Nearly two months to the day after a deadly shooting at a Columbia Airbnb, the city of Columbia is moving forward with enhanced restrictions for short-term rentals.
Columbia City Council gave initial approval to the new rules Tuesday. The move follows a June 6 shooting in the Elmwood Park neighborhood that left one teenager dead and three others hospitalized. The issuance of new short-term rental permits by the city remains paused while leaders work on the new restrictions.
Council members said that before the final vote on Aug. 19, there are still issues to iron out. They want to further discuss how to force unregistered short-term properties to do so and how to increase the efficiency of the low-staffed Code Enforcement Division, which would be responsible for enforcing the tightened restrictions…