Council members press staff on enforcement, fines and identifying 'bad actors'

Committee members pressed staff on enforcement details, including how the city would find and prioritize unpermitted short-term rentals and how fines would be assessed. Staff said operating without a permit would be a $500 fine per violation and that each completed transaction without a permit counts as a separate violation: "That is $500 per violation, $500 per violation, and each transaction completed without a permit is a separate violation," staff said. Members said a small group of repeat offenders account for many complaints and asked what proactive steps the city will take to register them.

Tim Stone, zoning specialist, described a practical approach to identification and enforcement that relies on code-enforcement records, complaints and online listing checks and said the city would partner across departments: "we could definitely partner with code... and then we can run a check through the websites," he said. Several council members also raised the need to publish permit lists and to strengthen code-enforcement capacity so neighborhoods and HOAs can help identify noncompliant properties.