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City staff outlines major changes to Midway's short-term rental rules; new license requirements and neighbor protections proposed
Summary
Staff described a comprehensive rewrite of Midway's short-term rental business-license code to allow nightly rentals, require posted unit contact information and manager response to complaints within an hour, require proof of transient-tax payment at renewal, add neighbor consent where driveways or walls are shared, and strengthen enforcement including license revocation after repeated violations.
Midway City staff presented a comprehensive update to the city's short-term rental (vacation rental) licensing rules, emphasizing new enforcement tools and neighbor protections intended to reflect experience since the city adopted its original code in 2006.
Staff said the revised business-license provisions would allow nightly rentals (the prior 48-hour minimum stay requirement has been removed), require property managers to respond to complaints within one hour, and require proof that transient taxes are paid before license renewal. The draft code also would make owners and property managers jointly liable for ordinance violations and would allow license revocation after repeated violations; staff noted two violations in a short time could trigger revocation.
The update would require a plaque on the rental unit listing the property manager's name and a 24-hour contact telephone number, location of fire extinguishers, the business license, unit rules, permitted maximum overnight occupancy (a default cap of 14 people was cited, with smaller units allowed fewer occupants), and limits on driveway parking. In residential zones where units share driveways or common walls, written consent from neighbors would be required and recorded with the city; commercial-resort zones would remain subject to different rules.
Staff explained some enforcement limits tied to state law (for example, advertising alone is insufficient evidence to pursue an unlicensed operator) and described the rationale for some relaxed requirements (e.g., removing mandatory in-person check-in because phone check-in is now commonplace). Staff said Midway's code has been a template for other Utah municipalities and that the update reflects lessons learned and recent state-law changes.
The presentation was informational; staff said some items would not come before the planning commission because they are in the business-licensing portions of city code rather than Title 16, but the commission was advised of the changes.
