Residents packed a City Council meeting this week where the city considered a broad ban on short-term vacation rentals.
In the end, it was a wasted trip, as the only Council members who supported the aggressive move were the two who proposed it, Sherri Lightner and Lorie Zapf. Everyone else voted against it.
On the podcast this week, we broke down the odd, failed political gambit and took a closer look at the neighborhood discontent that drove their decision.
The biggest topic in the short-term vacation rental debate is what to do about neighbors who suddenly find themselves living next door to loud, regular parties from different visitors every weekend. But that isn’t the only issue on the table. The city is also being asked to regulate a new type of behavior – neighborliness – and policymakers are finding it a tough job.
We also invited local pollster John Nienstedt, of Competitive Edge Research & Communication, to tell us a bit about what he expects Tuesday’s electorate to look like, and what that might mean for the results of the many, many measures facing us on the ballot.