Jefferson City Council relaxes short-term rental rules

CORRECTION: An error concerning who voted against the change has been corrected.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Council approved relaxed restrictions on short-term rentals in a split vote Monday.

The council voted 8-2 to amend city zoning rules to remove a requirement that property owners get a special permit for short-term rentals. Ward 2 Councilman Rick Mihalevich and Ward 4 Councilman Carlos Graham voted against the change.

The special permit that was required to rent out property on services such as Airbnb cost $500. Regulations also required the city council to approve all permits. With the amendment, those permits and council approval are no longer required.

Residents who supported the change lamented losing out on business to other area cities such as Columbia, where regulations were less onerous.

The city Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously last month to recommend the change. At that time the city had approved eight of nine applications for short-term rentals submitted over two years.