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Planning director outlines zoning rewrite, prepares short-term rental launch and proposes long-term rental registry
Summary
Planning staff reviewed the zoning rewrite effective Jan. 1, 2026; announced a short-term rental ordinance and vendor rollout this week; proposed a long-term rental registry, inspections every three years and a complaint hotline to address substandard rental housing.
A planning department official presented changes tied to a zoning rewrite that became effective Jan. 1, 2026, telling the council the department now has expanded administrative authority for some site-plan and variance actions. “The zoning rewrite became active on 01/01/2026,” the official said, and noted that minor site plans may be approved administratively while major site plans still proceed to the planning commission.
Staff described administrative variance authority for deviations under 10% and a stronger collaboration with community development on enforcement. The planner noted that LED lights are no longer prohibited and that staff are informing business owners of the change.
On short-term rentals, staff said the new ordinance will launch this Wednesday and that the city has selected Decker Technologies to accept applications, provide an inspection module, monitor rentals and create a public dashboard. Staff said applications will be timestamped through Rentalscape and that intake will be simultaneous for all applicants to ensure fairness.
The planner also outlined ideas for long-term rental policy: starting with a rental-property registry to better quantify housing stock, considering business licenses for companies managing multiple properties, and proposing inspections—at least once every three years—plus a complaint hotline to enable entry or investigation when warranted. Staff emphasized these are elements under study and not final ordinance language.
Separately, the department said it has procured a housing market analysis from Randall Gross; that analysis is still in progress and is intended to summarize existing conditions, economic trends and projections to help attract multifamily development.
