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.
Recap and Updated Recommendations – Dr. Tanisha Pruitt (Legislative Analyst) summarized the first hearing:
Proposed Policy and Code Changes – Tony Celebrizi (Deputy Director, Department of Building and Zoning Services) presented:
Councilmember Questions and Discussion – Topics included:
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.