Las Vegas City Council to take aim at regulating party houses

Short-term rentals that become “party houses” in neighborhoods near the Strip have been an issue on Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian’s to-do list for years.

“Right near the Strip — people like to use those as party houses,” Tarkanian said. “But that’s a business, I feel. And it’s caused a problem for residents who live in the area.”

While the Strip is outside the city of Las Vegas boundary in unincorporated Clark County, several residential neighborhoods within the city are near the Strip.

A recent search on the accommodations website Airbnb.com shows upwards of 250 options — entire homes, private rooms and shared rooms — for two for a long weekend in mid-February in the Las Vegas valley.

Hammering out new short-term rental rules is an issue city officials will likely take up in early 2017.

Tarkanian wants the city to implement a special-use permit process that curtails the party house problem, but won’t preclude everyone from renting out a room on a short-term basis, which city code defines as 30 or fewer consecutive days.

“Then the council could become aware: Do we have four in a series of 10 homes? Are there any problems?” she said, acknowledging that allowing short-term rentals in some parts of the city makes more sense than others. “In my ward it has been a really significant issue.”

Tarkanian represents Ward 1, the city’s south-central area that’s sandwiched between Interstate 15 and Summerlin.

Since 2014, operators of short-term rentals in the city have been required to obtain a license and pay a $500 annual fee per unit. Short-term rentals have been prohibited in two swaths of west and northwest Las Vegas, and in several smaller segments of downtown.

The city also has rules for short-term rentals that touch on maximum occupancy, safety precautions and parking. Licenses can be suspended or revoked for operators when they violate the code.

Short-term rental properties are not allowed within 660 feet of another short-term rental. If the property is in a gated subdivision or a controlled-access building, the city also requires a letter from the owners’ association allowing the rental use.

Rentals through the San Francisco-based Airbnb, which launched in 2008, and other online booking services like VRBO, have multiplied nationwide in recent years, in some cases before local governments could react.

Councilman Bob Coffin said Las Vegas city officials have been eyeing what another destination city, New Orleans, did with short-term rentals.

The New Orleans City Council recently adopted sweeping rules that take effect in 2017, allowing for short-term rentals in certain zoning districts and laying out a detailed licensing process. The city website lists a lengthy list of application requirements for obtaining a short-term rental license and a government agency to enforce the rules, with hearings and penalties for those who don’t follow them.

Coffin wants Las Vegas to be able to turn down short-term rentals in areas where they don’t make sense, but not altogether ban the enterprise.

“We don’t want to ruin the short-term rental market,” Coffin said.

Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Find @JamieMunksRJ on Twitter.