(a) No person shall operate or advertise a short-term rental in any district lots unless the following conditions are met:
(1) Definitions.
A. "Hosting Platform" means a person or entity that facilitates the booking of a short-term rental unit. "Facilitate" includes, but is not limited to, the act of allowing an operator to list or advertise, typically for a charge or fee, the short-term rental unit on an internet website, in a print publication, or through another forum provided or maintained by the hosting platform.
B. "Operator" means the person offering a short-term rental unit, whether as the owner, lessee, or otherwise.
C. "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association or cooperative, or any other legal entity.
D. "Short-Term Rental Unit" means a dwelling unit, a portion of a dwelling unit, or any other structure that is intended for occupancy for dwelling, lodging or sleeping and which is offered for consideration for any period of up to thirty (30) consecutive calendar days and which is advertised on a hosting platform. Short-term rental units shall not include dwelling units facilities licensed by the state as health care facilities, hotels, inns, motels, bed and breakfasts properly approved by the City of Oregon or campgrounds; or dwelling units rented according to a written month-to-month lease.
E. "Short-Term Rental Accessory" means an accessory to a dwelling unit or any other structure that is intended for occupancy for lodging, sleeping, recreation, or assembly and which is offered for consideration for any period of up to thirty (30) consecutive calendar days and which is advertised on a hosting platform. Short-term rental swimming pools are not considered a "Private Residential Swimming Pool" as defined by the ORC Section 3749.01 and must meet the requirements of the Lucas Co. Health Department.
(2) Permit required. No person shall operate or advertise any short- term rental unit within the City of Oregon without first having procured an operating permit pursuant to this chapter.
(3) Application for short-term rental unit operating permit.
A. Short-term rental unit operators shall submit an application to the Building and Zoning Department and register with the Department of Taxation to operate any short-term rental unit. The application form shall be provided by the Building and Zoning Department. Applicants must show proof of residency within the City of Oregon.
B. Applications for short-term rental unit permits shall contain the following:
1. Operator information. The full legal name, mailing address, email address and telephone number of the operator.
2. Proof of Residency. The owner of the short-term rental property must live in the City of Oregon and provide proof of residency.
3. Compliance Certificate. Certificate of tax and public utility compliance or evidence of compliance with a payment plan;
4. Registry Compliance. Evidence of compliance with any applicable rental registry requirements;
5. Affidavit. Affidavit of Life Safety Compliance verifying the number, locations and operation of the life safety equipment required in Section 1155.10(d)(4) herein.
6. Insurance. Proof of general liability insurance in the amount of at least one million dollars ($1,000,000).
7. Local contact person. An individual who shall be available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week to respond as necessary, within forty-five (45) minutes of notification of a complaint regarding the condition, operation or conduct of occupants of the short-term rental unit and taking remedial action as necessary to resolve an such complaints.
8. Floor Plan and Site Plan. A basic floor plan identifying the number of sleeping rooms for maximum occupancy and a site plan identifying the number and location of designated off-street parking spaces for the maximum number of vehicles allowed for overnight occupants. Parking is not permitted on unapproved parking surfaces or lawns.
9. Spacing Requirements. No short-term rental unit shall be established on a lot or lots within three-hundred (300) linear feet of street frontage of any other short-term rental unit. No two (2) short-term rental units shall be located in the same building or on the same lot.
C. Operators of one or more short-term rental units located within the City of Oregon shall comply with all requirements of this Oregon Municipal Code Section 1155.09 administered through the Department of Building and Zoning by January 1, 2025. Any short-term rental that can demonstrate that they were operating prior to the passage of this ordinance shall be exempt from the spacing requirement in subsection (3)B.9. of this Chapter.
(4) Permit Required. The operator of a short-term rental unit must obtain a permit for each unit. A permit must be on display in each short-term rental unit.
A. Permits issued under this section shall be valid for one year from the date of issue and may be renewed annually.
B. All applications shall be accompanied by an application fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).
(5) Required notification. Within forty-eight (48) hours of submitting the application for a short-term rental unit operating permit to the Building and Zoning Department, the operator shall send a neighborhood notice by first-class mail or hand delivery to all property owners whose property is adjacent to the property at which the short-term rental unit is proposed. The operators shall provide the Building and Zoning Department with the names and addresses to which notices were sent. For the purposes of this section, adjacent properties are those that abut the proposed short-term rental unit, those directly across the street or alley from the proposed short-term rental unit, and those that are diagonal across the street or alley from the proposed short-term rental unit.
(6) Denial of Permit Or Renewal of Permit. The Commissioner of Building and Zoning shall deny any application for a new registration, or deny renewal of registration, or revocation of an Operating Permit if any of the following are shown to have occurred at the short-term rental property:
A. The applicant makes a material misrepresentation of fact on the application.
B. The short-term rental Operator is not in good standing with the City of Oregon Income Tax Division;
C. The short-term rental has a documented history of repeated conduct that endangers neighborhood safety or of conditions interfering with the use and enjoyment of property within its vicinity; or of conduct in violation of Section 1155.09(a)(8).
D. Evidence of conduct under subsections (a) and (b) of this section need only be that of de facto violation of law; evidence of conviction is not a prerequisite for denial unless specifically indicated.
(7) Appeal. In the event the applicant has been denied a short-term rental unit permit and/or renewal of a permit by the Commissioner of Building and Zoning, they shall have the right to appeal to the City Administrator from such denial, revocation within ten (10) business days. Notice of appeal shall be filed with the City Administrator's office on a form created by the City Administrator for such purpose, and the City Administrator shall set the date and time of the appeal hearing. The burden of proof in such an appeal shall be upon the appellant to show that the denial or revocation was arbitrary or unreasonable. Any such decision by the City Administrator shall be final.
(8) Transfer. No permit under this chapter shall be transferable to another short-rental operation.
(9) Operating requirements.
A. Advertisement. It shall be unlawful to advertise any short-term rental unit without the operating permit number clearly displayed on the advertisement. This includes any means, electronic or non-electronic, intended to promote the availability of the short-term rental unit.
B. Maximum occupancy. The number of overnight occupants permitted in a short-term rental unit shall not exceed two occupants per sleeping room. This maximum occupancy shall be identified in the operating permit.
C. Parking. The number of overnight vehicles permitted on the property shall be identified in the operating permit.
D. Life safety equipment. Each short-term rental unit shall have the following fully functional life safety equipment on the premises and installed to manufacturer specifications:
1. Smoke Alarms. Smoke alarms shall meet the requirements of the Residential Code of Ohio Section 314.
2. Carbon Monoxide Detector. Carbon Monoxide Detector, shall be in the immediate vicinity of all sleeping rooms meeting the requirements of the Residential Code of Ohio Section 315.
3. Fire Extinguisher. A fire extinguisher shall be located inside the premises as directed by the Oregon Fire Department.
E. Records. The operator shall require a verification of the identity of the person responsible for booking the short-term rental unit and keep a record on file for three (3) years.
(10) Inspection. Upon display of the proper credentials, sworn officers excluded, any employee of the division of police, division of fire, department of building and zoning, or Lucas County Public Health may be permitted to inspect the hotel/motel premises, short-term rental, or applicant's dwelling to ensure compliance with this Chapter.
(11) Operation without a permit. Any short-term rental unit operating or advertising for operation without a valid operating permit shall be deemed to be a public safety hazard.
(b) Penalty. Whoever violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00). Upon subsequent convictions, the penalty shall be an unclassified misdemeanor, but the guilty party shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), in addition to any other penalties as imposed by this chapter. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder.
(Ord. 084-2024. Passed 5-13-24.)