A. Purpose: The purpose of short-term rentals in Ogden City is to provide a short term rental option in residential zones for visitors who have a primary residence at another location. Special regulation of short-term rentals is necessary to ensure that they will be compatible with surrounding residential and other uses and will not be detrimental to, or alter, the neighborhoods in which they are located.
B. Definitions: As used in this section, the following words shall have the meanings as defined in this subsection:
AGENT: | A person or entity who contracts with an owner to manage or otherwise assist in the leasing or occupancy of real property as a short-term rental, except that it does not include a person or entity who solely provides software or internet services to list or market the owner's property to potential renters. |
GUEST: | A person registered for short term (less than thirty (30) days) overnight occupancy of a short-term rental. |
OWNER: | A person or entity who claims an ownership interest in real property, including any part owner, joint owner or tenant in common of the whole or of a part of such land. |
OWNER- OCCUPIED SHORT-TERM RENTAL: | A dwelling that is a person's primary residence as shown on valid documentation presented to obtain a short-term rental license and for which title is in the person's name or in the name of a living trust of which the person is both the trustor and the beneficiary. |
SLEEPING ROOM: | A room within a short-term rental with at least seventy (70) square feet where guests may sleep and that has required egress windows. "Sleeping room" may include an area typically known as a living room or great room, but excludes kitchens, bathrooms, and closets. |
C. Location:
1. Where permitted: Short-term rentals are permitted where designated by the applicable zoning district. In R-1 zones, short-term rentals are limited to owner-occupied short-term rentals.
2. Spacing of Non-owner-occupied Short-term Rentals: A non-owner-occupied short-term rental may not be located on the same linear block as another non-owner-occupied short-term rental, residential facility for persons with a disability or residential facility for elderly persons. A non-owner-occupied short-term rental license may be renewed if a residential facility for persons with a disability or residential facility for elderly persons is established on the same linear block after the original short-term rental license was issued. Exceptions include:
a. Non-owner-occupied short-term rentals in the C-ENT and H25 zones;
b. A locally registered historic building that is located along the Ogden Express (OGX) route, was converted to condominiums prior to January 1, 2023, and contains fewer than nine units, shall be allowed to have two non-owner-occupied short term rental units in the same building
3. Use of Accessory Dwelling Units. The short-term rental may not be housed within an accessory dwelling unit or the primary single-family dwelling associated with an accessory dwelling unit unless one or the other is owner occupied.
D. License Required: It is unlawful for an owner or the owner's agent to rent a dwelling as a short-term rental unless the owner or agent has a valid current Ogden City short-term rental license. A short-term rental license shall serve as a rooming house business license under Title 5.
E. Qualification as Non-Owner-Occupied Short-Term Rental in a Residential Zone: In order to qualify as a non-owner-occupied short-term rental in a residential zone, the applicant must have owned the dwelling unit for three (3) years continuously prior to commencing operation.
F. Submittal requirements: An applicant for a short-term rental license shall submit the following:
1. Floor plans with labels on rooms indicating uses or proposed uses;
2. A drawing, photo, or other description as to how required legal off-street parking will be provided and the number of legal off- street parking spaces available;
3. A statement of how transient room tax will be collected and remitted and a copy of a state issued sales tax license or evidence that a third party will collect and remit the tax;
4. A statement affirming whether or not the short-term rental will be owner-occupied.
a. If the applicant is applying as an owner-occupant, evidence that the property is the owner/applicant's primary residence, including evidence that the property is taxed as their primary personal residence and three (3) of the following forms of evidence that match the address of the residence:
(1) The address shown on the person's driver's license, vehicle registration, or state issued identification card;
(2) The address shown on the person's voter registration; or
(3) The address shown on the person's state or Federal income tax return.
(4) One other document or piece of mail from a business showing the applicant's place of residence, such as a utility bill, bank statement, or pay stub; and
b. If the applicant is applying as a non-owner-occupant in a residential zone, evidence that the applicant has owned the property continuously for three (3) years prior to the date of commencing operation. Acceptable forms of evidence include property deeds or Weber County tax assessor information.
5. The name and contact information of the person described in Subsection J.9.
6. The applicable fee.
G. Action on Application: After review by the Building Services Division, the planning manager shall approve or deny an application for a short-term rental based on compliance with these regulations and payment of the fee established in section 4-6-1.
