Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | October 8, 2026

Cities address STRs. Santa Barbara, CA sets two-night stays; Hopkins, MN pauses STRs; Keene, NH sets hearing; New Windsor, NY weighs rules; Encampment, WY eyes rules; Erie, CO weighs tax; West Hartford, CT sued; South Haven, MI denies patio; San Diego, CA debates. READ MORE.

Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | October 8, 2026
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. 📰

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SANTA BARBARA, CA

Two-night minimum stays, quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and a limit of one short-term rental per owner anchor the two ordinances that City Council unanimously approved on October 6 for the city's more than 2,300 listings. Inland rentals will be barred from residential zones and high-fire areas when that ordinance begins in January 2027 after which operators get six months to apply for a license.

The coastal ordinance heads to the California Coastal Commission and would take effect 30 days after its approval while finance staff estimate the rules could cost nearly $3 million in yearly revenue.

Short-Term Rental Enforcement Program
While short-term rentals (STR) are not permitted in most areas of Santa Barbara, they have nonetheless become a new form of visitor lodging in the City within the past decade. A short-term residential rental is a rental of all, or a portion of the residential property for periods of 30 days or less.

HOPKINS, MN

New short-term rentals are barred in every zoning district for one year under a moratorium that City Council unanimously approved on October 6 which also pauses the acceptance, processing and approval of all applications while the city studies the issue, though existing rentals are not affected.

The pause postpones a contested conditional use permit application that neighbors have opposed at several meetings after the owner's attorney argued that applying the moratorium to it breaks Minnesota law, a view the city attorney rejected. Only three such applications have been filed since the city began regulating rentals in 2022.


KEENE, NH

Ordinance O-2026-09-A which would create a definition and use standards for short-term rentals in Article 8 of the Land Development Code goes before City Council at a public hearing on October 15. The full ordinance is available for public review at the City Clerk's office ahead of the hearing.

10/15/2026 - Public Hearing relating to Amendment to Land Development Code - Short-term Rental Uses
A public hearing will be held before the Keene City Council relative to Ordinance O-2026-09-A - Relating to Short-term Rental Uses. Petitioner, City of

Proposed by the Community Development Department, the amendment would allow short-term rentals by right with limitations in 15 zoning districts ranging from Rural and Residential Preservation to the Low, Medium and High Density zones, all three downtown districts, Commerce, Neighborhood Business, Office and Agriculture.


NEW WINDSOR, NY

Owner occupancy is a key provision in New Windsor's proposed first short-term rental regulations which the Town Board reviewed at an October 5 workshop. The draft law would require owners to live on-site during rentals, prohibit unhosted whole-home rentals, and establish annual permits, parking restrictions, occupancy limits and safety requirements.

The October 7 Town Board agenda includes a resolution to introduce the law, send it to the Orange County Department of Planning for review, and schedule a public hearing for December 2, 2026. Residents can provide feedback before the proposed rules are adopted.


ENCAMPMENT, WY

Town officials are studying Jackson's short-term rental ordinance as a possible model for new rules with another town meeting set for October 8 where the topic may get further discussion. A moratorium on new conditional-use permits for rentals has been in place since October 2025 and Councilman Steve Reichert who chairs the Planning Commission said about 15 operate in town.

Jackson limits rentals in residential areas outside its lodging overlay and resort district to three stays and 60 nights a year though Encampment has not decided which provisions it would borrow.


ERIE, CO

Ballot Issue 3E asks voters to approve a 3.5% lodging tax on hotel rooms, bed and breakfasts, short-term rentals and other stays of 30 days or less which would begin January 1, 2027 if approved in an election. Town staff estimate the tax would raise about $150,000 a year from current rental activity since Erie has no hotel and does not yet license or regulate short-term rentals.

Lodging Tax Ballot Item | Erie, CO
The Town of Erie is considering a Lodging Tax for overnight stays of less than 30 days. This would apply to vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, hotels, and the like.

Revenue would fund parks, infrastructure and public safety while the Planning and Development Department plans to bring rental licensing recommendations to Town Council later this year.


WEST HARTFORD, CT

Lisa and Alexander Khan are suing the Zoning Board of Appeals in state Superior Court after the five-member board denied their appeal of a town order barring them from renting their five-bedroom home on a short-term basis. The town issued a cease-and-desist letter in May citing an ordinance that prohibits rentals of less than 30 days while the owners argue the ordinance sets no minimum rental term.

West Hartford's Zoning Regulations, Chapter 177
Official town zoning code outlining permitted land uses and restrictions in residential districts, central to the legal dispute over whether short-term Airbnb rentals are allowed in West Hartford.

Learn more

The suit asks a judge to reverse the decision while the town's corporation counsel said West Hartford will keep defending its view that such rentals are commercial lodging barred from residential zones.


SOUTH HAVEN, MI

Zoning Board of Appeals members upheld the city's denial of a permit for a patio, pergola and firepit at a registered short-term rental on September 28, agreeing with staff that the additions expand a nonconforming use. Rentals lost permitted-use status in city zoning districts under May 2025 amendments unless approved through a special land use in a new overlay district and Section 2303 of the zoning ordinance bars nonconforming uses from being enlarged or intensified.

South Haven, MI short-term rental license
Two license classes govern South Haven short-term rentals. Class II allows 6 rental terms or 28 days a year. Class I requires $1,000,000 in liability coverage.

Board Chair Randy Timmer said the rules leave permit holders unable to make such improvements and blamed City Council for the bind.


SAN DIEGO, CA

Candidates Richard Bailey and Nicole Crosby clashed over vacation rental rules at an October 3 debate for a coastal City Council seat where Crosby pledged to cut the number of permitted rentals on day one while Bailey warned against losing the more than $50 million the city collects in rental taxes.

Widely Contrasting Positions on Display at Point Loma Library Debate for City Council District 2
By JW August / Special to the OB Rag There are clear differences between the candidates and they were on display at a debate at the Point Loma Library last night, October 1. Nicole Crosby is the D…

The city caps permitted rentals at 1% of its housing stock except in Mission Beach where 30% of homes can serve visitors under an ordinance that expires in 2030 and Crosby later acknowledged that coastal changes need Coastal Commission approval.


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In case you missed it:

Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | October 7, 2026
Cities address STRs. Corpus Christi, TX halts committee over state claim; Los Angeles County, CA seven cities pursue tax hikes; Lake Worth Beach, FL hearing set for October 6; Solano County, CA adds minimum stays; Buffalo, NY licenses 219 of 602; Bellevue, KY. READ MORE.
Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | October 6, 2026
Cities address STRs. Keweenaw County, MI tables rental zoning amendments; Alhambra, CA ballot measure would extend its 12% hotel tax to rentals; Carrboro, NC council sets October 20 work session on rental limits. READ MORE.
Short-Term Rentals: Daily Notes | October 5, 2026
Cities address STRs. DeWitt, NY bans rentals January 1, 2027; Polson, MT approves permit; Birmingham, MI delays rules to October 19; Philipstown, NY continues hearing; Kingston, NY weighs 3% tax; Midland, MI surveys residents. READ MORE.

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