108-11-10 Complaints and Violations

A. Complaint intake. An initial complaint concerning the use or occupancy of a licensed short-term rental may be made to the City or the City’s enforcement designee in the manner established by the Planning Department. The City may decline to process anonymous complaints unless the complaint alleges an immediate threat to health, safety, or property or is otherwise independently verifiable. The manner established by the Planning Department under this Subsection shall be capable of receiving short-term rental complaints at all hours, including outside of regular business hours. This requirement does not obligate the City to provide live staffed response outside of regular business hours and may be satisfied by an answering service, recorded voicemail line reviewed each business day, routing through law enforcement non-emergency dispatch, or other comparable method. Each complaint received under this Subsection shall be logged, at minimum, with the property address; the date and time of the incident; the nature of the complaint; whether the Responsible Agent was contacted and whether the Responsible Agent responded within the sixty (60) minute window required by Section 108-11-8; and whether law enforcement, the Fire Authority, or emergency responders were contacted or responded. A complaint received outside of regular business hours shall be reviewed by Code Compliance staff no later than the next business day for entry into the property’s complaint record under this Section. A logged complaint, standing alone, is not a violation; a violation is established only as otherwise provided in this Section. B. Notification to Responsible Agent. Revised Chapter 108-11 - Short-Term Rentals | Legal Review Draft When a complaint concerning a short-term rental is received, the City or its designee may attempt to contact the Responsible Agent using the contact information on file. Failure of the Responsible Agent to respond within sixty (60) minutes after notice, as required by Section 108-11-8, constitutes a violation. C. Good-faith resolution. The Responsible Agent shall make reasonable, good-faith efforts to address and resolve the basis of the complaint within sixty (60) minutes after notice when the complaint can reasonably be resolved within that period. Failure to make reasonable, good-faith efforts, failure to appear when required, or failure to correct a verified violation constitutes a violation. Failure to provide immediate confirmation to the City, by itself and without additional evidence, shall not create an irrebuttable presumption that a violation occurred. D. Law enforcement and emergency response. If a complaint involves an immediate threat to the health or safety of any person or property, or if the problem cannot be safely resolved by the Responsible Agent, the Responsible Agent shall immediately contact law enforcement, the Fire Authority, or emergency responders, as appropriate, and follow their directions. E. City investigation. The City may investigate complaints, complaints not resolved by the Responsible Agent, and other information indicating a possible violation to determine whether there has been a violation of this Chapter or any condition of approval. F. Notice and cure. Except for violations involving imminent life-safety concerns, unlawful operation without a required license, refusal to cease unlawful occupancy, material misrepresentation, repeated violations, or circumstances where immediate enforcement is necessary to protect health, safety, or welfare, the City shall provide written notice of violation and a reasonable opportunity to cure before imposing a civil fine when required by applicable law. The notice shall identify the alleged violation, required corrective action, cure period, potential penalties, and appeal rights. G. Separate violations. Each violation of this Chapter, each day a violation continues after expiration of a required cure period, and each separate act or omission constituting a violation may be treated as a separate violation, subject to applicable state-law limits on repeated citations or fines for the same ongoing violation. H. No duty created. Nothing in this Section creates a duty on the part of the City, its employees, or any contracted answering or dispatch service to prevent harm to any person. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to create a private right of action against the City arising from the manner, timing, or outcome of any complaint intake, response, or investigation, except as expressly provided by applicable state law.