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Sandpoint council approves first reading to align short-term rental rules with new state law; mayor breaks tie
Summary
Council voted May 20 to revise Sandpoint's short-term rental ordinance to conform with Idaho House Bill 583 (effective July 1), which restricts local regulation of short-term rentals. The first reading passed after a 2'2 tie that Mayor Jeremy Grama broke in favor of the ordinance; suspension of rules failed and the ordinance will return for a second reading.
Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grama cast the deciding vote May 20 to advance a change to the city's short-term rental ordinance that aligns local rules with Idaho House Bill 583, which takes effect July 1 and limits municipalities' authority to regulate short-term rentals beyond single-family home rules.
The city's assistant planning and community development director, Bill Dean, told the council the proposed ordinance updates Title 3, Chapter 12 "to align city short term rental policy with this house bill, 583," and explained that the city will be unable to continue some of its previous restrictions beyond basic life-safety requirements such as carbon-monoxide detectors.
The change drew sharp objections from several council members, who said they opposed the state law and worried about the effect on housing affordability and capacity. "We represent one of the most diverse mountain town economies' . . . allowing unfettered short-term rental speculators to buy housing stock and displace year-round housing is not the direction we need to be going," one council member said during deliberations.
After a roll-call vote produced an even split among council members present, Mayor Grama exercised the tiebreaking privilege and voted "yes," approving the ordinance's first reading by title and summary. A later motion to suspend the rules and adopt the ordinance immediately failed in a separate roll-call vote, so the measure will return for a second reading under the normal schedule.
Why it matters: The ordinance change implements a state law that reduces local discretion over short-term rentals; council members said they expect to monitor effects on lodging tax receipts and housing availability and to use available data to inform future action.
What comes next: The council will hold a second reading at a future meeting per normal procedure. Staff and several council members asked that the city continue tracking units using existing software to monitor changes in short-term rental listings and lodging-tax collections.
Source: Presentation by Bill Dean and councilroll-call deliberations at the Sandpoint City Council meeting, May 20, 2026.
