City punts again on change to short-term rental licenses

For the second time, the Annapolis City Council postponed legislation Monday to close a loophole in current policy that prevents limited liability companies from having shared investments in multiple short-term rental properties.

The bill, sponsored by Alderman Rob Savidge, a Democrat from Ward 7, was postponed in January to allow the Rules and City Government Committee to have more time to review it.

The council placed a moratorium on consideration for new short-term rental license applicants at the beginning of February as a response to its postponement. The moratorium excludes applicants who currently possess a shortterm rental license and will need to renew it during the time of the moratorium, said

Alderwoman Karma O’Neill, the sponsor of the resolution. The moratorium is in place for a year or until the council passes a bill changing the law.

In the current proposed legislation, applicants for new short-term rental licenses would be prohibited from listing their property on short-term rental property websites before obtaining license approval.

The license, required to list the property, must include the license holder and the property manager. There must also be proof from a condominium or homeowners association that it consents to use the property as a short-term rental as required by their bylaws.

The Rules Committee worked though the legislation on Feb. 1, but voted to postpone action on it because they did not make it through all of the proposed amendments.

There are five proposed amendments on the legislation, two proposed by the bill’s sponsor. The bill has been postponed until April 8.

The council first passed legislation regulating shortterm rental licenses in January 2020.

In the years since its passage, Ward 1 Alderwoman Elly Tierney has raised concerns that the bill’s definition of an owner could allow one person to acquire multiple licenses through separate LLCs.

The spirit of the original short-term rental ordinance, O-26-19, was one license for each property owner, Tierney said at the time.

In other business, the council also passed a resolution that places a moratorium on consideration of applications for nonmedical cannabis businesses.