H. Time Period; Renewal; Change of Ownership: The initial short-term rental license is valid for a period of one year from issuance. Thereafter, the applicant may renew the short-term rental license annually. A change of property ownership invalidates the short-term rental license unless the new property owner obtains a new license within ninety (90) days of change in ownership and prior to operating the short-term rental. If applying as an owner-occupied short-term rental, the new owner shall provide the same evidence of owner occupancy as required for a new license. A short-term rental renewal application shall include:
1. If the rental is owner-occupied, current evidence that the property is the applicant's primary residence using the same forms required for a new license.
2. Evidence of mailing contact information to surrounding property owners as required by Subsection J.9.
I. Compliance With Building Codes: A short-term rental shall be inspected by the Building Services Division upon initial application, upon any housing complaint filed with the City, and every two (2) years for non-owner occupied dwellings, to verify that the structure:
1. Complies with the information contained in the application and with the requirements of this section;
2. Complies with all applicable local and state building, health, fire, safety, and maintenance codes;
3. Has windows in sleeping rooms that:
a. Comply with the current Building Code for egress window size and location in all basement sleeping rooms regardless of when the structure was built;
b. For buildings constructed prior to January 1, 1972, have a minimum operable width of twenty inches (20"), a minimum height of twenty four inches (24"), and a minimum glazing area of five (5) square feet, which can include meeting rails or muntins, in above grade sleeping rooms; and
c. For buildings constructed after January 1, 1972, comply with the Building Code in effect at the time the building was constructed in above grade sleeping rooms;
4. Has a functioning interconnected fire alarm system; and
5. Has a fire extinguisher with a current tag or new within a year with proof of purchase and a minimum rating of 2-A:10BC that is hung in a visible and accessible location with the top of the extinguisher no more than sixty inches (60") above the floor.
J. Standards: All short-term rentals must conform to the following standards:
1. Occupancy Limits: A short-term rental may be occupied by no more than two (2) people per sleeping room, as established by the inspection described in Subsection I, including any long-term occupants of an owner-occupied rental present during the rental term.
a. The total number of permitted occupants does not exceed one (1) person for every two hundred (200) square feet of net living space, with the number of occupants rounded down to the nearest whole number; and
b. Any basement sleeping room designated or arranged for occupancy by more than two (2) people has a Code compliant door that exits directly to the exterior of the residential vacation rental.
2. Visitors Prohibited: Only those persons registered as guests of the short-term rental and any long-term occupants of an owner-occupied rental may be on site during the pendency of the short-term rental contract. Visitors are prohibited on the premises of the short-term rental during the rental term. The short-term rental may not be used for events with outside visitors.
3. Single Contract: The short-term rental may not be the subject of multiple rental contracts for the same night or nights.
4. Off-Street Parking:
a. Each short-term rental shall provide at least the number of on-site parking spaces shown in the table below.
Number of sleeping rooms | Number of required parking spaces |
1-4 sleeping rooms | 2 spaces |
5-6 sleeping rooms | 3 spaces |
7-8 sleeping rooms | 4 spaces |
9 or more | ½ additional parking space per sleeping room over 8, rounded up |
Any number in C-ENT and H25 zones | Meet the parking standards for dwelling units or have nonconforming parking rights |
A locally registered historic building that is located along the Ogden Express (OGX) route, that is used as a non-owner-occupied short-term rental unit, and was condominiumized prior to January 1, 2023, and contains fewer than nine dwelling units | 1 space per dwelling |
b. Parking spaces shall meet the minimum dimensions shown in Chapter 12.
c. A short-term rental may not utilize a driveway shared with another parcel to provide access to parking unless the driveway was approved to serve a common development, such as in a planned unit development.
d. No additional off-street parking in the front or side yard of the short-term rental shall be created to accommodate the short-term rental, such as a side yard parking slab or widened driveway, but tandem parking (one vehicle behind another) in the driveway is allowed, provided the tandem parking does not extend over the property line or interfere with any public sidewalk.
e. Garage spaces may be counted toward meeting the required number of parking spaces provided they are accessible to guests during the term of the rental or the owner is present during the rental term.
5. On-Street Parking: On-street parking may not be used to satisfy the parking requirements for a short-term rental. For short-term rentals in residential zones, guests may not park on the street within two blocks of the short-term rental. The owner is subject to the penalties described in this title for each violation.
