Weekly Regulatory Briefing (24) 06/19/2026

🏡Top Stories This Week

• Santa Fe County, NM: Santa Fe County has launched a revamped short-term rental website and new complaint-reporting tools as part of an effort to improve compliance and oversight of both licensed and unlicensed rentals.
• Birmingham, MI: A backyard pool party in Birmingham, Michigan that grew from roughly 50 guests to a couple hundred has reignited debate over short term rental regulation after neighbors complained that police took several hours to shut it down despite repeated calls.

🌍 Regional Highlights

• Virginia: Virginia insurance regulators are challenging Airbnb’s Host Damage Protection program, arguing that it functions as an insurance product that is being offered without the required state licenses.

📜 New Ordinances Approved

• Pullman, WA: Pullman City Council gave final unanimous approval Tuesday to an exemption that allows owner-occupied short term rentals with two or fewer bedrooms to bypass the city's STR regulations, matching an exemption already in place under Washington state law.
• Minnetonka, MN: Minnetonka City Council voted 6-0 on June 8 to adopt an ordinance requiring homestead status and registration for all short term rentals within city limits.
• Grand Haven, MI: The Grand Haven City Council has finalized a substantial increase in penalties for short-term rental violations, approving higher fines for unregistered rentals for the first time since 2009.
• Blairsville Borough, PA: The borough council of Blairsville Borough has adopted a new short-term rental ordinance establishing a regulatory framework for properties rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days.
• Jersey County, IL: Jersey County approved new short-term rental rules adding a $100 permit/registration fee for new hotel/motel-style STRs and extending a 5% lodging tax to Airbnb-type rentals.

💬 Catch Up on Discussions

• Polk County, NC: The Polk County Planning Board voted 5-2 to recommend denying a zoning amendment that would have allowed short-term vacation rentals in the RE-5 district, despite a proposal that included occupancy limits, parking controls, and local management requirements.
• Palm Springs, CA: Palm Springs officials are continuing their review of short-term rental regulations this week as the Administrative Appeals Board hears three vacation rental enforcement cases involving registration suspensions, fines, and an appeal of a permanent operating ban.
• Newport Beach, CA: Newport Beach is expanding its Fourth of July enforcement plan with longer safety enhancement zones, tripled fines for certain violations, and a larger geographic area covered by the restrictions.
• Erie, CO: Erie is exploring both a new lodging tax and its first short-term rental regulations as officials prepare for the arrival of the Sundance Film Festival in nearby Boulder in 2027.
• Madison, AL: Madison is moving closer to adopting its first short-term rental regulations, with city leaders set to hold a June 22 public hearing on a proposal that would cap STRs at 190 properties citywide.
• Pasco, WA: The Pasco City Council is considering new short-term rental regulations that would establish local operating standards for Airbnb, Vrbo, and other rental properties that are currently largely unregulated by the city.
• Ridgefield, CT: Ridgefield’s Planning and Zoning Commission has advanced proposed short-term rental regulations after closing a public hearing on amendments that would establish new definitions, permitting requirements, reporting standards, and operating rules for STRs.
• Nantucket, MA: Nantucket officials are using new data from the town’s short-term rental registry to better understand the scale and ownership patterns of the island’s vacation rental market.
• Chatham County, GA: Chatham County commissioners are revisiting the county’s short-term rental ordinance amid continued tension over how STRs are affecting unincorporated communities.
• New Orleans, LA: New Orleans has extended the renewal deadline for non-commercial short-term rental (NSTR) licenses, giving permit holders until June 18, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. to submit renewal applications through the city’s One Stop App system.
• East Rochester, NY: East Rochester village officials have voted to create a new short-term rental registry covering properties such as Airbnb and VRBO listings, with the goal of improving oversight and requiring annual safety inspections.
• Orem, UT: Orem leaders are weighing new short-term rental regulations as they move away from the possibility of a full ban and toward a system that would formally govern Airbnb-style properties.
• Manatee County, FL: Manatee County commissioners voted Tuesday to have staff review a proposed vacation rental ordinance that would set occupancy limits at two people per room and a maximum of 12 per house, require driveway-only parking and mandate a 24/7 property manager who can respond to complaints within an hour.
• Columbia Township, MI: Columbia Township advanced a proposed short term rental ordinance through first reading at its June 15 meeting, setting up a vote at the next meeting on July 20.
• Austin, TX: Officials in Austin are ramping up enforcement of short-term rental regulations ahead of a July 1 compliance deadline that could result in unlicensed listings being removed from online booking platforms.
• St. Helena, CA: St. Helena is revisiting its short-term rental program, which currently caps permits at 25, with nearly all already filled and more than 60 applicants on a waiting list.
• Decatur, AL: Decatur is enforcing a new short-term rental ordinance aimed at regulating Airbnb- and Vrbo-style listings with hotel-level safety and tax standards.
• Peoria, IL: Peoria Heights is considering new rules for short-term rentals, including a possible cap of around 35 listings, as officials respond to concerns about large parties and enforcement issues.

📲 Social Buzz

📅 Future Meetings and Public Hearings/Comments:

• Ridgefield, CT: Commissioners discussed issues including enforcement, signage, and whether rentals operating fewer than 14 days annually should face reporting requirements. While there was general support for the framework, the commission postponed a final vote until June 23 to allow for additional review and revisions to the draft ordinance.

• Columbia Township, MI

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