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Council leans toward tiered rules for 'amenity rentals' after residents urge an accessible licensing path
Summary
After public comment from local hosts, city staff outlined three options for regulating outdoor "amenity rentals" (ban, conditional-use permits, or a hybrid). Council members generally favored a tiered approach that would require CUPs for high-impact uses but allow lower-impact offerings to operate under business licensing and enforceable code conditions.
Two residents urged council to adopt a straightforward, accessible pathway for amenity rentals — informal uses such as renting a backyard pool, a pet play area, or parking spaces — instead of requiring costly conditional-use hearings.
Annie Pansky, who said she is a De Moines resident, described starting a shared-pool operation during the pandemic and the local economic and community benefits she and her co-owner, Josh, said followed. Josh said high upfront conditional-use fees effectively bar small operators and recommended a business-license pathway with a good-neighbor agreement and enforceable noise, trash and parking rules. "Make it simple and people come forward. You get visibility. You get accountability," Josh said.
City prosecutor Teravon outlined three staff options: ban amenity rentals, require a conditional-use permit (CUP) for all amenity rentals (the current code interpretation, with typical CUP fees cited around $7,430 due to hearing costs), or a new hybrid approach where higher-impact uses would need CUP review while lower-impact rentals would require business licensing and adherence to existing code rules. Staff reported an online search identified roughly 15 amenity-rental listings in the city (one pool, three pet parks, one yard-for-camping listing, and about 11 parking-space listings).
Council members raised enforcement and staffing concerns, asked about calls-for-service as a trigger for stricter review, and suggested categories and thresholds that staff could use when drafting code language: pools and spas, dog parks, events/parties, RV/yard camping, and parking-space rentals. Suggestions for triggers included annual participation counts and numbers of nuisance calls; Council Member Simons advocated regulatory clarity so operators could come forward rather than hide activity.
Several council members expressed support for the hybrid Option 3 (tiered approach). Staff were directed to return with draft code language that: (1) establishes categories for common amenity-rental types, (2) sets measurable triggers or thresholds that require a CUP, and (3) defines a business-license pathway with a good-neighbor agreement and enforceable noise, trash and parking standards for lower-impact operations.
The council took no final vote; staff will prepare an ordinance and recommended fee structure for a future meeting.
