Fairbanks borough mayor proposes registration and fines for short-term rentals

Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins has proposed that the borough register short-term rentals, set standards for them and add a registration fee. The Assembly is scheduled Thursday, Nov. 12, to send his ordinance to the Planning Commission, which would have 90 days to return a recommendation.

The ordinance would add standards for short-term rentals to the borough's code, along with registration requirements. It would also change the borough's fine schedule and add a short-term rental certificate of registration fee to the borough's user fee schedule.

The Nov. 12 Assembly agenda lists only the ordinance's title. It does not give the standards, the size of the fee, the amount of any fines or which violations would draw them.

The referral is on the consent agenda, which passes routine items in a single vote. For an ordinance being referred, it takes two Assembly members to pull the item off the consent agenda for separate discussion. A referral does not adopt the ordinance. It would come back to the Assembly after the Planning Commission reviews it.

Operators inside the City of Fairbanks already face city rules. They must register as room-rental taxpayers with the city Finance Department. The City of Fairbanks business license page lists Airbnb and VRBO operations as room-rental businesses and sets a registration cost of $25 or $100, depending on estimated gross receipts.

Other Alaska communities have taken up similar rules this year. Anchorage began requiring short-term rentals to register on May 1, and Juneau's housing committee weighed limiting short-term rentals to one per owner, Alaska News reported April 14.

The Assembly meets at 6 pm in the Mona Lisa Drexler Assembly Chambers at the Juanita Helms Administration Center. Residents may speak for up to three minutes during citizens' comments on agenda items not scheduled for public hearing.