Council workshop probes short-term rental rules: occupancy, parking, caps and enforcement

City staff led a workshop on a proposed short-term rental (STR) ordinance and the council discussed occupancy limits, parking plans, owner-occupancy and enforcement tools.

The draft ordinance staff presented would: require a business license for STRs and an application process; limit occupancy by bedroom (two persons per bedroom 100 sq ft or larger; one person for 70–99 sq ft; rooms under 70 sq ft not usable as bedrooms); include a maximum-occupancy cap (the draft set 8 as an initial number but councilmembers debated raising that or tying limits to unit size); require a parking plan and off-street parking sufficient for bedrooms offered; require a 24/7 local contact who will respond to complaints within one hour; require adherence to building and fire-code inspections; and impose fines with escalation and license suspension or revocation for repeat violations.

Council debate focused on several trade-offs. Members who favored stricter limits emphasized neighborhood impacts from transient occupancy, street parking and late‑night gatherings; others urged balancing neighborhood concerns with property-owner rights and noted family stays that can exceed arbitrary numeric caps. Council members discussed whether to limit owner occupancy, cap the number of STRs citywide or by neighborhood, require license non-transferability, and how to avoid investor-driven shell‑company workarounds; staff said applications would require proof of ownership and could require identification of individual principals behind LLCs.

Staff also presented options on spacing and concentration: a 1,000‑foot spacing rule, neighborhood quotas using the city's neighborhood boundaries, or restrictions on multifamily buildings. Council discussed enforcement approaches: requiring STR operators to post rules on marketplace listings, 24/7 contact requirements, towing for parking violations and an escalating fine schedule (the draft referenced $500 first offense, $750 second, $1,000 for repeat violations and revocation after three violations with multi-year bans).

Staff said the item remains a work in progress and requested direction on the council's preferred levers (occupancy caps, owner‑occupancy, spacing and an absolute cap on the number of permitted STRs). Council members asked staff to draft clearer bedroom and parking definitions, to evaluate caps tied to square footage or number of bedrooms, and to prepare an enforcement-ready draft for future adoption consideration.