Truckee has announced it will be looking into a new short-term rental ordinance.

On Tuesday the Truckee Town Council awarded a $50,000 contract with Host Compliance to gather data about the short-term rental market in Truckee and make recommendations on how to improve it.

“This is such a big community issue,” said Kim Szczurek, administrative services director for Truckee.

Residents who rent their homes for 30 days or less are required to register with the town and must collect and remit a 10% Transient Occupancy Tax and a 2% tax to the Truckee Business Improvement District.

“Other than that we don’t have a lot of rules related to the short-term rentals within our town,” said Szczurek.

Host Compliance has been working with the town since 2015 helping to identify short-term rentals in Truckee. “The reason we reached out to them is they already have all our data,” said Szczurek.

As part of the contract the firm will conduct web surveys, focus groups, public workshops and hold in-person meetings with homeowners. “We think it’s going to be about a six-month process,” Szczurek said.

When looking at regulating short-term rentals, Truckee Town Manager Jeff Loux said there are two distinctive routes to go down. One involves simple rules like having a person to contact at the property if there is a complaint from a neighbor, as well as monitoring trash, noise and parking at the residences.

“That’s very important,” said Loux.

A second option involves placing a limit on short-term rentals within the town.

“I hope we don’t proceed with a complete ban. I don’t think that’s our goal,” said Vice Mayor David Polivy. “We want to make sure we don’t restrict or change the ability for full-time homeowners who are using an additional room to help pay their mortgage.”

Truckee is following in the wake of Placer County, which is slated to introduce a new short-term rental ordinance in November.

“One of the benefits of being late to the game is you have matrixes that are available from Placer County and other jurisdictions that talk about the different options,” said Jennifer Jennings, a Tahoe Donner Association board member, to the Town Council. “This is not rocket science.”

Hannah Jones is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. She can be reached at hjones@sierrasun.com or 530-550-2652.