Chapter 20.62
SHORT-TERM RENTALS Revised 3/24
Sections:
20.62.010 Intent. Revised 3/24
20.62.020 Short-term rental permits. Revised 3/24
20.62.030 Short-term rental requirements. Revised 3/24
20.62.040 Application process. Revised 3/24
20.62.050 Application schedule and renewal period. Revised 3/24
20.62.060 Application requirements. Revised 3/24
20.62.070 Home inspections. Revised 3/24
20.62.080 Maximum number of STRs. Revised 3/24
20.62.090 Forfeiture and lapsing of short-term rental permits. Revised 3/24
20.62.100 Off-street parking requirements. Revised 3/24
20.62.110 Good neighbor policy. Revised 3/24
20.62.120 Zoning restrictions. Revised 3/24
20.62.010 Intent. Revised 3/24
A. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish regulations for the operation of short-term rentals as defined in this section.
B. Definition. "Short-term rental" means a commercial use utilizing a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, that is offered or provided to a guest by a short-term rental owner or operator for a fee. They are a form of commercial tourist or transient accommodations. Short-term rental units may be whole house rentals, apartments, condominiums, accessory dwelling units, or individual rooms in homes. They are rented as a single lodging unit, do not provide food service, and retain the form and function of a dwelling unit (Section 17.01.030). For the purpose of administration and enforcement of this title, the terms "overnight rental," "nightly rental," "daily rental," and "vacation rental" are interchangeable with "short-term rentals." Subleasing or subletting of units for short-term rental is prohibited. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))
20.62.020 Short-term rental permits. Revised 3/24
A. Short-Term Rental Permit Requirement. Property owners wishing to list and advertise their properties for short-term rental services shall submit a short-term rental permit application to the City of Quincy. No rental activity may be conducted until the City grants the final permit.
B. A short-term rental permit shall apply only to one dwelling unit. Each approved short-term rental permit shall apply to a single dwelling unit.
C. Enforcement. If a property is found to be conducting short-term rental activity without an approved permit, the City of Quincy shall provide written notice to the property owner that a short-term rental permit application must be submitted, and all rental activity must cease within five days of the written notice until such permit is granted. If the property owner continues to conduct short-term rental activity once five days have passed since the date of the written warning, the City may charge the property owner a fee of one hundred dollars per day until short term rental activity ceases.
D. Type 1 and Type 2 Permits. This section distinguishes between two types of short-term rental permits, Type 1 and Type 2, as defined below:
1. Type 1 permits shall be issued for approved short-term rentals that provide a room(s) or accessory unit for rent while the owner or long-term resident occupies the primary residence.
2. Type 2 permits shall be issued for approved short-term rentals that provide an entire dwelling unit or primary residence where the property owner or long-term resident does not occupy the unit while the rental activity is occurring. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))
20.62.030 Short-term rental requirements. Revised 3/24
A. Short-Term Rental Requirements. All applicants for a short-term rental permit shall meet the following requirements:
1. Comply with all current building and zoning codes.
2. All short-term rental properties must have a designated caretaker residing within a forty-five minute drive of the property. The designated caretaker may be the property owner, a property management company, or another responsible party. The name and contact information of this designated caretaker must be provided to the city prior to approval of the application, along with a notarized signature of the designated caretaker or the designated caretaker’s representative. The City shall provide the designated caretaker’s information and signature form with the application document.
3. The maximum occupancy for all short-term rentals shall be two persons per bedroom plus two. If there are zero bedrooms, the maximum occupancy shall be two persons per one thousand square feet.
4. The unit must provide the following features on site, and all must be easily accessible, and the property owner must make information regarding the location and availability of all features easily available to patrons:
a. Smoke detector(s) compliant with relevant building codes;
b. Fire extinguisher(s) compliant with relevant building codes;
c. Egress window(s) compliant with relevant building codes;
d. Emergency exit(s) compliant with relevant building codes;
e. Access to potable water;
f. Access to functional bathroom facilities;
g. Emergency contact information, including at minimum the designated caretaker.
B. Additional features may be analyzed during inspections as required by Section 20.62.070. The Building Inspector may require the applicant to provide information on the following. The Building Inspector may require provision of these amenities:
1. Availability of functional heating and air conditioning;
2. Wheelchair accessibility. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))
20.62.040 Application process. Revised 3/24
A. Development Application. Any property owner in the City of Quincy wishing to conduct short-term rental activities will need to obtain a short-term rental permit through the City of Quincy prior to conducting any short-term rental activities.
