Daily Regulatory Notes 04/16/2025
Cities address STRs. Mendocino County, CA collects public feedback; Honolulu, HI reviews enforcement; Columbia, TN approves ordinance; Riley County, KS advances regulations. READ MORE.
Every day, we bring you a detailed overview of recent news and updates about primary decisions, community feedback, or legislative changes relevant to the short-term rental industry. 📰
Mendocino County is actively collecting public feedback as it works on new short-term rental regulations, with a series of meetings running through April.
The first inland-focused meeting in Fort Bragg saw a packed discussion on zoning confusion, enforcement challenges, housing availability, and emergency infrastructure gaps. Proposals ranged from landline requirements in cell-dead zones to stricter density caps modeled after Humboldt’s 2% limit.
County staff acknowledged enforcement shortfalls and confirmed they’re working on clarifying STR definitions, especially for camping-type rentals. The next meetings are scheduled for Willits, Covelo, and Ukiah, with Zoom access available for the final session.
Honolulu officials are expressing growing frustration over how little progress has been made in collecting fines from illegal short-term rentals. Despite efforts to crack down, including issuing hundreds of violations and hiring a collection agency, the city only recovered about $1.1 million of the $28.9 million in fines levied last year.
Officials are especially concerned that appeals can stretch on for years, allowing illegal operations to continue uninterrupted. With powerful rental operators—some running as many units as large hotels—pushing back, leaders are signaling new measures could be on the horizon, including changes to the appeals process or new tax and enforcement mechanisms.
Columbia City Council approved changes to its short-term rental ordinance on April 10, removing the owner-occupancy requirement for STRs in CD-4, CD-4c, and CD-5 zones.
Existing STRs operating outside those zones before the city’s 2022 ordinance will be grandfathered in, provided they obtain updated permits by Dec. 31, 2025. Some residents voiced concern about the impact on STRs in CD-2 and CD-3 zones, noting the risk to local jobs and city revenue.
Riley County’s short-term rental rules are moving forward with a proposal requiring a local responsible agent to be present whenever guests are on-site.
Planning staff told commissioners on April 14, the agent must live in Riley County and respond within an hour if needed. Officials are still exploring how to set limits on STR density, since rural spread complicates enforcement. The draft pulls from other regional examples, and planners expect to refine the language before bringing it back for formal approval.
In case you missed it:
Genelaine Urbano
READ: 04/15/2025 Daily Regulatory Notes
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Dane Artisola
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