Council voted May 28 to amend and adopt Ordinance 2025‑18, a change to the city’s rental-properties code that prohibits short‑term rentals in areas designated U1 residential.

At the meeting Council moved to add a missing penalty section (section d) to the ordinance so it could be enforced. Council member Cebeda moved the amendment; Mister Medic seconded it. The governing text was then approved as amended. The ordinance bars short‑term rentals — identified in the meeting as "Airbnbs" — in U1 residential districts and establishes enforcement mechanisms.

Law director John Schmidlin explained the penalty provision and the enforcement steps. He said the ordinance sets a first‑degree misdemeanor as the penalty if a person is convicted and described the procedural steps that precede prosecution: notification, warning, and, if the issue is not remedied, issuance of a citation that proceeds to the municipal court. "You'll be notified. You'll be warned. And then, if it's not remedied, you get cited and the citation goes to Leonard's Municipal Court where it will be dealt with down there," Schmidlin said. The law director also referenced the Ohio Revised Code when describing misdemeanor classifications.

Council members discussed implementation. Council member Balestreya asked staff to identify listings on short‑term‑rental platforms and notify residents; Miss Talvin suggested contacting Airbnb and other platforms to flag listings in Mayfield Heights and to provide copies of the ordinance to platforms. Council member Miner asked whether additional operational tools were required; the city’s building/inspections staff said the ordinance "gives us the additional tools that we lacked before." No changes to the moratorium on short‑term rentals were needed at the meeting; Schmidlin said the ordinance supersedes the moratorium and that the moratorium will also expire in December as previously scheduled.

The ordinance was approved as amended by roll call vote.