Another northeast Johnson County city is looking to tighten up its short-term rental regulations.

The Merriam City Council on Monday mostly expressed interest in stricter regulations for short-term rentals — such as AirBnbs or Vrbos — within the city. This comes about a month after the city of Fairway approved stricter regulations for short-term rentals.

Currently, Merriam treats short-term rentals the same as regular rental units, subjecting short-term rentals to landlord licensing and rental inspection requirements.

After city staff worked on updates to its short-term rental policy, most of the city council expressed interest in requiring short-term rentals to obtain permits, impose a 1,000-foot buffer and subject such rentals to “neighborly” requirements.

Now, city staff is working on drafting an ordinance outlining the newly requested short-term rental regulations to bring forward to the city council.

What short-term rental regulations were presented?

City staff presented the following potential new requirements for short-term rentals:

• A $300 permit fee, which requires annual renewals.
• Either a 500-foot or 1,000-foot buffer, restricting between 729 and 1,667 residential parcels, respectively.
• “Neighborly” requirements, such as notifying property owners within 100 feet of the short-term rental and posting “rules of conduct” somewhere on the property.
• Three different effective dates for these new regulations to apply: July 1, 2024; Oct. 1, 2024; or Jan. 1, 2025.

The city council wants to have more restrictions

The city council agreed to subject short-term rental properties to a $300 permit with annual renewals and a notification sent to property owners within 200 feet (not 100 feet as presented by staff).

Rules of conduct for short-term rentals, including alerting guests of the city’s “excessive noise” prohibition, are also to be posted somewhere on the property.

Generally, the city council agreed to a 1,000-foot buffer between short-term rentals — meaning no new short-term rentals would be allowed within 1,000 feet of an existing one.

Residents who spoke during public comment said they wanted the city council to impose the 1,000-foot buffer rather than a smaller buffer.

Councilmembers briefly debated whether to impose an effective date for such regulations of Oct. 1, 2024, or Jan. 1, 2025.

Bryan Dyer, community development director for the city, cautioned the city council that as the conversation continues, short-term rentals are going to continue to pop up. There were 18 short-term rentals in Merriam as of March 28, and Dyer said as of April 8, the city gained two more.

Most councilmembers were supportive of the Oct. 1, 2024, effective date. This would allow city staff to notify residents of the new regulations in the August issue of Merriam Highlights, a city-issued magazine that is sent to residents.

Councilmember Whitney Yadrich said that with previous choices made by the city council, the governing body was accused of failing to notify the public of choices being made — alluding to the pushback the city got on the downtown Merriam Drive project.

Short-term rentals may cause neighborhood issues, Yadrich said, but regulations may impact passive income for people, as well.

Yadrich said that if the city council chooses an earlier effective date, then “we’re opting for less communication with our citizens.”

City staff moved forward with a majority of the city council’s desire, expressed largely through head nods of approval, for an effective date of Oct. 1, 2024.

Next steps:

• Dyer said that city staff will work on drafting an ordinance that includes all of the directions from the April 8 meeting for the city council to review.
• The soonest such a short-term rental regulations ordinance could come before the city council is at the April 22 meeting.

Keep reading: One northeast JoCo city tightens short-term rental rules. Where do others stand?