The Jensen’s purchased this property in April 2022 for a place to stay when in the metro area for work. Mr. Jensen’s job necessitates the family spending time here in Independence, in Utah, and Texas. As they are out of the city for periods of time, they decided last September to make the house available for short-term rental (STR) when not in the city.
Last November the City staff received a complaint regarding a short term rental being operated at this address; an investigation detected no violation; however, over the next couple of months, the City received additional complaints about large crowds, transient people, parties, and numerous vehicles here. After discussion between staff and the owners, Jacob and Taylor Jensen, admitted they were indeed operating an STR here and they would apply for Planning Commission approval and a City business license once the moritorium ceased. In conjunction with the notice they blocked all bookings for the home until this issue is resolved. Details of this investigation are attached to this report.
PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS:
The property contains a 2,500+ SF-house. This home features three bedrooms on the main floor along with the kitchen, bathrooms, living room, great room, two-car garage, and an enclosed patio. The downstairs contains the two bedrooms, with an adjacent rec room, and kitchen.
The structure itself is a red brick ranch house with white trim and shudders. The double wide driveway on the west side of the lot extends from the street to the house with an auxiliary parking pad adjoining the west side of the house. All combined, there’s space for four to five cars to park off-street. The large, polygon-shaped rear yard is a feature of the property.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AREA:
Platted in the early 1950’s, the surrounding, single-family neighborhood is one of the last phases of the Golden Acres subdivision with houses constructed in the 1950’s and 1960’s; the applicant’s home was constructed in 1961. Most homes in the neighborhood are single story ranch houses on good sized lots.
SHORT TERM RENTAL REQUIREMENTS:
With the attached application materials, the Jensen’s have addressed the following topics:
· Noise monitoring – The Jensen’s plan to install the ‘Minut Noise Monitoring’ system which will notify the manager of excessive noise, but it doesn’t record sound nor provides any video.
· Trash Removal - Trash pick-up is scheduled for a weekly pick up via AAA Disposal Service every Monday morning.
· Property listing - The property will be listed on the AirBNB and VRBO websites.
· Business operations/security – Juan Vasquez, with J2KC Cleaning/Management Services, based in Kansas City Missouri, serves as the company’s ‘the boots on the ground’ handling maintenance and security for the site, while the Jensen’s manage the bookings, reservations and so forth.
· City’s Short Term Rental checklist – The form was completed by the applicant covering licensing, future inspections, insurance, on-site information posting, and so forth.
· Fire safety – A fire evacuation plan had been submitted along with floor plans of the house. The fire escape plan must also be posted per Code requirement.
· City inspection – Three Fire Department violations were discovered during the initial Short-Term Rental Safety Inspection. These violations pertain to the installation of a fire extinguisher, the need for electrical outlet covers installed in unused outlets, and the fixing of the ceiling light in the garage.
The applicants have been advertising this STR on both Airbnb and VRBO. The ad lists this rental as having 5 bedrooms that can accommodate up to 14 quests; both exceed the City’s regulations. In reviewing the 2 bedrooms in the basement, neither of these bedrooms are building code compliant due not meeting minimum egress requirements. The building code requires egress to the exterior to be a maximum of 42 inches from the floor and the opening must provide 5.7 square feet of open area, which must be a minimum of 20 inches wide and 24 inches high. As such, the 2 bedrooms in the basement cannot be utilized.
Draft Planning Commission meeting minutes:
"Case 23-400-05 – Short-Term Rental – 509 E. Rankin Road
Staff Presentation
Stuart Borders presented the case. Mr. Borders presented the Commission with a vicinity map, noting the area and surrounding zoning. He presented the Commission with an aerial map indicating the project area and explained the surrounding land uses. Mr. Borders outlined the following conditions:
1. The Short-Term Rentals shall obtain a business license in accordance with the City Code and comply with Article 3, Chapter 5 of the City Code. The occupation license number shall be listed on all advertisements and online platforms.
2. No more than two guests, excluding children five years old and under, per bedroom is permitted per guest stay. The total maximum occupancy is 10 occupants, which includes both adults and children.
