The days of legal short-term rentals in the City of Las Vegas could be numbered as the planning commission recommended a ban Tuesday night.
The narrow 4-3 decision sent the ban proposal on to the city council for consideration in the coming weeks.
"I don't want our city to be stuck in the stone ages, but I don't want to sit here and vote no and continue to get run over," Planning Commission Chair Sam Cherry said.
Supporters of the ban on short-term rentals appeared outnumbered during the hours of public comment and people on both sides donned brightly colored shirts walking up to the podium.
Those who want a ban on the short-term rentals say the party atmosphere they bring destroys their neighborhoods.
"We had one home with 79 cars wrapped around the block," Chris Jones said of a home on her block.
The outspoken homeowner says she knows there are places where short-term rentals can work, specifically pointing to homeowners renting a room or a casita in a house they live in as well.
"We know if you live in your home you are not going to let them destroy your home, you are not going to let them misbehave," Jones said.
Supporters of short-term rentals say there is no stopping the growing trend, adding that many people use the services for a family trip, business vacation and other needs.
"You can't ban something that is based on a societal change," Julie Davies said. "We want to travel in groups."
The proposed ban would be a complete 180 from the City of Las Vegas after the council approved the permits for short-term rentals that began in July of 2017.
Members of the city's staff pointing out the proposal would allow those with permits to legally continue with their short-term rentals until the home was sold.
Many of the commissioners and even supporters of the ban said they recognize there are instances where short-term rentals can work but said the ban, or possibly a moratorium, is needed to give the city a chance to get a handle on the issue.
"Can we just pause and figure out how to manage this and collect the income that the city deserves and put the code enforcement in place," Jones said.
But those against the ban said stopping legal short-term rentals would only lead to more problems with those that are illegally renting their properties short-term.
"Look at the county. They have a ban. They've increased code enforcement, but the statistics have risen. The demand is there. We need to license based on the demand," Davies said.
The move by the planning commission Tuesday does not guarantee the ban will take effect. The Las Vegas City Council will now discuss the proposed ban and make the final decision. A specific date has not been set for that meeting.
