Jodi Deputy lives adjacent to a nightly rentals zone in Midway. There’s one home in particular Deputy said has raised concerns for herself and her neighbors.
Deputy said it’s a four-bedroom home with 14 beds that’s advertised as a family reunion getaway.
“Needless to say, the setup is attracted to companies hosting large parties for over 100 people, weddings with strobe lights and loud music until 2 a.m. and, even last month, they had a large swinger party visible to all of our homes from their backyard with all the lights on,” Deputy said. “Can you imagine my 8 year olds seeing that?”
It’s all well and good for primary residents to use their own yards to host personal parties, Deputy said, but most often she finds herself — a homeowner’s association president — patrolling the violations and raising them to the city.
That’s why Deputy is pushing for improved regulations on Midway’s transient rental overlay district, or TROD. The zoning is applied to certain sections of Midway to help allow short-term and nightly rentals in commercial areas but limit growing into residential areas.
Tuesday, the Midway City Council debated how to improve TROD and the nightly rentals system.
For Howard Weinstein, it’s individuals with unlicensed TROD properties who are causing the trouble. Overall in Midway, there are 349 transient rental units. Sixty one units are in residential zones, 34 are in TROD and residential zones, and 36 unlicensed units are outside of the TROD.
“People that run TRODs, they don’t care about the rights of their neighbors there,” Weinstein said.
While Midway is attempting to crack down on unlicensed nightly and short-term rentals, it’s also grappling with TROD regulations. Also on Tuesday, the City Council voted to amend the city’s land use map to include a parcel on 71 South 200 West into the TROD. That parcel is owned in part by Wendi Richard.
Richard’s plan is to rent out her full home while she stays in the accessory unit above the garage. That solution might appease individuals who want more patrolling of renters, Richard said, because she would be able to keep track of loud noises and parties.
“I think it’d be better for the community if I was there babysitting my house when I’m renting the main one; that way I can control what everybody’s worried about,” Richard said.
Richard had requested an adjustment to the TROD boundary to include her property, not an adjustment to the commercial zone boundary. The decision came to the City Council after a recommendation for denial from the Midway Planning Commission. Recommendations from the Planning Commission explain that there is more restriction on transient rentals because of the balancing act Midway must maintain between property owners and neighbors. Midway’s general plan discourages TROD expansion.
But Richard, who works in Wasatch County, still hoped to be included in the TROD.
“I believe that rezoning my property for nightly rental use would not only benefit my family, but also align with the broader economic interests of the community,” Richard said.
Some City Council members, however, voiced their hesitation.
“My big concern is making a change here. If there’s a change in the future — changing the TROD — that reduces the size … How would that be handled?” Councilor Jeff Drury said. “It’s tricky moving the line because, once you move it, it wants to move again.”
Drury ultimately voted for the amendment.