As it stands, the city requires a consent letter from the HOA for any short-term rental. The council is considering whether or not to remove that requirement.
The issue came to the council’s attention in part because of Tony Pericle, a man who operates his second home in Heber City as a short-term rental property.
Pericle advocated for the change at the meeting. He said he’s worked hard to make sure his guests are responsible and undisruptive.
“Removing the HOA requirement could provide a more balanced approach,” he said, “acknowledging the efforts of responsible property owners like myself.”
He said his rental technically isn’t allowed because the HOA in his neighborhood is defunct – but he rents it anyway because he’s done as much as he can.
But Councilmember Rachel Kahler said what he’s doing is basically illegal, even if he’s being responsible.
“So it’s kind of like we can speed as long as the police aren’t there,” she remarked.
She said she doesn’t want Heber to become a community of empty, expensive houses.
“As our community grows, more and more people are going to invest in our community with their dollars, but not their bodies,” she said. “The concern is that we become a community of empty homes, where visitors can come and enjoy our beautiful views, but we lose that in-person touch as we lose affordability with our housing.”
Other councilmembers argued the city can’t get involved in enforcing neighborhood rules, and it shouldn’t take away the rights of active HOAs.
“We don’t want the city wading into private disputes between homeowners and their HOAs,” Ryan Stack said. “On the other hand… I do think there are some changes we could make to bring better clarity.”
The council suggested overlay zones as a possible compromise, mapping where short-term rentals could be permitted and potentially getting input from HOAs. It will look into the zoning option early next year. Until the next discussion, an HOA consent letter remains as the requirement.
