Nightly rental meeting set for Dec. 12

• Neighbors ask for more input

The next meeting on proposed rule changes governing nightly rentals in Ruidoso is set for 9 a.m., Monday (Dec. 12) in council chambers at Ruidoso Village Hall, 313 Cree Meadows Road.

Neighbors of homes that are being rented on a short-term basis last month called last month for an opportunity for more participation in discussions about the problems they face when a homeowner uses a property for nightly rentals. Enforcement is key to containing noise, late night disturbances, excess vehicles or people in one house, property managers contended.

The council was scheduled to take action on rule changes in November, but the mayor asked for a delay to allow more input. About 650 properties are registered with the village for short-term rental. The ordinance passed several years ago was aimed at identifying the properties, having them registered and ensuring the owners paid the appropriate lodgers tax. That tax is used to promote tourism in the community, the major economic driver. The ability to rent on a nightly basis also helps many homeowners pay the mortgage on a vacation house or a future retirement home.

But once a review was initiated, village officials found that neighbors were harboring a list of complaints and that some properties were the subject of repeated calls to police.