Columbus Public Safety Committee Follow-Up Hearing on Short-Term Rentals – April 20, 2026
Columbus Public Safety & Criminal Justice Committee Follow-Up Hearing on Short-Term Rentals – April 20, 2026
This exploratory hearing, the second in a series, revisited the city's short-term rental (STR) framework as of April 20, 2026. Chair Remy opened by emphasizing that no legislation was before the committee; the purpose was to gather updated staff recommendations and public feedback to modernize the code adopted in 2018 and updated in 2021. The goal is to balance responsible operator needs with stronger tools against problematic properties.
Discussion Items
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Recap and Updated Recommendations – Dr. Tanisha Pruitt (Legislative Analyst) summarized the first hearing:
- The need for a trespass authorization to allow police to enter and remove violators without contacting the owner.
- Current permit counts: 1,535 permits issued, majority for non-primary residences.
- Neighbor notification requirements used in peer cities (Toledo, Grandview Heights, North Canton; Santa Fe, Nashville, Georgetown, Texas).
- Tax collection: 5.1% excise lodging tax, 1,600 STR accounts, about 1,200 active; interest in platform remittance but auditor system challenges.
- Community concerns: unauthorized parties, noise, trash, violence, parking, housing supply, neighborhood character. STR owner concerns: administrative burdens, frivolous neighbor complaints.
- Next steps: continue public input, introduce legislation before July recess.
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Proposed Policy and Code Changes – Tony Celebrizi (Deputy Director, Department of Building and Zoning Services) presented:
- Create a new city code chapter in Title V for easier access.
- Implement fully online registration and renewal system with simplified affidavit for renewals; reduced renewal fee.
- Neighbor notification at registration/renewal (proposed 125-foot radius from property line).
- Graduated fines for noncompliant listings (starting at $50, rising to $250+ before court), with appeal rights.
- Automatic tax remittance via platforms (under discussion, technology challenges with auditor).
- Overnight occupancy limit: 2 per bedroom plus 2 additional guests; basements require safety inspection (egress, utility separation).
- Non-overnight occupancy maximum to discourage parties; encourage trespass authorization letters for police to remove excess guests.
- For buildings with 4+ units, require hotel/motel license if 25% or more units are used as STRs, to ensure safety features (exits, push bars, inspections).
- Annual report to council on licences, violations, and problem properties.
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Councilmember Questions and Discussion – Topics included:
- Fines based on severity (e.g., violent felonies vs. registration lapses).
- Proactive compliance checks (staff monitor platforms; partners with Airbnb to takedown noncompliant listings).
- Data integration between police and licensing systems.
- Trash and exterior maintenance – Chair encouraged residents to use 311 for code violations.
- Occupancy metrics tied to beds vs. bedrooms; use of county auditor data.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Nat Shepherd (STR Operator) – Supported online renewals, platform tax remittance, and neighbor notification through the rental registry (approved yesterday) instead of paper notices. Advised higher fines for non-compliant operators ($250 is too low). Urged capturing more detailed license types (owner-occupied vs. non-owner, on-site vs. not).
- Jeff Smith (Airbnb Community Manager, Columbus Host Alliance) – Stated existing legislation has reduced problems; Airbnb’s party crackdown helps. Supported streamlined permits and tax remittance. Called neighbor notification “worthless” in areas with apartments; preferred use of rental registry, 311, and licensing contacts.
- Willie Jones (Host) – Described a January 2026 incident where police could not remove non-overnight guests from his STR, leading to a shootout with 47 bullet holes and a wounded guest. He has since filed a trespass authorization form and urged stronger police ability to remove violators.
- Susan Sommerfeld (Resident, Short North) – Raised parking issues (lack of signage) and occupancy concerns for large houses (sleeping many guests despite bedroom limits). Asked about enforcement of exterior maintenance – Chair reminded her to use 311 and escalate to council/city attorney if needed; noted that area commissions cannot override code.
- Michael Shibko (Host) – Asked to allow duplex owners to combine listings into one (currently limited to 5 bedrooms per STR). Deputy Director Celebrizi cited concerns about “party houses” but acknowledged good operators exist. No immediate commitment.
- Ryan McFadden (Host/Realtor, Italian Village) – Echoed support for most proposals. Cautioned against reducing occupancy limits, requested grandfathering for existing investments. Favored electronic notification via registry over paper. Questioned enforcement of non-overnight guest limits for events like OSU games. Supported clear trespass procedures.
- Christoph Schiller (Resident, Harrison West) – Described four townhouse units operating as a de facto 50-person hotel with parties, noise, and shootings every weekend. The owner was banned from Airbnb/VRBO but continues via own website (ads on Google Maps and YouTube). Called for immediate enforcement, not just long-term code changes. Deputy Director Wendy Boots confirmed awareness and planned meeting with owner. Chair Remy requested including the city attorney’s office in that meeting.
