Title
Short Term Rental Regulations Discussion
Body
An applicant brought forward a proposal for UDO amendment to Short Term Rental (STR) standards at the September CEDC meeting. The proposed amendment was to remove the requirement for the owner of the rental to be onsite or nearby. After hearing the applicant’s proposal and examples of more lenient standards in nearby cities, the CEDC asked staff to research the approach of other communities.
Short term rental ordinances are organized into the following regulations; location, ownership, intensity and safety. The sections below compare the currently adopted Lee’s Summit requirements with Kansas City, Independence and Springfield.
Location
Lee’s Summit restricts short term rentals (STRs) to single-family or duplex units on lots over 1 acre in size or those in the Old Town Master Development Plan area, the area bounded by Chipman Road, Highway 50 and Highway 291 North. These measures were done to provide STRs in rural settings or in our Downtown for tourism purposes. Comparator cities take a different approach. Zoning and structure type are used to determine the location of STR units in KCMO, Independence and Springfield. Single-family and duplex units are universally allowed within some residential zoning districts. If applied to Lee’s Summit, this would greatly expand the areas where short term rentals are allowed.
Ownership
Lee’s Summit requires the owner live onsite or live in an adjacent property. This was a reaction to a home that was being used as a party house within an established neighborhood. The hope was that by having an owner onsite there would be better supervision of guest behavior. The request before the CEDC is to remove this provision of the ordinance. Other Cities address the concept of owner occupancy in a variety of ways. Some have a tiered system where it is easier to gain approval if the owner is present but with a public hearing the home can be rented out without ownership present.
Intensity
Lee’s Summit limits the number of bedrooms and guests in an attempt to control intensity. Other cities control the amount of STRs in a given area or limit the amount that one owner can have Citywide. Universally there is a concept woven through ordinance of maintaining the residential appearance of the structure. This helps maintain the integrity of existing neighborhoods.
Safety
The general approach on safety is to post information within the units about escape routes in the event of a fire and to provide smoke alarms in conformance with adopted codes. Lee’s Summit lists these requirements but does not require an inspection. Independence has a rental inspection program across the entire City and STRs are subject to these requirements. Rental inspections help create safer units over time.
Lee’s Summit
<https://library.municode.com/mo/lee's_summit/codes/unified_development_ordinance?nodeId=ART6USST_DIVIIUSPECO_SD2US_S6.505SHTERE>
Independence
<https://library.municode.com/mo/independence_/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH14UNDEOR_ART4USRE_14-420LOES>
KCMO
<https://library.municode.com/mo/kansas_city/codes/zoning_and_development_code?nodeId=ZODECOKAMI_300_SERIESUSRE_88-321SHTERERE>
Springfield
<https://library.municode.com/mo/springfield/codes/land_development_code?nodeId=VOLIILADECO_ARTIIIZORE_DIV5SUDIRE_S36-473SHRMRE>
Presenter
Joshua Johnson, Assistant Director, Development Services
Hector Soto Jr., Planning Manager