Bluffdale to decide Nov. 18 whether a backyard ADU can be a licensed short-term rental

BLUFFDALE — The City Council holds a public hearing Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 2222 W 14400 S, on a text amendment that would make accessory dwelling units eligible for a short-term rental business license 1. The amendment is Application 2026-35, with the City of Bluffdale as applicant and Associate Planner Ellen Oakman as staff presenter 12. Written comments may be emailed to councilmeetingcomment@bluffdale.gov with "STR ADU TA" in the subject line, or mailed to the planning department at the same City Hall address 1.

The notice describes four code changes 1. Chapter 3.100.010 would amend the definition of "short-term rental" to include ADUs; Chapter 3.100.020 would allow a short-term rental license for an ADU, with only one license permitted per property; Chapter 11.20.020 would amend the zoning definitions for short-term rentals and ADUs; and Chapter 11.340.040(F) would allow internal and detached ADUs to be used as licensed short-term rentals under BCC 3.100 1.

The staff report dated Oct. 30 gives the reason for the gap 2. The city adopted short-term rental rules in Chapter 3.100, and the council supported allowing rentals in ADUs at the time, but the report states that staff needed more time to research the related code provisions, so the ordinance as adopted covered primary dwellings only 2. At a later council work session, the report states, the council directed staff to expand the regulations to ADUs "providing greater flexibility for property owners" 2.

The amendment keeps the licensing regime that already applies to a rental in a primary dwelling and extends it to ADUs, the report states 2. An initial life and safety inspection is required before a license issues, with annual inspections to keep it, and the inspection list covers mounted fire extinguishers, required egress windows and exits, posted licenses, smoke alarms and clear egress paths 2. A licensed rental must designate a local contact reachable 24 hours a day, seven days a week, who can resolve complaints or emergencies on site within sixty minutes 2. Annual business license fees are set by the city's consolidated fee schedule, and a property licensed as a short-term rental is not eligible for a home occupation permit under BCC 3.80 2.

Only one short-term rental license may be issued per property, and the report's proposed language states the licensed rental "may consist of the entire primary dwelling or the entire accessory dwelling unit" 2. The proposed ADU definitions in Chapter 11.20.020 would read that a unit may be offered for 30 days or longer "or as a licensed short-term rental in accordance with BCC 3.100" 2. The zoning text at 11.340.040(F) would add that an internal or detached ADU may be used as a licensed short-term rental, with only one rental agreement or occupancy in effect at any one time 2.

The ADU rules being amended date to Ordinance 2023-08, adopted May 24, 2023, according to the definition citations in the report 2. Enforcement would stay with Code Enforcement working with the Business License Official, who the report states would administer the regulations "including the proposed addition of ADUs as eligible short-term rental units" 2.

The report states the city received no public input on the item before the report was published 2. It gives no count of short-term rental licenses Bluffdale has issued to date, and no estimate of how many ADUs exist in the city 2.

The Planning Commission took the amendment up at its Nov. 4 meeting, where the agenda listed a public hearing, consideration and recommendation on Application 2026-35 3. The council has the final vote, and the Nov. 18 hearing is the item's first appearance before it 1. The same 6 p.m. meeting carries separate hearing notices on the water conservation element of the General Plan, the Chapel Row development agreement, a text amendment for energetic materials operations, and two zone map items 4.