Short-term rental means a permanent residential dwelling unit or any portion of such dwelling unit, rented for occupancy for a period of less than 30 consecutive calendar days, or, in February, less than 28 consecutive calendar days, counting portions of a day as full days, regardless of whether a permanent resident is also present during the period of occupancy.
The following rules and regulations shall apply to short-term rental operations conducted within the city limits of the City.
(a) Every short-term rental must be registered with the State of Kansas and show proof of said registration to the City's Code Enforcement Officer.
(b) The owner of every short-term rental must apply for and receive a conditional use permit by the City.
(c) Every short-term rental must be registered as such with the City.
(d) The registration fee shall be $100.00, payable to the City of Wakefield and renewable annually.
(e) There shall be a limit of 4 (four) short-term rental locations within the City.
(f) A single entity, or persons operating as a single entity, can own no more than one (1) short-term rental within the City. A married couple or two or more partners operating together are considered a single entity. Any current owners (as of 10/3/2022) with more than one (1) property used as short-term rental property (but not more than 2), shall be grandfathered in.
(g) Mobile homes, RVs, travel trailers, tents, vehicles, and similar non-permanent structures may not serve as short-term rentals.
(h) The occupancy of a single structure operating as a short-term rental is limited to two (2) persons per conforming bedroom plus two (2) additional persons. For example, if there are two conforming bedrooms, the maximum occupancy would be six (6). A conforming bedroom is a room that conforms to the building code requirements to be a bedroom.
(i) There shall be NO MORE THAN one (1) short-term rental within a multi-unit dwelling structure or mixed-use building.
(j) A short-term rental shall not generate more traffic or different types of vehicle traffic than a home occupied by a permanent resident.
(k) A short-term rental shall, at all times, comply with all Wakefield ordinances.
(l) The owner of the short-term rental must sign a waiver of liability in order to be registered with the City. A copy of said waiver is attached to Ordinance No. 1345.
(i) If a short-term rental, as defined by this article, is sold, the new owner(s) will have 30 days from the date of the closing of the sale to apply for a conditional use permit in the name of the new owner(s) in order to use the property as a short-term rental. If the new owner(s) fails to do so within the aforesaid 30-day period, the City will award the permit to the next person on the short-term rental waiting list, and the property will lose its conditional use permit.
(j) Any short-term rental already in operation as of the date of the adoption of Ordinance No. 1345 (10/03/2022) shall have one year from the date of the adoption to bring themselves into compliance with this Article.
(Ord. 1345; Ord. 1345a)
Any person, firm, corporation, or other legal entity, such as a limited liability company, violating any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a Class A, Non-person Misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum jail term of 1 year and a fine up to $2,500.
Minimum fines:
1st Offense: $50;
2nd Offense: $100;
3rd Offense: $500;
plus a $10 per day fine (not to exceed $2500 maximum) for each day not in compliance.
(Ord. 1345; Ord. 1345a)