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Planning commission weighs short-term rental rules; leans toward a separate code
Summary
Commissioners discussed how to regulate short-term rentals (Airbnb), concluding that short-term rentals are not well-suited to the city’s home-occupation rules and that a separate short-term rental code should be drafted; staff and commissioners will research peer-city approaches and return with proposals.
The Sunset City Planning Commission on July 10, 2025 discussed whether short-term rentals such as Airbnb should be regulated as home occupations, under existing business-license rules, or through a new, distinct short-term rental ordinance.
Commissioners and the building inspector concluded that short-term rentals increasingly function as commercial lodging rather than a home-based business and that the city should create a dedicated code section rather than shoehorn rentals into the existing home-occupation rules. The commission also discussed keeping a 30-day minimum for rentals in ADUs and limiting the combination of owner-occupancy, an ADU and a short-term rental on a single lot.
Tyler Seaman, the city building inspector, said short-term rental regulation “is typically the process” through a conditional use and business license, but he and others signaled that many short-term rentals need fire-inspection input and separate business standards. The commission noted a practical constraint: a city staffer said Deputy Fire Rawlings currently will not perform home-occupation fire inspections, which affects how short-term-rental inspections would be handled.
Public commenter and local host Mister Sanderson described his rental pattern to the commission: “I would say that 70, probably 80% are, like, over night,” and he said most of his guests stay less than seven days; commissioners used that as an example of typical short-term use in the city.
Commission discussion covered a range of regulatory tools used elsewhere: cap on short-term rentals per block or per given yard distance (examples cited: Washington Terrace and Cedar City), limits on density of rentals in tourist areas (Garden City/Rich County practices), and a requirement in some cities that short-term rentals be owner-occupied. Commissioners agreed peers’ rules vary and asked colleagues to research specific jurisdictions (assignments overlapped with ADU research) and record findings in a shared document.
The commission reached the following policy direction: draft a dedicated short-term rental code that treats rentals under 30 days as short-term rentals; do not simply treat short-term rentals as ordinary home occupations when they significantly alter the residential character; and consider limits so a lot cannot host owner-occupied short-term rentals and a separate ADU short-term rental simultaneously. Staff will compile peer-city code examples and present options at a future meeting; a public hearing is expected if an ordinance is proposed.
