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On September 12, 2022, the City Council extended the moratorium allowing the city to evaluate the drafted regulations for Gig Harbor against legal framework currently taking shape across the country. This action further extends a moratorium which began one year ago. The city currently does not have any code which directly applies to short-term rentals and had instead been applying permitting rules used for bed and breakfast operations.

During the moratorium, the city will continue to not issue permits for another 6-month period, but those already in operation are allowed to continue in business.

Current proposals, now on their 10th draft review, at the planning commission seek to break rentals in to three different categories – rentals where the operator lives as a primary residence during the year, one where an owner is not required to live onsite but has a primary residence in the city, and one directed at live-aboard boats in the marina.

Complicating the process for the City is a recent ruling handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit which struck down a New Orleans short-term rental ordinance provision that required the owner to reside on the property as their primary residence in order to qualify for a short-term rental permit.

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