🎯 STRisker: Bulletin - Gothenburg, NE
Council Unanimously Adopts Expanded Short-Term Rental Ordinance
Council Puts Guardrails on Airbnb Boom in Gothenburg
Short-term rentals are no longer just a big-city trend—they’re right here in Gothenburg. And the city isn’t wasting time figuring out how to manage them. On August 19, the City Council voted to expand its STR ordinance, setting clearer rules for where these rentals can operate and how they should be run.
Until now, Gothenburg’s rules only applied to R-1 and R-2 residential districts. That meant STRs had to secure a special use permit—a process designed to keep city leaders in the loop while letting neighbors weigh in on whether a property was a good fit for short-term guests.
But here’s the rub: several new STRs have popped up in places outside those zones, including inside the city’s one-mile zoning jurisdiction. Without an updated ordinance, those homes were technically out of bounds, and the city had no clear authority to regulate them.
Enter Shane Gruber, the City Building and Facilities Director. He proposed expanding the ordinance to cover R-3, R-4, C-2, and C-3 districts. Why those? Because they include everything from apartments to commercial properties with housing mixed in—exactly where some rentals have already appeared.
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The amendment also included parking and signage rules, so Airbnb homes won’t look like motels or create headaches for nearby residents. Gruber stressed the importance of transparency, saying the city wants to prevent STRs from cropping up “without the consent of the council and public input from other residences nearby or next door.”
The council didn’t hesitate. They unanimously approved the amendment and waived the three-reading requirement, putting the new ordinance into effect immediately.
Right now, Gothenburg has just five or six homes listed on Airbnb. But this swift action shows the city isn’t waiting until the issue grows out of control. Instead, it’s taking a thoughtful, balanced approach—encouraging tourism and homeowner income, while protecting the character of neighborhoods.
It’s a forward-looking approach that mirrors what many communities are grappling with: welcoming visitors while protecting neighborhood integrity. Gothenburg just showed that even small towns can set smart, thoughtful guardrails before STR growth gets ahead of them.
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