- Jeremiah Logier (Host) – Owns a 9-bedroom Victorian mansion near Neil Avenue; limited to 5 bedrooms by current code. Argued the restriction forces him to split the house, while 80% of his guests are multi-generational families for weddings and tourism. Asked for flexibility based on operator track record.
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken; this was an informational hearing.
- The Department of Building and Zoning Services will meet with the owner of the Harrison West property, with the city attorney’s office included, to address immediate nuisance issues.
- Staff will continue to refine proposed code changes based on testimony, aiming to introduce legislation before the July council recess.
- Council will explore technical solutions for platform tax remittance and data sharing with the auditor’s office.
- A future annual report on STR licenses, renewals, and violations is planned.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to this follow-up public safety and criminal justice committee hearing on short-term rentals in the city of Columbus. Today is an opportunity to revisit what we heard at our first hearing. Hear updated recommendations from city staff, and continue gathering public feedback on what changes to city code and city policy may be appropriate moving forward. So we're looking forward to hearing further from the Department of Building and Zoning Services. We certainly value our partnership, and it's been uh you know, long time coming working through these things, but certainly uh we appreciate all the work that you put into this. Um, Director Scott Messer, of course, and all the team over there for you know thought working thoughtfully since our first hearing to identify the best path forward. We appreciate that partnership and the time that you put in to this work. A reminder that this hearing is live on YouTube and Facebook, and it's also being recorded for rebroadcast on CTV, Columbus's government television. Um, if you do wish to speak, um please make sure that you see one of my staff, Miss Nancy Soley or um Pedro Mejia and provide a speak a speaker slip. I want to first level set before we begin. This hearing is an ex is exploratory and inform informative in nature. No legislation is before us today for a vote. Our purpose is to take a fresh look at our short-term rental framework and determine what should be updated, clarified, or modernized in response to changes in the market, and what we have heard from residents and city staff. The city first adopted short-term legislation in 2018 and updated again in 2021. It is appropriate for council to revisit this code every few years, so our policies remain responsive to how the short-term mark rental market is evolving. That is what today is a refresh, an honest look at what may need to change. And so we have heard clearly from residents that in the worst cases, in the worst cases, short-term rentals can affect daily life in serious ways. Unauthorized parties, noise, trash, violence, parking issues, and impacts on neighborhood character. Those concerns matter, and this council takes those things very seriously. At the same time, it's also important to say clearly that most short-term rentals operate within the rules and are being run by owners who are good stewards of their properties and their neighborhoods. Our goal should not be to place unnecessary burdens on responsible operators. Our goal should be to create a system that is modern and enforceable, efficient, and fair. One that supports compliance, but gives the city better tools to address bad actors and problematic properties. Today will help us move forward towards that balance. We will continue the excuse me. We will hear the recap, hear proposed changes, hear from residents, and continue working toward potential legislation before council recess in July. If I would like to see if my colleagues have anything they'd like to add before we get started. All right. Well, let's without further ado, I would like to turn the floor over to our first presenter, Dr. Tanisha Pruitt, legislative analyst who provide an overview of our previous short-term rental hearing. Dr. Pruitt, the floor is yours. Thank you, uh, Chair Reimi and Vice Chair Ross and Councilmember Weich for the opportunity to come and set up our conversation here today around short-term rentals. Um just as a recap of where we currently are. This is not working. Next slide. Okay. We uh held a hearing, the first hearing around this conversation uh last year, and during that uh conversation, what sort of came from that was that uh deputy chief weir shared the need to include a trespass authorization as part of the permitting process. So that would allow officers to enter the property as well as remove um anyone on the property who was causing some sort of violation or disturbance. Um he said that if the trespass authorization was in place with the permitting process, this would not have have to be an issue. Um, and officers could immediately respond to calls for service and not have to find the owner um before they can uh enter the property. So it just allows for a little bit more of a streamline process to um for officers to respond to any situations that may arise. For the current permitting process, um we initially passed short-term rental legislation back in 2018. Um that then had a modification in 2019, where they sort of added uh provisions around background checks for host and a regulatory sort of tax framework. Um, and then there was a last modification in 2021, and that was to sort of strengthen enforcement around short-term rentals. Um, and then here we are, you know, coming today. We realize and recognize that there is still a need and work to be done around enforcement around short-term rentals with some of the growing issues that we're seeing. And so what we know is that there are 1,535 permits that are currently being issued, but the majority of them are uh for non-primary residents. Another thing that we discussed during that hearing was the uh potential for a neighbor notification requirement. Um this will require neighbor notification, you know, in neighborhoods for neighbors that are a certain distance from the short-term rental.
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