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Beaver County adopts short-term rental ordinance, downgrades enforcement classification
Summary
The commission adopted Ordinance 2026-09 to regulate short-term rentals after a Planning and Zoning recommendation. Commissioners agreed to change a proposed criminal-classification upgrade — the draft's class-B misdemeanor language was altered to align with existing county zoning as a class C — and approved the ordinance by vote.
Beaver County commissioners voted to adopt Ordinance 2026-09, a county short-term rental ordinance that Planning and Zoning had revised and recommended for approval.
The planner presenting the revision said the latest draft reduced unnecessary length and clarified obligations for short-term-rental operators and neighbors. "This is a 2½ page document that we've been working through over the past few years," the county staff member said, outlining the work Planning and Zoning did to narrow the draft.
Discussion focused on enforcement language in the violations-and-enforcement section. The draft originally placed violations in a class B misdemeanor category with per-day fines; staff recommended changing that to a class C misdemeanor to align with the county's current zoning enforcement framework. Commissioners agreed that matching the county’s standard zoning enforcement classification would be appropriate. A commissioner noted that the change would not necessarily alter the monetary fine structure but would keep criminal penalties consistent with other zoning violations.
The commission moved to approve Ordinance 2026-09 (short-term rental definitions and related changes) and recorded the motion passed. Staff said the ordinance replaces an earlier ordinance reference and will be filed according to county ordinance procedures.
Next steps: staff will finalize the ordinance language for publication and remove the repealed citation in county code as directed by the board.
