Bulletin - Huntington, UT News Today
City Council adopted Ordinance O-2026-9 on September 16, replacing the city's vacation rental chapter with rules on conditional use, spacing, waiting lists and license transfers
Huntington Caps Short-Term Rental Licenses at 25 Under Rewritten Code
City Council adopted Ordinance O-2026-9 on September 16, replacing the city's vacation rental chapter with rules on conditional use, spacing, waiting lists and license transfers
Photo by Nikki Jensen on Unsplash
Short-term rental operators in Huntington now compete for a fixed pool of 25 business licenses after the Huntington City Council approved changes to the city's short-term rental rules at its September 16, 2026 meeting. Council adopted Ordinance O-2026-9 which amends and replaces Chapter 9-15 of the city code while the cap itself appeared on the meeting agenda in Resolution R-2026-15.
What the New Ordinance Covers
The summary posted lists provisions on business licensing, conditional use approval, occupancy, separation between rentals in residential zones, responsible parties, the citywide license cap, a waiting list, variances, transfer of ownership, annual renewal and the treatment of rentals that already hold a license.
That summary does not publish the separation distance, occupancy limits, fees or penalties while the full text is available for inspection at the Recorder's office at 20 South Main Street.
Huntington City Ordinance O-2026-9 establishes regulations for short-term and vacation rentals as adopted by the City Council on September 16, 2026. | Source: https://ecode360.com/
Rules Operators Already Follow
The version of Chapter 15 still shown in the city's online code already requires a Huntington business license and a special use permit that sets maximum occupancy and parking, and it obliges operators to collect and remit transient lodging taxes under Utah law. Rental signs are limited to four square feet and must stand freely within three feet of the dwelling.
A responsible party must post emergency contacts and an exit route diagram near the door, keep each guest's name, address and phone number on record, and prevent disorderly conduct or unreasonable noise.
How It Moved Through City Hall
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on September 10 where no residents offered comment before commissioners voted to send the ordinance to council. Council reached the rental items after choosing Theron Lee over Josh Wagner to fill the seat Devin Wilson vacated with Lee taking three of four votes and the oath of office on the spot.
Utah News Staff
Citizen Portal
Regional Context
Huntington follows neighboring Orangeville in Emery County where the City Council adopted Ordinance 2026-4 on May 14, 2026. That ordinance requires half a mile between short-term rentals unless the unit sits within a primary residence, charges a one-time $150 conditional use permit fee and allows license revocation after three violations in 12 months.
⦾ Status: Adopted September 16, 2026 (Ordinance O-2026-9); cap listed as Resolution R-2026-15
⦾ License cap: 25 short-term rental business licenses citywide
⦾ Approvals: City business license and conditional use approval, renewed annually
⦾ New provisions: Residential separation, occupancy, waiting list, variances, ownership transfer and rules for existing licenses (specific figures not yet published)
⦾ Taxes: Transient lodging taxes collected and remitted under Utah law
⦾ Responsible party: Owner or designee; emergency notice posted on site; guest records kept
⦾ Platform responsibility: None specified
In case you missed it:
Jas Albatana
Jas Albatana
Jas Albatana
Strisker Document Analysis
Finding the right compliance documents shouldn’t feel like searching for a needle in a haystack - Strisker’s Documents Analysis is built to simplify your life, offering instant access to hundreds of thousands of documents from thousands of cities across the world.
Stay Updated with Strisker!
Strisker offers tools and features to keep you updated with the Short Term Rental movement (and now Data Centers!) movement across the world.
👍 We’d love your feedback.
We're always looking for ways to improve Bulletins.
Was this one useful to you? Other topics you'd like to see get covered?
✉️ Just reply directly to this email. We read and respond to every message!
-Will McClure
🙋 P.S.
Know someone else who should be reading this Bulletin? Feel free to forward this along. We want to make sure operators and stakeholders are aware of regulatory changes in their area.