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Airbnb Regulations Headed to Peoria Council

Cass Herrington
/
Peoria Public Radio

The Peoria City Council will decide whether or not to regulate Airbnb's and other short-term rentals. 

The city's planning and zoning commission approved a proposal Thursday to allow short-term rentals downtown, and in all residential, commercial, and institutional zoning districts - as well as light industrial areas.

The city is proposing a $75 annual license fee for units leased for under 30 days. If a tenant ends up staying longer than a month, the unit's owner would receive a $75 credit towards a non-owner-occupied property registration. The short-term unit renters would also pay city hotel/motel taxes. 

Community Development employees would perform spot checks on the properties to assess safety and conditions.

Local property owners Andres Diaz and Linda Fairbanks argued short-term rental agreements through online websites have operated problem-free for years in the East Bluff and North Valley neighborhoods, which are often leased to people in the medical field looking to stay near the city's major hospitals. 

Fairbanks operates three Airbnbs in the East Bluff. She said the regulation is unnecessary because short-term rentals are already heavily regulated.

"This regulation is full of suspicion, and adding regulation to something that's already quite well-regulated, both by Airbnb, VRBO, and by the landlord registration process that we already have," she said. 

Fairbanks said she works to provide safe and welcoming spaces for her short-term renters. And she said the industry also self-regulates through reviews. 

But Community Development Director Ross Black said short-term rentals are illegal in Peoria now, and the people operating them are disregarding the rules. 

"One of the first pages, if you are interested in renting your property on Airbnb, you have to certify that your property meets all of the local regulations," he said. "And the answer that anyone who has an Airbnb now, should have been no." 

He said the question the council will face is whether or not to formally legalize the short-term rentals. He estimates a couple hundred currently operate across the city. 

The Peoria City Council will take up a first reading of the ordinance on March 24. 

Copyright 2021 WCBU. To see more, visit WCBU.

Tim Shelley is the News Director at WCBU Peoria Public Radio.