By Gary Nelson } The Republic | azcentral.com
Faced with a flurry of protests from a northeast Mesa neighborhood, the City Council this week delayed approval of an ordinance legalizing vacation-home rentals.
Final passage of the ordinance seems likely, however, albeit with stronger enforcement mechanisms than were in the original proposal.
The issue came up because of a quirk in Mesa’s ordinances.
Gordon Sheffield, who interprets and administers Mesa’s zoning laws, said he was asked last June to determine whether vacation rentals are legal after the city fielded complaints about misbehavior at one rental home.
Sheffield said vacation rentals weren’t on the list of approved uses in single-family neighborhoods and therefore are illegal.
