Resident urges stronger enforcement and possible ordinance rewrite for short-term rentals

A Riley County resident told commissioners on June 23 that county short-term rental rules lack effective enforcement and urged the board to pursue changes that would allow violations to result in meaningful penalties.

Troy Coberly, who identified his address as 5304 Terrace Heights Drive, said he has filed multiple complaints about a specific short-term rental and other units. He told commissioners that, in his view, county inspectors and compliance staff often conclude that problems do not meet the regulation—s threshold for formal violations, which leaves neighbors with repeated nuisance incidents but no remedy.

"Most of the complaints that we've had would never turn into violations just because of the way the regulation is written," Coberly said. He described examples that included questions about egress windows in rooms advertised as bedrooms and said county staff told him owners were "working with us" and that complaints would not usually become violations if the owner cooperated.

Interim county counselor Jacob Hanson and planning director Amanda Webb were referenced in the discussion. Hanson told the board that changing the county's enforcement authority would require legislative work and that revisions could take a minimum of two years. Webb and county compliance staff were described in the public comment as the county—s points of contact during inspections; a compliance specialist, Darren Hobbs, was named by Coberly in recounting an earlier inspection experience.

Hanson and Webb both noted legal limits. Hanson said actions that could strip or suspend a user's right to use a property carry risk of litigation and that the county would need to tie new rules to public health or public-safety needs to withstand court review. Webb said county staff had worked with the property owner in the specific case to ensure advertised bedrooms matched the inspected layout and that if an owner wanted to continue advertising a space as a bedroom, physical changes (for example, steps to allow egress) would be necessary.

Coberly recommended removing short-term rentals from the residential classification for rural areas until state rules or stronger local authority provide enforcement tools. Commissioners and staff agreed the issue is complicated by state law limitations and the potential for litigation; Hanson said he would need to do further research if the commission wanted staff to prepare draft changes.

The comment was made during the public comment portion of the meeting and no immediate policy vote occurred.