The Shawnee City Council revoked a property owner’s short-term rental license for multiple violations of the city’s recently-adopted regulations.
On Monday, the city council voted 7-0 to revoke the license for OJM III LLC., an investment group that owns a house operating as an Airbnb in the 5100 block of Ballentine Street. Councilmember Mike Kemmling was absent.
On Nov. 5, the property owner pleaded guilty in Shawnee Municipal Court to violating the city’s rules for short-term rentals pertaining to capacity, noise levels, parking restrictions and public peace and morals.
The owner was fined $2,000, said City Attorney Jenny Smith. The owner paid $1,023.50 of that immediately, and the remaining $1,000 was suspended, given that they abide by the city code.
It’s unclear if the owner must pay the remaining amount, given that the city has revoked its short-term rental license.
The license revocation is the first for the city council since it established restrictions for short-term rental properties in February.
The property has been violating regulations
At previous city council meetings, residents have complained about the property, prompting the city to investigate.
Using footage taken from neighbors, city staff discovered the property owners were in violation of four of the city’s municipal code regulations.
Frances King, a neighbor who lives close to the property, said that despite the new regulations being approved by the city council, the property was consistently in violation of them, including guests shouting profanity at neighbors, stealing anti-short-term rental property signs, and drunken behavior.
“They have violated the regulations continuously, besides the ones they’ve been cited for. They have no concern for our neighborhood or city,” she said.
Property owners stated their case
Representing OJM III LLC, Robert Caldwell stated their case.
The property was purchased by OJM III LLC in 2022 when it was a “drug house,” Caldwell said. After they purchased it, they cleaned it up and opened it as a short-term rental property, prior to the city adopting regulations.
“Once it was acquired, substantial money was put into this property to enhance the value of the property and enhance the neighborhood,” Caldwell said.
The problems and complaints were the result of a previous property manager who ignored issues and complaints from neighbors. All violations for which the property owner pleaded guilty took place in April and May, according to city documents.
“I will admit the property was not (under) our management when we first took over. We learned quickly that after the violations, we needed to take it in-house,” said Mia Thomas, property manager for the house. “After we did take it in-house in mid-June, we have not had one violation.”
“We do not let people book automatically. We ask questions: ‘What are you here for? Do you understand our rules (and) regulations?’ We let them know that we monitor the property with cameras,” she added.
Residents asked for license to be revoked
During the public comment section, several residents complained about the property and how it’s against the character of the neighborhood.
“This business is not a family-friendly business for the families that live in McAnany Estate,” King said. “It’s revenue (for) one company and a party house for many out-of-town visitors with no vested interest in our neighborhood.”
Larry Diehl, a resident on the street, expressed skepticism that the property owners care about the neighborhood and supported the license being revoked to prevent more problems.
“I suggest that you really look strongly at this because they can change managers any day, any time they want to, and the owners just pick up and they really don’t have any interest, and it’s obvious it’s going to start again in our neighborhood,” he said.
While not a resident of the neighborhood, Ray Erlichman of Shawnee encouraged the city council to revoke the license as a show of their commitment to his fellow residents.
“When you folks voted these new laws into the municipal code, you did it for a reason, and when somebody violates that code, I think they need to be totally held accountable,” he said.
Councilmembers agreed that it should be punished
While some city councilmembers praised the property owners for fixing up the house, they all suggested that they needed to be punished for violating the regulations.
“I think that’s great that they addressed (problems with the property) and they got a property management company that was actually addressing some of these issues,” Councilmember Angela Stiens said. “But it took them, what, four months to do that after we put these rules down. So it’s kind of like they were thumbing (their) nose and honestly, I don’t think they were fined enough.”
Although her neighborhood has an Airbnb with no issues, Councilmember Jeanie Murphy said it’s clear that’s not the case with this property.
“If you can have that kind of neighbor where the neighbors aren’t complaining, that’s one thing,” she said. “But that’s not what’s happening here. So I believe that this one needs to be shut down.”
Revoking the short-term rental property owner’s license sends a message that violating the rules will not be tolerated, Councilmember Jacklynn Walters said.
“Absolutely, we need to hold them accountable for them not upholding their end of the deal,” she said. “That is why the ordinance was put into place. And if we slack on one, we will slack on more, and that is not what we want for the residents of Shawnee.”
Councilmember Tony Gillette, who has consistently opposed short-term rental properties in Shawnee since the city council started discussions on regulating them, said the situation with this property reaffirms his belief that short-term rental properties don’t belong in the city.
“I will again speak on behalf of a full ban of short-term rentals in the city of Shawnee,” he said. “I believe that that’s going to be a very big part, and should be a very big part, of our discussion going into 2025 … It’s quite evident that these are now hotels sitting in single-family residential neighborhoods.”
What’s next
The license will be revoked on Jan. 1, 2025. It will be in effect for two years. After that, if OJM III LLC still owns the property, it can reapply for a license for it.
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