Council narrows short-term rental exception, reduces citation threshold to two

The common council adopted an amendment to the city's short-term rental code that allows owners to obtain permits to rent for fewer than seven days if two conditions are met: the owner's primary residence is within 25 miles of the rental and the property has had no more than two City of Verona citations in the preceding 12 months. Staff framed the change as an exception to the existing seven-day minimum and said applicants who previously applied would be able to reapply without a fee waiver for resubmission.

City attorney Kleinmeyer and staff discussed enforcement mechanics and what qualifies as a citation. Kleinmeyer explained the choice of citations (issued by police or building inspection divisions) is a step above complaints but short of convictions, which staff preferred to avoid requiring as a precondition. After debate about the appropriate threshold (staff had proposed three citations), the council amended the ordinance on the floor to reduce the allowable citations from three to two before passing the ordinance as amended.

Councilmembers also asked staff to create an updated application and a process for cross-department tracking of citations so eligibility can be reliably checked at license renewal. Staff said some verification (for example, a signed statement and ID showing primary residence) will be required for the new exception, and that applicants who already hold licenses would need to re-file to seek the shorter-term allowance but would not pay a new fee.