LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Clark County officials on Tuesday approved an ordinance to regulate short-term rentals, legalizing rentals but frustrating many in attendance who didn’t like the rules put in place.
The back and forth between the commissioners and those present became unpleasant at times before a unanimous vote to approve the settlement.
Commissioner Jim Gibson denounced suggestions that the Nevada Resort Association was behind the rules and said the commission had worked hard to get community feedback. Commissioners said their constituents don’t like short-term rentals in their neighborhoods, citing issues including noise, traffic and trash.
Among the rules:
- No more than 1% of county housing can operate as short-term rentals
- No more than one license per person
- Maximum occupancy of two people per room or 10 people per unit
- Reservations must be for a minimum of two nights
- Minimum stay of two nights for each reservation
- Not within 1,000 feet of an existing short term rental
- Not within 2,500 feet of a resort hotel (state mandated)
Airbnb issued a statement Tuesday after the committee vote:
“Early on, Airbnb hosts offered to work with Clark County Commissioners on rules that allow everyday people to share their homes to earn extra income and to support the area’s tourism economy. two things are needed more than ever as residents continue to navigate economic headwinds,” said Airbnb’s John Choi. “Today, Clark County Commissioners passed tougher new rules than which is required by state law and will take money out of the pockets of Nevada residents and the local tourism economy.”
Even though short-term rentals were illegal, they continued to operate without county regulation, and Clark County needed to put rules in place and begin collecting fees from properties that were making money while the county sat on the sidelines.
The 2021 Nevada Legislature required Clark County to allow short-term rentals in AB 363.
” It’s a company. This is no longer a residential home,” Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick said, expressing frustration at some debate over the details as questions about the size and placement of signs arose.
“The digital age has arrived and the platforms have no investment in our community,” Kirkpatrick said.
Those present criticized the county’s ability to enforce anything and questioned whether enough thought had gone into policing the rules put in place.
“It’s definitely better than what we have now,” commissioner Justin Jones said. He pointed out: “Right now we have several agents on the street, and we don’t collect a dime from any of the short-term rental operators.”
8 News Now spoke to local rental hosts and residents who said they were still unhappy with the new guidelines.
“This ordinance, if passed as written, is going to cause you more problems than you currently have and it will not help the neighborhoods, they will be even more disrupted and it will not help the stations resorts,” said Julie Davies of Nevada. said the Vacation Rental Management Association.
Local short-term rental host Bo Theodore has a few rentals in unincorporated Clark County, but said he disagrees with how the county is doing it.
“Unfortunately, this one percent rule and the other rules they have in place for registration just don’t make a whole lot of sense,” Theodore said. “I have two rentals in the same development that are 700 feet apart and that thousand foot rule would disqualify them, so it doesn’t work for me.”
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