Council discusses short-term rental rules; committee had voted 2-1 to leave rules unchanged

Councilmembers discussed short-term rental rules, including whether to broaden the locations eligible for short-term rentals beyond the downtown corridor. The Community Development Committee (CDC) previously reviewed proposals and voted 2-1 to leave the existing short-term rental provisions unchanged; staff reported that decision to the full council and said any changes would follow existing code amendment routes.

Ryan Elam, assistant city manager, told the council that CDC moved some UDL amendments forward that are scheduled to go to the planning commission for public hearing; other changes to the code of ordinances that do not require planning commission review will be discussed at CDC and then brought to council. "Those will all come at once," Elam said, describing the timing for a set of UDL and code changes. He added that the CDC's 2-1 vote favored retaining the current short-term rental rules and that the council as a whole could ask staff to bring the topic back for full-council direction.

Councilmembers said they were open to bringing the short-term rental topic to the full council for discussion, particularly because multiple recent events (including the World Cup) raised questions about enforcement and temporary needs. No formal motion or ordinance change was adopted at the meeting; Councilmembers said staff and the mayor could coordinate to place the item on a future council agenda if the council wishes.

The discussion also noted that some proposed changes are UDL (Unified Development Ordinance) amendments requiring planning commission public hearing, while other potential changes are code-of-ordinance edits that would come directly to council.