Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | August 4, 2026
Cities address STRs. Meredith, NH sets fee hearing; Westerly, RI weighs zoning limits; New Orleans, LA defers reform package; Middletown, RI approves permit; Eureka, CA pursues $108,237 in unpaid taxes; Oak Park, MI. READ MORE.
MEREDITH, NH
Selectboard members in Meredith have set a public hearing for August 10 at the Meredith Community Center to act on recommended changes to the town's short-term rental regulations. Two amendments are on the table and both are aimed at easing the burden on registered hosts.
The first would streamline the short-term rental application process and the second would reduce the annual registration fee for owners in residence. Meredith currently lists a $400 annual short-term rental license fee that applies across the board. Selectboard member Jeanie Forrester outlined the plan on August 3.
Town of Meredith's Short Term Rentals
WESTERLY, RI
A zoning subcommittee proposal reviewed on July 27 would confine unhosted short-term rentals in Westerly to three districts: High-Density Residential 10, Shore Commercial Watch Hill and Shore Commercial General. Hosted stays where the owner remains on site for the full booking would still be permitted anywhere homes are allowed.
Town of Westerly Code, Residential zone short-term rental registration
No vote was taken because the council treated the item as discussion only. Members clashed over whether existing rentals keep nonconforming-use protection once annual registration renews. The solicitor will define how that status ends while a three-member working group studies an overlay district alternative.
Alex Nunes
NEW ORLEANS, LA
Another deferral has pushed a package of New Orleans short-term rental reforms to an August 6 council hearing. First introduced in 2023, the three measures cover a rewrite of the city code governing rentals plus two motions aimed at the zoning framework behind them. The most consequential would eliminate Non-Commercial Short-Term Rentals as a recognized land use in the zoning code.
New Orleans Comprehensive Zoning Code
Removing that category would strip every reference to residential short-term rentals from the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. A second motion would instead create a new interim zoning district for the same properties.
MIDDLETOWN, RI
Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJTsWge-yek
A July 28 vote added one more short-term rental to a Rhode Island block that neighbors already call saturated. The Middletown Zoning Board of Review approved an owner-occupied special use permit for a three-bedroom house at 214 Morris Avenue under ordinance sections 602, 902 and 27C. The owner keeps one bedroom and rents the other two while living on site.
One member broke from the majority and held up a color-coded map of nearby rentals. He warned that the entire block had already become a short-term rental block and invoked the third zoning criterion covering detriment to surrounding property. Middletown sets no cap on rentals per block and no complaints were logged against the applicant's grandfathered rental next door.
EUREKA, CA
Enforcement is tightening on vacation rental hosts who skipped their lodging tax bills. Item F.3 on the Eureka City Council agenda for Tuesday, August 4, 2026 asks the council to confirm $108,237.45 in delinquent transient occupancy tax owed by six short-term rental operators.
Amounts owed run from roughly $2,900 to $32,100 per operator. If confirmed, the city attorney can file liens on the six parcels with the Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder's Office. Finance Director Lane Millar said Eureka prefers to avoid liens but must act against operators who refuse to operate legally or fail to respond.
Resolution Confirming Final Delinquent Transient Occupancy Tax Assessments and Authorizing Collection Remedies
Eureka resolution authorizing property liens to collect unpaid transient occupancy taxes, penalties and interest from six lodging properties.
OAK PARK, MI
Party house violence has again put short-term rentals under scrutiny after a shooting killed two teenagers on August 3, 2026. Around 15 young people were attending a birthday sleepover at a rental home in Oak Park when 40-50 rounds were fired from outside near 4:48 a.m.
Two additional teens were wounded and one 16 year old fled wearing only socks. Investigators say a group of uninvited guests had been turned away roughly four hours before the shooting. The case remains open.
, The Detroit News
📱 Social Buzz
🎤 Episode Title: Do Short-Term Rental Bans Lower Home Values? Summit County Data 2019–2026
🎤 Episode: Mountain Real Estate
📻 Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1867383/episodes/19595893-do-short-term-rental-bans-lower-home-values-summit-county-data-2019-2026.mp3
Council day Tuesday, Aug. 4, will also include a progress report on the city bus system, a first vote on new short-term rental rules and final votes on a pair of November ballot questions. https://t.co/iC5YjhYOK8
— The Daily Memphian (@DailyMemphian) August 3, 2026
City Council meets tomorrow to address Memphis 3.0 zoning overhauls and short-term rental rules. #MemphisCityCouncil #LocalGov #MemphisNews pic.twitter.com/DBZgBRMFC7
— Layne McDonald (@laynewmcdonald) August 3, 2026
Showdown over short-term rental rules in Pittsburgh loomshttps://t.co/I8x18KKNIF pic.twitter.com/0ShiL0kbNC
— Pittsburgh's Public Source (@PublicSourcePA) August 3, 2026
Check on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02BJD5U1HxC5AGSUdS6bkHriouzArwh8Wccb2Ra9U3S16Ct22z4FjT8QuBPmLbkwzkl&id=100064434533987
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Jasmine Ruth Albatana
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