Zero STR bills become law4 min read

Lobbyist Paul Senseman, of Policy Development Group, gives an update on the efforts to gain local control over short-term rentals during the Sedona city council meeting on Tuesday, May 10. David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers

Since the state-protected short-term rental rights with Senate Bill 1350 in 2016, Arizona municipalities have been searching for an answer to the complicated STR issue that has taken over the cities and towns that tourists love so much all around Arizona.

Progress of STR bills

At their latest meeting, the city’s short-term rental lobbyist, Paul Senseman of the Phoenix-based Policy Development Group, updated the Sedona City Council on House Bill 2711 and Senate Bill 1168 down at the capital that has not moved forward to the floor yet.

“It’s still far from advancing into the statutory framework but it certainly advanced the conversation and advanced the discussion for negotiations with various stakeholders,” Senseman said.

According to Senseman, some of the largest vacation rental compa­nies, like VRBO and Airbnb, were involved in many conversations about the proposed regulations and bills. Although the companies opened up to discussing potential short-term rental caps as part of House Bill 2711, it was quickly shut down.

“As we engaged with each of these stakeholder groups, I have to say that we met with some resis­tance and reluctance, but primarily around the guardrails on regula­tory structure and licensure for the short-term rentals,” Senseman said. “However, we actually made significant progress in those nego­tiations with those industry stake­holders, but I’d say they came very close.”

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Following the conversations about capping short-term rental numbers in a city or town, the Arizona Association of Realtors stepped in to clearly announce they would not accept any cap on short-term rental properties of any kind or design. They would even go as far as being put in their 2022 Voter Guide and take legal action if the cap was pursued.

Now, with House Bill 2711’s short-term rental cap being put down, lobbyists for Arizona municipalities are continuing with bills that will implement manda­tory licenses and allow for harsher consequences for violations, Senate Bill 1168.

“We’re getting kind of deep in the weeds and the operations of this, but understanding the stakeholders want to maintain some understanding, foresight and clarity about how they would operate successfully in an envi­ronment,” Senseman said. “Your representatives have been working diligently to try to represent for us what we find to be acceptable, and that would be helpful to your current constructs in regulation and oversight.”

Ultimately, Senseman gave no definite answer on what regulations would be supported long-term at the capital, as the lobbyist continue to set up more conversations about potential bills after six months of getting a paycheck from Sedona City Council.

HOAs Might Lose STR Regulation, Too

And now it’s not just municipali­ties that may have their hands tied for short-term rental regulation. Many residents around the state are interpreting the recent Arizona Supreme Court case, Maarten Kalway v. Calabria Ranch HOA LLC, as discounting all STR regula­tions made by homeowners associ­ations without a homeowners’ vote in their Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, better known as CC&Rs.

“The case did not specifically deal with STRs, but many people interpret the holding to mean that an HOA without an STR prohibition could not amend the CC&Rs to ban STRs without unanimous home­owner support for the amendment,” City Attorney Kurt Christianson said. “That actual result will depend on the specific language in each CC&R.”

HOAs all over the state voiced their concerns about what this means for the little bit of control that the community members feel that they have to limit STRs. Sedona has many HOAs that have implemented STR regulations, as well as residents who do not have regulations in their HOA that may want to in the future.

“I think it’s worth noting for all of you because I know you’ve had HOAs that have taken steps and measures, and now they have their own concerns about the proliferation of short term rentals in their neigh­borhoods as a result of the potential that their CC&R amendments would not be applicable as a result of the Supreme Court decision,” Senseman said. “It obviously brings a whole other additional group of stakeholders and citizens to share the concerns of those who are not residents of the HOA and who do not have those protections already. And I think that could have the impact of building even additional support for us prospectively.”

The Arizona Supreme Court’s decision has yet to directly affect STR regulations made by HOAs, and will only be brought into the conversation if an issue arises for an STR within an HOA neighborhood.

Juliana Walter

Juliana Walter was born and raised on the East Coast, originating from Maryland and earning her degree in Florida. After graduating from the University of Tampa, she traveled all over the West for months before settling in Sedona. She has previously covered politics, student life, sports and arts for Tampa Magazine and The Minaret. When she’s not working, you can find Juliana hiking and camping all over the Southwest. If you hear something interesting around the city, she might also find it interesting and can be contacted at jwalter@larsonnewspapers.com.

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Juliana Walter was born and raised on the East Coast, originating from Maryland and earning her degree in Florida. After graduating from the University of Tampa, she traveled all over the West for months before settling in Sedona. She has previously covered politics, student life, sports and arts for Tampa Magazine and The Minaret. When she’s not working, you can find Juliana hiking and camping all over the Southwest. If you hear something interesting around the city, she might also find it interesting and can be contacted at jwalter@larsonnewspapers.com.