Warr Acres planning commission backs ordinance to define 'home sharing' and allow short-term rentals in R‑1 as subject to review

The Warr Acres Planning Commission voted unanimously Oct. 14 to recommend the City Council consider amendments to the city zoning code to define short-term residential “home sharing” and authorize it as a use on review in R‑1 single-family districts.

City staff explained the proposed changes amend Title 19 — including a revised definition of “hotel” and a new definition of “home sharing” — so that short-term rentals are treated differently from traditional hotels. The staff presentation said the change responds to an ordinance adopted in 2008 that, by definition, limited hotel uses to commercial districts and unintentionally pushed short-term residential rentals out of single-family areas. The amendment would allow short-term rentals in R‑1 subject to a use-on-review process that evaluates property-specific impacts such as parking and noise.

Councilman Fairchild, who told the commission he operates a nearby short-term rental, said the market is currently “the wild, wild west” in Warr Acres. He said he counted about 22 listings for short-term rentals in the city and urged the commission to consider standards similar to other municipalities, including occupancy and annual health inspections. “They’re not subject to the hotel tax. They’re not subject to anything,” he said, arguing regulation would protect neighbors and allow the city to collect lodging taxes.

Staff said one benefit of the ordinance change would be the ability to pair zoning approval with a business registration under Title 5 so the city could regulate short-term rentals both on the land-use side and the business-licensing side. Staff noted that existing lodging tax rules already apply to short-term rentals by definition, but enforcement is limited when hosts do not register listings or provide contact information. The proposed approach would let the city review properties individually and add property-specific conditions (for example: limits on occupancy based on unit size and parking availability). Staff also noted that a use-on-review approval typically attaches to the property and that a property can lose that permission if the use ceases for 12 months.

Commissioners and the council member discussed possible regulatory elements but did not adopt specific occupancy caps; staff suggested those particulars could be set in ordinance language or applied on a property-by-property basis through the use-on-review process. The commission’s vote was unanimous: Commissioners Plumtree, Schiff, Davis, Clifton and Johnson each voted yes to recommend the council take up the ordinance amendments.

The commission’s recommendation does not itself change city law. The amendment package will proceed to the City Council, which must consider the code change and any related business-license requirements in Title 5.