If your neighbor’s Airbnb has been hosting wedding receptions or corporate events, Scottsdale now has clearer legal authority to shut it down.
The City Council voted June 23 to approve the city’s announcement on Ordinance No. 4719, which adds a formal definition of “event center” to city code. Arizona state law already barred short-term rentals from operating as banquet halls or event venues—but neither the state nor Scottsdale had defined what an “event center” actually is, making enforcement harder without a clear legal standard to cite.
Under the new ordinance, an event center is any property used for organized gatherings that involve a commercial purpose, event-related impacts, or activities requiring a city permit or license. Weddings, receptions, banquets, corporate events, promotional events, and conferences are all explicitly covered. Ordinary residential gatherings “incidental to lawful occupancy of the home” are not…