Kuzhenark said the department would follow up with a subsequent ordinance to amend the city’s rental‑registration code to add revocation and denial standards modeled on standards used by the City of Columbus.