Heber City will require rules to be posted inside each rental property.
Heber City’s community development director, Tony Kohler, said the goal was to create objective standards for short-term rentals, so the rules are easier for city staff and police to enforce.
That includes an updated occupancy limit, so no more than 16 people can be in a rental home at any time, depending on the size of the property. Before, the limit was 12.
“The group felt that it was fair to limit it to 16 or whichever is the lesser of one lodger per 200 square feet,” he said. “It was a balance between not going too big and trying to increase it to allow the bigger facilities to be able to be more utilized.”
The rules ask visitors to adhere to quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and prohibit parking on the street.
The ordinance also defines the property owner’s responsibilities, including living within 10 miles of the rental home and passing inspections by the county health and fire departments.
Kohler said rental properties must also post a sign near the entrance about what’s expected of guests.
“This is really saying, look, we want you to be a good neighbor,” he said. “We're going to aggressively enforce the law, and your neighbors are watching you.”
The sign says groups can’t gather outdoors after 10 p.m. It also says visibly drinking or vaping and audibly playing music or yelling “will likely result in your neighbors calling the police.”
The latest iteration of the short-term rental ordinance comes after a heated discussion at a city council meeting in October 2024, when proposed changes included banning hot tub use after 9 p.m.
Some property managers said that draft was too punitive. On Tuesday, Councilmember Aaron Cheatwood said he’s proud of the revised ordinance because it incorporates their feedback.
“If you are upset with something that the city is doing, and you show up with the attitude of collaboration and trying to make a solution, this is a great example of something that can happen,” he said.
He said the changes were the result of collaboration among police officers, rental property managers and city leaders.
To read the new rules, visit the city website.