3. All sleeping areas not meeting the building code for emergency escape and rescue openings or proper ventilation shall cease as sleeping areas.
4. Per the UDO, the second kitchen in the basement does not meet the definition of a single dwelling unit and must be removed or modified to not be considered a multifamily unit.
5. The noise monitoring system shall be installed and activated, the Good Neighbor Guidelines, evacuation plan and other notices must be properly posted, prior to approval of the business license.
Applicant Comments
Jacob Jensen, 509 E Rankin Rd, stated he frequents the area for work and decided to purchase a home for when he’s in Kansas City. For those times he’s in Utah, he thought using it as a Short-Term Rental would be a good use. Mr. Jensen said he didn’t realize he needed a permit to operate a Short-Term Rental and received a letter from the City and since ceased operation. He stated before he knew there were regulations, they set up the Short-Term Rental as a five bedroom with a maximum of 14 people staying. Mr. Jensen said they were unaware they could not have a kitchen in the basement, and if approved would remove the stove, and sink to make it a single-family dwelling.
Mr. Jensen said the City received several complaints about his property. He stated there were concerns that the property was being utilized as a drug house, there were to many cars parked on property, and that at one time, there was a party bus coming and going from the property. Mr. Jensen stated with each event he reviewed camera footage from the front of the house and believes these complaints are invalid. He said the coming and going was food delivery and the party bus was only at his property for a short time to drop off guests. Mr. Jensen said he could provide the video evidence to the Commission.
Public Comments
Norma Higbee, 512 Rankin Rd, stated she feels the Jensen’s are good neighbors and they have made the house look beautiful. Ms. Higbee said she feels having the Short-Term Rental in the area is a good thing, because they will keep the house looking nice.
David Ross, 808 E Manor Rd, stated he is the President of Golden Acres Community Association. Mr. Ross said that in January he started getting complaints from neighbors about the property being utilized as an Air BnB, but he did not have a contact at the time for the owner of the house. He stated that once he did get a hold of the owner, Mr. Jensen, he started working with him to try to resolve the concerns of the neighbors.
Sheryl Rohrman, 605 E Rankin Rd, stated she’s concerned because the homeowners live out of state. She has seen multiple vehicles come and go from the property at all hours of the day. Ms. Rohrman stated there have been large parties at the residence and quicky deliveries that look suspicious.
Mike Talcott, 1901 S Lake Dr, stated he doesn’t believe this is a good neighborhood for a Short-Term Rental. He is also concerned with the NFL draft and World Cup coming soon, it will bring crowds or parties that would not be welcome.
Jeffrey Mitchell, 601 Rankin Rd, stated he’s concerned because of the large parties that have taken place at the residence. He said there has been a large party bus that delivered a big crowd and it’s created a lot of noise issues.
Mr. Jensen stated he’s aware there was a large party and was apologetic that he didn’t know the rules and regulations of operating a Short-Term Rental.
In response to Chairwoman McClain’s question, Mr. Jensen said when he received the letter from the City to cease operations, he did so and spoke to staff about the violation.
In response to Commissioner Nesbitt’s question, Mr. Jensen stated he would have a Responsible Agent that could respond to the property if there was an issue. This Responsible Agent would be less than an hour away and able to act on his behalf.
Commissioner Comments
Commissioner Preston stated neighbors have the right to the quiet and enjoyment of their homes and neighborhood. He said that the applicant had a chance to make a good first impression on his neighbors and failed to do so. He said that if the applicant would want to take the time to build relationships with the neighbors and come back later, he would revisit a new case for a Short-Term Rental.
Commissioner L. Wiley stated she is all for admitting a mistake was made and giving them a second chance. However, she thinks there needs to be time to heal the community and revisit the Short-Term Rental option later.
Motion
Commissioner H. Wiley made a motion to approve Case 23-400-05 – Short-Term Rental – 509 E. Rankin Road, with the conditions as outlined by staff. Commissioner Preston seconded the motion. The motion failed with zero affirmative votes."