B. Application Procedure. Short-term rental permits shall comply with Title 17, Development Code. Procedures for processing short-term rental applications shall be identical to other development applications as outlined in Chapter 17.05, except:
1. Short-term rental permit applicants are not required to attend a preapplication meeting.
2. Short-term rental permit applications are not subject to agency review.
3. Short-term rental permit applications are not subject to environmental review, unless otherwise specified by SEPA.
C. Noticing. Short-term rental permits may be approved by the Land Use Code Administrator without public notice.
D. Fees. Short-term rental application fees and fines shall be defined in the City of Quincy’s fee schedule, unless otherwise stated in this section.
1. Fees for renewals of short-term rental permits may differ from fees for new short-term rental permits. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))
20.62.050 Application schedule and renewal period. Revised 3/24
A. Applications Accepted Anytime. Applications for new short-term rental permits may be submitted to the City of Quincy at any point during the year, but all short-term rental permits shall expire on the same date every year.
B. Short-Term Rental Permit Expiration. All short-term rental permits shall expire on January 31st of the calendar year following the one in which the permit was granted. No short-term rental activity may occur once a permit has expired.
C. Renewal Deadline. By January 31st of each year, the Building Inspector shall complete all required short-term rental permit home inspections, and the Land Use Code Administrator shall complete all short-term rental reviews and shall issue approved short-term rental permits.
D. Short-Term Rental Permit Renewal. Short-term rental permits must be renewed annually in accordance with Section 20.62.050. Property owners may submit a renewal application and corresponding fees starting November 1st of the calendar year prior to their current permit’s expiration date. Applications for renewal of short-term rental permits shall be submitted to the City of Quincy no later than January 2nd, or the first business day, of the calendar year in which the permit expires, in order to guarantee the renewed permit will be granted prior to the expiration of the current permit. Applications submitted after January 2nd, or the first business day, of the calendar year in which the permit expires, are not guaranteed an approved renewal prior to the current permit’s expiration date. The submitted applications shall be reviewed in the order of which the application was officially received by the City. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))
20.62.060 Application requirements. Revised 3/24
A. Application Requirements. Short-term rental applications shall contain the following in order to be considered complete:
1. Owner and applicant information.
2. Will the owner/applicant or other long-term resident be residing on site?
3. Designated caretaker or property management company information.
4. Indication of whether a Type 1 or Type 2 permit is being applied for.
5. Indication of whether the permit is for a new short-term rental or if it is a renewal application. If it is a renewal application, the applicant shall provide the application number for the most recently approved application for the property.
6. A description or narrative describing at minimum the current use and plans for the property.
7. Property information including parcel number(s), zoning, future land use designation, and surrounding property description.
8. Number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and available off-street parking spaces.
9. Listing information including number of beds, maximum occupancy, which listing sites will be used, and approximately how many nights per year (or percentage of three hundred sixty-five nights) the property is expected to be occupied by a renter. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))
20.62.070 Home inspections. Revised 3/24
A. Home Inspections Required Prior to Permit Approval. All short-term rental permit applications shall not be approved until the Building Inspector has completed a home inspection of the property.
B. Home Inspection Requirements. A home inspection shall include, at minimum, an analysis of all of the requirements listed in Section 20.62.030.
C. Home Inspection Checklist. The Building Inspector shall complete and sign a home inspection checklist and attach it to the complete application prior to approval of the permit by the Land Use Code Administrator. The home inspection checklist shall indicate whether the inspection passed, passed with conditions, or did not pass.
D. Home Inspection Conditions. The Building Inspector, upon conducting a home inspection, may require conditions be met for the property prior to approval by the Land Use Code Administrator.
E. Denial or Permit After Home Inspection. If the property does not meet the building or zoning code requirements upon inspection, the Building Inspector shall indicate on the home inspection checklist that the home inspection did not pass.