6. Garbage: Where a residential vacation rental receives garbage service from Ogden City, the owner shall provide the minimum one (1) Ogden City garbage cart and one (1) recycling cart.
a. Carts shall be placed at the side or rear of the dwelling and shall not be in public view except on collection days.
b. Information about allowed recycling materials and garbage collection dates shall be provided to the occupants of the short-term rental.
c. The owner is responsible to ensure that garbage or other material does not overflow the carts or accumulate outside of the carts.
7. Animals: If allowed by the owner, the number of household pets is limited to the number allowed for a single-family dwelling. Pets must be boarded inside the residence and may not be allowed outside unless accompanied by an adult.
8. Signage: Signage is limited to the same standards applicable to a home occupation, as contained in Section 18-5-1, "Appendix A; Signs".
9. Management: An agent shall be available during the rental period who is capable of personally responding to the short-term rental location within 30 minutes.
a. The agent's name and phone number shall be posted in a prominent place inside of the dwelling together with a copy of the short-term rental license.
b. In residential zones, the applicant shall mail the agent's contact information to surrounding property owners within three hundred feet (300') of the property line of the short-term rental prior to receiving the short-term license and prior to each annual renewal. Upon each mailing, the applicant shall provide the Building Services Division an affidavit of noticing the mailing list and map of properties that were sent information.
10. Guest Log Required: The applicant shall maintain a log of the number of guests registered each rental term and the license plate numbers of the guest's vehicles brought to the site. The applicant shall make the log available to the city upon request.
11. Good Neighbor Brochure: All short-term rental applicants shall make readily available the "Ogden City Good Neighbor" brochure within the rental and a website link showing where to find the brochure online. The "Ogden City Good Neighbor" brochure includes a summary of local regulations regarding parking, noise, occupancy, and defining a "good neighbor."
K. Advertisements: An owner of property or the owner's agent who advertises or rents a short-term rental shall include the following information in every advertisement and in each rental contract:
1. The person's Ogden City short-term rental license number;
2. The number of sleeping rooms available for rental as allowed in the license;
3. The ceiling height of any basement sleeping room if the ceiling is between six feet eight inches (6'8") and seven feet (7');
4. The maximum number of people allowed to occupy the short-term rental as contained in the license;
5. Whether pets are allowed and the conditions associated with pets;
6. The number of legal off-street parking spaces recognized by the license as allowed for use by the short-term rental;
7. In residential zones, notice that guests are prohibited from parking on the public streets within two (2) blocks of the short-term rental; and
8. Notice that events are not allowed within the short-term rental.
L. Unlawful Advertising: It is unlawful for an owner of property or the owner's agent to advertise, represent orally or in writing, or sign a rental contract for a short-term rental that:
1. Authorizes more people to occupy the short-term rental than is allowed in the license;
2. Allows the use of any portion of property outside of the short-term rental for sleeping purposes by pitching tents or otherwise;
3. Authorizes or provides for more parking spaces, including on-street parking, than are authorized in the license.
4. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a person may not be fined, charged, prosecuted, denied a business license or otherwise punished solely for the act of listing or offering a short-term rental on a short-term rental website.
M. Noncompliance With Standards: Noncompliance with the standards of this section; allowing the property associated with the short-term rental license to become a nuisance, such as through violations of the city noise ordinance or property maintenance standards; failure to maintain the original conditions that allowed the short-term rental license to be issued; and entering into sham transactions shall each constitute just cause for the denial of an application or renewal, or revocation of a short-term rental license.
1. Revocation shall be based upon the findings of fact at an administrative hearing before a Hearing Officer, pursuant to Title 5, Chapter 1, Article C,, as such provisions may be applicable.
2. If the license is revoked, the rental of the dwelling as a short-term rental shall terminate within thirty (30) days of the final determination.
3. A dwelling whose short-term rental permit has been revoked is not eligible for use as a short-term rental for a period of three (3) years from the date of revocation.
4. For purposes of this section, a sham transaction means any transaction which is meant to, or could result in, a violation or avoidance of other applicable zoning ordinances, including transactions:
a. Where a short-term rental in a residential zone is occupied by a person or group of people for more than thirty (30) consecutive nights, regardless of the term of any rental contract or contracts; or
b. Where a short-term rental is occupied by a person or group of people, regardless of the number of nights of occupancy, who do not have a primary residence at another location.
5. A short-term rental license may not be revoked for a single violation involving guests parking on the street or visitors on the property.
(Ord. 2017-24, 5-23-2017; amd. Ord. 2023-46, 7-18-2023; Ord. 2024-12, 5-7-2024)