City of Lawrence Land Development Code

Lawrence homeowners who rent their residences on a short-term basis through businesses such as Airbnb and Rent Like a Champion are violating city code, the city’s planning and development services director said Thursday.

But, city officials most likely won’t do anything about it until they hear complaints.

“We know the industry is out there, but we haven’t had complaints, so we haven’t been active in enforcing the zoning code,” said Planning and Development Services Director Scott McCullough.

McCullough said Lawrence has not updated codes to allow the service, which has become a popular accommodation alternative across the globe.

Rent Like a Champion, marketed as a way for out-of-towners to stay in homes on or near college campuses during big game weekends, recently included Lawrence as one of its 21 college markets across the country.

As city code is currently written, a home using Airbnb, Rent Like a Champion or a similar service to rent out space would be categorized as a transient accommodation, which would require a special-use permit.

Those seeking special-use permits have to fill out an application, and then the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission holds a public hearing on it. If approved, it goes before the Lawrence City Commission.

The only type of transient accommodation currently allowed in the city’s single-family districts are bed and breakfasts, McCullough said. Bed and breakfasts, though, require a manager or owner to be on site.

The use of the short-term renting service in Lawrence hasn’t risen to the level of demand that would require revising the city’s code, McCullough said.

“We operate primarily on a complaint basis, and we haven’t received any complaints about its use in the community,” he said. “It hasn’t been a priority to address in a proactive way in the zoning code.”

Many other American cities have struggled with how to best regulate that type of home-sharing service.

On Wednesday, San Francisco-based Airbnb published a “Community Compact” that aimed to address ways the company plans to work with municipalities, including paying its share of hotel and tourist taxes.

“Other cities are grappling with this industry and how to approach it form a land-use perspective,” McCullough said. “It’s usually out of concern for the impact to neighbors. We don’t have that concern that we’ve heard of.”