F. Home Inspection Grace Period. If the property passes home inspection with conditions or does not pass, the applicant shall have ten business days to address the issue(s), unless an alternate time line is approved by the Building Inspector. Once the issue(s) have been addressed before the deadline, the Building Inspector shall confirm that the issue(s) have been addressed and shall indicate on a home inspection checklist that the inspection has passed. If the issue(s) are not addressed within ten days or within the approved time line by the Building Inspector, the application shall be denied. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))
20.62.080 Maximum number of STRs. Revised 3/24
A. Maximum Number of Permits. The total number of permitted short-term rentals within Quincy city limits shall not exceed one percent of the most recent OFM estimate of total housing units for the City of Quincy. The maximum number of short-term rental units shall be determined annually by September 30th by the City of Quincy based on the most recent OFM estimates and the number shall be updated on the City of Quincy’s short-term rental application document that will be distributed beginning November 1st. If the maximum number of short-term rental permits is met, no more short-term rental permits shall be granted until any permits have either lapsed (been expired for thirty days or more) or have been forfeited. Once the maximum number of permits has been met, new applications for short-term rental permits shall be placed on a waiting list and shall be reviewed in the order in which they were received according to the City’s date stamp on the application. Renewal applications shall have priority over all new short-term rental applications as long as they are submitted by January 2nd, or the first business day, of the calendar year in which the old permit expires. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))
20.62.090 Forfeiture and lapsing of short-term rental permits. Revised 3/24
A. Forfeiting a Permit. A short-term rental permit may be forfeited through written notice to the City of Quincy Land Use Code Administrator that the short-term rental permit is no longer needed and short-term rental activities on the property have ceased.
B. Lapsed Permits. If an application for a renewal of a short-term rental permit has not been submitted to the City within thirty days of the permit’s expiration date, then the renewal window has lapsed. Once a short-term rental permit has lapsed, the property is no longer eligible for a renewal application. Instead, an application for a new short-term rental permit, and the appropriate fees, must be submitted. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))
20.62.100 Off-street parking requirements. Revised 3/24
A. Required Off-Street Parking. The number of off-street parking spaces that must be provided for both Type 1 and Type 2 short-term rentals is one spot for every two bedrooms.
1. One-bedroom and studio short-term rentals shall not require any additional off-street parking.
2. For short-term rentals with an odd number of bedrooms, the required number of off-street parking spots shall be the same as if the unit had one additional bedroom.
B. Off-Street Parking Calculation Only Applicable to Rentable Space. The off-street parking requirements in this section shall only apply to the portion of the unit that is included in the short-term rental.
1. For Type 1 Permits. The calculation does not include bedrooms occupied by the permanent or long-term residents of the dwelling unit.
2. For Type 2 Permits. The calculation shall include all bedrooms in the unit.
3. The Land Use Code Administrator may approve exemptions to the off-street parking regulations of this section. These exemptions must be clearly stated in the approval of the short-term rental permit. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))
20.62.110 Good neighbor policy. Revised 3/24
A. Short-Term Rental Accordance with Zoning Regulations. Short-term rental properties must follow all City ordinances pertaining to the zone in which they are located.
B. Nuisance Properties. If a short-term rental property is deemed a nuisance, the City may revoke the property’s short-term rental permit effective immediately.
C. Nuisance Property Enforcement. Nuisance properties shall be determined on a complaint basis and determination of nuisance properties shall follow the procedure below:
1. Upon the first complaint, the property owner will be provided with a written warning from the Land Use Code Administrator outlining the nature of the complaint and a recommendation of how to resolve the complaint.
2. Upon the second complaint, the City shall provide a second written warning and may charge a fine of up to two hundred fifty dollars to the property owner. In lieu of the fee, the Land Use Code Administrator may approve a meeting between the Land Use Code Administrator, the City Attorney, and the property owner to discuss how the property owner can mitigate the nuisance. Meeting notes shall be documented, and a course of action shall be outlined in the meeting notes.
3. Upon the third complaint, the City may deem the property a nuisance property and reserves the right to revoke the short-term rental permit effective immediately. The City may also charge the property owner a five hundred dollar fine if the nuisance is believed to have caused damage to the public health, safety, and/or welfare.
4. The City reserves the right to determine whether a complaint is legitimate. If a complaint is found not to be legitimate by the Land Use Code Administrator, then the complaint does not contribute to the process outlined in this section.
D. Revoked Permits. Once a short-term rental permit has been revoked, the property owner shall not be granted another short-term rental permit for the same property for a minimum of one year after the date of the permit revocation. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))
20.62.120 Zoning restrictions. Revised 3/24
A. Zoning Districts Allowing Short-Term Rentals. Short-term rentals shall be allowed in the R-1, R-M, and B-D zones as long as they are approved through the processes outlined in this chapter. Short-term rentals shall never be allowed in industrial zones.
B. Restriction on Proximity of Short-Term Rentals to Others in the R-1 Zone. Short-term rentals in R-1 zones shall not be closer than three hundred feet to another short-term rental property in any zone, as measured from the closest property line to closest property line.
C. No Proximity Requirements in the B-D or R-M Zones. There shall be no limitations on the proximity of short-term rentals to other short-term rental properties in the B-D or R-M zones. (Ord 24-611 §2 (Ex B))