Guest Editorial: Where Council Candidates Stand on Short-Term Rentals Matters

I have lived in South Scottsdale for many years. One issue that continues to concern me is what short-term rentals have done to our neighborhoods. Apparently, the city has roughly 4,000 of them, with many houses now are run like mini-motels, with noise, trash, and trouble,  including underage drinking and violence reported in the news.

The state took away much of our zoning power in 2016. In response, the city required registration, funded a police STR unit and limited who can rent.

So, with the General Election around the corner, I looked into which council candidates are doing anything about this.

The following is what I found so far:

Councilman Barry Graham has voted to strengthen those rules: barring minors from renting, creating stronger nuisance-party enforcement, defining “event center” so houses cannot become party venues, and requiring STR operators to answer complaints and emergencies.

Michelle Ugenti-Rita was a member of the Legislature when SB1350 took away local control of short-term rentals. She was one of only six votes against it. That showed good judgement then, and her campaign positions have stayed consistent with that vote.

Raoul Zubia has made South Scottsdale the centerpiece of his campaign — where most STRs are — so I expected a firm position. Instead, he wrote that watching STRs overtake neighborhoods has been “tough.” Then, to our amazement, added, “Fortunately the three on my block are good actors.” That made more sense after I learned the Realtors of AZ PAC gave him $8,000, his largest donation. One legislator called that group “the biggest obstruction” to local control of short-term rentals.

We want peaceful communities and neighbors who stay. If Mr. Zubia will not return that money, he should ask that PAC to stop blocking bills that restore local control.

This is just another   to continue to support Barry Graham and Michelle Ugenti-Rita now and on the Ballot, as we cast our vote for them in November.