Three Scottsdale proposals that would give local governments additional tools to protect neighborhoods from the negative impacts of short-term/vacation rental properties have been adopted and are now part of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns 2024 Legislative Agenda.
The proposals are designed to return quality of life to Arizona's communities. They ask the Arizona Legislature to amend state law so that local governments can cap the total number of short-term rentals in their community, limit density in specified areas, and establish separation requirements between short-term rentals.
"Mayors throughout Arizona recite horror stories about negative impacts of STRs," said Scottsdale Mayor David D. Ortega. "The undercutting of housing, shattered neighborhoods, blockage of pathways and undermining permanent resident population, which erode federal and state revenue sharing, are undeniable.”
In 2017, the Arizona Legislature pre-empted local authority over short-term rental properties, wiping away many municipal ordinances like the one in Scottsdale that banned property rentals of fewer than 30 days. Some smaller Arizona communities say that short-term/vacation rental properties now comprise nearly 15% of their total housing stock.
Tourist destinations like Scottsdale and Sedona struggle to manage the negative impacts of thousands of these properties, many clustered together in what once were quiet neighborhoods for young professionals, families, and retirees.
The city of Scottsdale and other local governments, now with support from the 91 communities comprising the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, will work during the 2024 session of the Arizona Legislature in hopes of establishing these measures in state law.
Find resources and information about short-term/vacation rental properties in Scottsdale at ScottsdaleAZ.gov, search “short-term rentals.”
