Council weighs regulatory options for short‑term rentals; staff to draft ordinance framework

City planning and legal staff asked council for direction on regulating short‑term rentals after staff and the city attorney concluded the current mix of ordinance language and an administrative policy left the city exposed to legal risk.

Nicole, planning staff, summarized the city’s current setup: the municipal ordinance states “short term rentals are prohibited in all residentially zoned districts,” but an administrative policy implemented after council’s 2018 action allows short‑term rentals when the owner is on‑site overnight. Nicole said this bifurcated approach and limited ordinance language places the city “at risk” and that staff recommends replacing the existing regulation with a clear ordinance tailored to local needs.

Regulatory menu and enforcement challenges

Staff presented a menu of regulatory tools other municipalities commonly use: mandatory registration and certification through the city’s rental inspection program; annual or more frequent inspections; a required 24‑hour local contact; mandatory safety equipment (smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers); liability insurance; quiet‑hours requirements; buffer distances or caps on the number of short‑term rentals in a neighborhood; and civil infractions or license revocation for repeated violations.

Nicole said enforcement is currently difficult because the city lacks comprehensive knowledge of which properties operate as short‑term rentals; requiring registration would let staff know where units are and enforce compliance. She noted staff believes short‑term rentals exist in both single‑family neighborhoods and within some multi‑unit properties, but the city does not have comprehensive counts.

Council views and next steps

Councilmembers voiced differing positions. Several members favored drafting a replacement ordinance with registration and inspection components; one member preferred repealing the ordinance and leaving the market to self‑regulate; another preferred taking no change until clearer state law emerges. Some councilmembers emphasized minimizing new costs and using existing rental‑inspection capacity. Staff asked whether council wanted staff to draft ordinance language reflecting the menu; council agreed staff should prepare a draft and that a closed‑session discussion on legal risk may be scheduled in conjunction with the regular meeting process.

Ending

Staff will prepare a draft ordinance and suggested regulatory language for council review and will coordinate any closed‑session legal discussion needed to review risk analysis.