Scottsdale adopts short-term rental proposals to strengthen local authority

PHOENIX — Scottsdale has adopted a trio of short-term rental proposals aimed at upping local authority and protecting neighborhoods.

The proposals cap the number of short-term rentals, limit density in certain areas and establish separation requirements between rentals.

The propositions are now part of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns 2024 Legislative Agenda and will be heard some time during the Arizona Legislature’s next session.

“Mayors throughout Arizona recite horror stories about negative impacts of STRs,” Mayor David Ortega said in a press release.

“The undercutting of housing, shattered neighborhoods, blockage of pathways and undermining permanent resident population, which erode federal and state revenue sharing, are undeniable.”

The Arizona Legislature would now have to amend state law to allow local governments, such as Scottsdale, enforce the proposals.

The Legislature in 2017 wiped away many municipal ordinances, including in Scottsdale, that banned property rentals of fewer than 30 days.

Some smaller Arizona communities have said that short-term properties now comprise nearly 15% of their total housing stock, according to the release.

Scottsdale said it wants use to the extra tools to return quality of life to its communities.

Several Valley cities have changed rules for short-term rental owners in the past year.

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