Scottsdale City Council to consider stricter noise, disturbance provisions

PHOENIX — The Scottsdale City Council will discuss three new ordinances on Monday being presented to mitigate disturbances caused by noisy gatherings.

The proposals would seek to “hold people accountable for noisy neighborhood gatherings which often occur at short-term rentals,” according to a release. The city council heard feedback from over 2,200 Scottsdale residents since the drafting of the ordinances.

While most of the issue stems from short-term rentals, according to the release, the proposed city ordinances — if adopted — would apply to all residential properties.

“Scottsdale neighborhoods have consistently expressed frustration with short-term rental properties that market themselves as party pads and host loud, late-night gatherings,” Mayor David D. Ortega said. “No question, short-term rentals are both a nuisance and a hazard. We believe these ordinance changes will strengthen our ability to hold party promoters accountable.”

What are the proposed ordinance changes on the table for Scottsdale City Council?

• “Promoters who use residential properties for nuisance parties will be defined and designated as a responsible party under city code”
• “Scottsdale police will be provided the authority to remove non-residents from a party after a nuisance party is declared”
• “Minors will be specifically prohibited from renting a short-term rental property”

Supporters of the ordinance changes believe they could increase the efficiency by which authorities can hold noisemakers accountable and better prevent from future issues.

According to the release, nuisance party calls increased 73% from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024, and 48% of the calls were made to short-term rentals, furthering a belief that short-term rentals were disproportionately responsible for the problem.

Can the Scottsdale City Council ban short-term rentals altogether?

The Scottsdale government cannot pass any ordinance stricter than Arizona state law, because of a law passed by state legislature in 2017.

“During the current legislative session, Scottsdale led a coalition of 90-plus Arizona municipalities which presented reasonable regulatory reforms to the Arizona legislature, but the legislature did nothing (to help this issue),” Ortega said.

“The Scottsdale City Council will continue to implement every possible tool allowable under state law,” he continued. “We established a local licensing program, created a short-term rental unit in the Scottsdale Police Department and we have vigilant code inspectors to report problem properties.”

The city encourages residents to check out this pamphlet if they’re experiencing problems in their own area.

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