Bulletin - Cranston, RI News Today
The Ordinance Committee unanimously sent a citywide prohibition on hourly pool and outdoor-space rentals to the full council with enforcement left to the code's default fine
Cranston Committee Advances Ban on Paid Backyard Pool and Yard Rentals
The Ordinance Committee unanimously sent a citywide prohibition on hourly pool and outdoor-space rentals to the full council with enforcement left to the code's default fine
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Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/rNsAd8Tpyvc?t=7800
The Cranston City Council Ordinance Committee voted unanimously on September 2 to advance an ordinance that bans residents from renting out swimming pools, spas, playgrounds, or yards for paid gatherings.
The measure which docketed as Item 08-17-01 now goes to the full council for final adoption and would take effect the day it passes. For Cranston hosts listing pools by the hour, the business would become illegal citywide with no permit path.
What the Ordinance Says
Sponsored by Council President Daniel Wall and Ward 4 Councilman Frank J. Ritz Jr., the draft adds a section titled "Short term rentals of outdoor pools and spaces" to the Cranston Code of Ordinances. It adds a section titled "Short term rentals of outdoor pools and spaces" to the Cranston Code of Ordinances and does its work in a single sentence: anyone who owns or occupies Cranston property is barred from renting out or otherwise allowing paid use of an outdoor space "for assembly purposes". Swimming pools and spas along with playgrounds and yards are named as examples rather than as a closed list. The only other clause sets the effective date at final adoption which leaves the ordinance without a definition of assembly or a guest threshold or any exception or penalty.
Wall told the committee the city "didn't reinvent the wheel" and the wording tracks almost word for word the prohibition that the Town of Orangetown in New York adopted in March 2025 after the same hourly rental apps produced the same neighborhood complaints there. The measure picked up a third sponsor at the hearing when citywide Councilman Christopher Buonanno asked to be added.
Town of Orangetown's Short-Term Rental and Outdoor Space Regulations
Orangetown, NY's ordinance regulates short-term residential rentals and prohibits certain paid uses of residential properties
Why It Reached the Council
The push began in July when Ritz asked the city solicitor to review properties with repeat complaints and to identify ordinances that could reach high-volume pool rentals. Residents of Alpine Estates Drive described parties of more than 100 guests, roughly 50 cars, DJ equipment, strobe lights, and music running past midnight.
Local coverage tied the bookings to Swimply where Cranston pools currently list at roughly $40 to $125 per hour and Buonanno said most of the trouble sat in Ward 4 with the rest in Ward 6. Ritz told the committee the aim is not to "interfere with any residential use" but to reach properties "when they become paid event spaces that fall under a commercial use".
Swimply
Enforcement and the Open Questions
Because the ordinance writes in no penalty, councilmembers said police would enforce it under the code's default fine of roughly $50 per violation. The code's general penalty chapter, Section 1.08.010, authorizes a fine of up to $200 or up to 30 days' imprisonment where no other punishment is specified so the actual amount would rest with the municipal court.
Adriana Vossari
The draft also carries a clerical flaw that Councilman Richard Campopiano flagged during the hearing: it cites Chapter 8.24 of the code even though that chapter governs police alarm system licenses. The committee advanced the text anyway on the understanding that the citation will be corrected before the council vote. A harder question survives that fix because "assembly purposes" is never defined and the ordinance does not say whether a paid backyard wedding or a whole-home short-term rental guest using the pool falls inside the ban.
⦾ Status: Approved by Ordinance Committee September 2, 2026; awaiting full City Council vote
⦾ Effective date: Upon final adoption
⦾ What is banned: Renting pools, spas, playgrounds, or yards for compensation for assembly purposes
⦾ Who is covered: Owners, lessees, tenants, and occupants of any Cranston property
⦾ Registration or permit path: None; outright prohibition
⦾ Night or hour cap: N/A
⦾ Penalty: None written in; council cites roughly $50 default, code allows up to $200 or 30 days
⦾ Enforcement: Cranston Police
⦾ Platform responsibility: None; obligations fall on the property holder
⦾ Exceptions: None stated
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