From a cozy cabin in Coalville to a luxurious Canyons Village townhouse, it’s possible to find more than 1,000 properties in Summit County listed as short-term rentals online, and officials estimate the actual number could be double that throughout unincorporated areas.
Yet the county clerk’s office has issued fewer than 940 nightly rental licenses.
County staffers routinely, and increasingly, hear complaints from the community about short-term rentals, but there is little regulation for the businesses. Officials began brainstorming possible solutions last year, and the Summit County Council revisited the topic during its Wednesday meeting. But while the panel recognized the importance of the issue, it was divided on the best approach to enforcement.
The panel was opposed to regulating nightly rentals through changes to zoning, such as the creation of overlay zones that would determine where the businesses are permitted, as many county councilors felt it could create legal challenges. And there’s the potential that existing license holders will ask to be grandfathered in if they operate a nightly rental in an area that’s rezoned to restrict licenses.
Instead, the County Council agreed they should focus on changes to business licensing.
They discussed limiting how many licenses are issued annually based on the neighborhood, the number of days each year the homeowner plans to rent the property and whether the unit will be occupied by the owner during the rental period. The County Courthouse could also create different types of nightly rental licenses based on how often a property will be rented. There could be an option for primary residents who want to rent out their space on occasion as well as one for individuals purchasing homes in Summit County for financial gain.
Staffers also proposed requiring an annual inspection upon license renewal, as they are not currently needed, to address health, fire and other safety issues that may go unnoticed without a report. Various agencies including the Summit County Health Department, Building Department and Park City Fire District would be involved in the inspections.
The Health Department receives around a dozen complaints about nightly rentals each month, according to Health Director Phil Bondurant. He said they range in severity from a child receiving chemical burns from a hot tub that wasn’t cleaned correctly and bed bugs to overflowing trash and hair on the floor. However, the investigation into each complaint is unfunded, Bondurant said. The Health Department provides inspections for all nightly rentals because the health code applies to all of Summit County. It is authorized to close a unit when a threat to health and human safety is identified.
This model would likely require the organizations to increase fees to respond to what’s expected to be a high demand and to cover additional costs. County Clerk Eve Furse said the county has issued around 920 business licenses, but estimated around 2,400 nightly rentals are operating. If the figure were to include Park City, it would be closer to 6,000.
The Park City Fire District received approximately 345 emails requesting business license inspections for nightly rentals between May 26 and early August. Around 171 emails with the same request were sent to the fire department during the six months prior,
Many county departments would also have to hire more employees, such as program managers, administrative assistants, field staff and more, to keep up with the proposed program. County Councilor Chris Robinson estimated the new positions could cost up to $1 million in payroll.
Robinson was seemingly opposed to the creation of a new inspection program, asking whether it really addresses community concerns. He said the county needs to craft a solution based on the problem it’s trying to solve: whether it’s preventing nightly rentals from being disruptive, stopping unlicensed units from “cheating the system” or helping the workforce obtain affordable housing.
“The complaints we hear are not of people dying from carbon monoxide, not that they’re getting salmonella or some STD from the hot tub,” he said, advocating for less bureaucracy and a more focused approach to issuing licenses. “What we’re hearing is the neighbors don’t like the nuisance … The question is, what is the real problem? Is it the nuisance or are we using licensure to make the bar so high that it discourages entry?”
Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson indicated she regards the issue as more than a “nuisance,” citing a study that determined short-term rentals account for nearly 22% of the county’s total housing stock.
“We are in a situation where the tourism economy and the tourism draw here is consuming our community,” she said. “And when we don’t have the opportunity to live in a community that is diverse, that is full of the people that work here, then we might as well all be living in the Canyons Resort core – and you can choose to do that if you want, but a lot of people don’t choose to live in the resort core.”
Roger Armstrong, who was recently appointed chair of the County Council, supported changes to nightly rental licenses as well as inspections. He said the units should be required to go through the same process as hotels because the businesses are operating as such. Hotels are also required to pay sales tax including the transient room tax, which applies to all lodging with rental periods less than 30 days, but unlicensed units may not be.
Robinson agreed all eligible stays should be required to pay the tax. However, county officials face obstacles in enforcing regulations on short-term rental units that aren’t licensed as state law prohibits local governments from preventing rental operators from listing their properties online.
But staffers are expecting legislation to appear during the upcoming Utah general session that may change the rules. Rep. Calvin Musselman, a Republican representing Weber County, is considering a proposal that would allow the information obtained from public advertising, including online listings, to help prove whether a short-term rental is operating illegally. The legislation could also set standards requiring nightly rental operators to obtain a sales tax license and the penalties for failing to do so. The State Tax Commission similarly proposed monitoring websites such as KSL.com and issuing non-compliance notices for unlicensed properties, according to the staff report.
Malena Stevens, the County Council’s new vice chair, was in favor of change but proposed waiting until after the legislative session to take action. She said some counties may be asked to participate in a pilot program related to short-term rentals.
County Councilor Tonja Hanson agreed. She favored a balance between personal property rights and county regulation, such as prohibiting nightly rentals in areas like Summit Park and Tollgate Canyon.
Armstrong didn’t want to wait for the Utah Legislature. He said the county needs to begin taking steps to address the issue because of its impact on housing. Stevens suggested that officials consider the resources they want to designate to tackle unlicensed nightly rentals, and whether it’s a top priority. Other council members recognized the issue would take a lot of work and indicated they would discuss it at the retreat scheduled for Jan. 20.
Staffers from the Attorney’s Office offered to develop a list of options for new licensing guidelines that officials can choose from. That will likely be discussed the next time the topic appears on the agenda.
