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Midway Adopts Stricter Short‑Term Rental Rules, Requires Information Plaques and 30‑Day Renewal Grace Period
Summary
Midway City Council voted to adopt Ordinance 2025‑17 updating short‑term rental rules: exterior information plaques, Wasatch County business-location allowance for managers, enforcement with fines and discretionary revocation (one‑year reapply), and a 30‑day renewal grace period. The code also proposes dark‑sky compliance for STR exteriors.
The Midway City Council voted to adopt Ordinance 2025‑17, a set of amendments to the municipal code that tighten regulation of short‑term rentals (STRs) and add new enforcement tools for the city.
Katie, a city staff member presenting the updates, said the amendments address compliance gaps and modernize requirements for STR operators. Staff proposed requiring a small 4x6 information plaque at each rental with the property manager’s name and a 24/7 telephone number; the council amended and accepted that change (staff noted it was changed from 'sign' to 'plaque' to avoid sign-code conflicts). “We changed it from sign to plaque,” Katie said.
Other changes adopted include allowing property managers to list a physical business location anywhere in Wasatch County (with a corresponding county license), new enforcement options including fines and the possibility of license revocation with a discretionary one‑year waiting period, and a requirement that STR operators bring exterior lighting into dark‑sky compliance as a condition of holding a business license to operate as an STR.
Council members debated the balance between STRs as an income source for property owners and the loss of long‑term rental stock. One council member said striping and other changes to Main Street were producing safety benefits while another raised housing‑affordability concerns tied to STR economics.
On the procedure for annual license renewals, staff initially recommended a longer grace period but council elected to shorten the grace window to 30 days (through January) rather than the previously proposed through February. The motion to adopt Ordinance 2025‑17 carried on a voice vote of council members present.
The ordinance includes proposed enforcement language tying violations to fines and council‑reviewed revocation decisions. Staff said those enforcement actions would come back to council for specific revocation decisions, and that parties whose licenses are revoked could apply again after a one‑year period at the council’s discretion.
Next steps: city staff will update the published code and implement the licensing and enforcement procedures adopted by the council.
