This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.
Joni Wirts’ Summit Park home sits next to two short term rental properties — and she’s not too happy about it. One advertises “a movie theater, an arcade, two fire pits, a hot tub, and a sauna,” residents said.
“They’re all single family homes. So all of these rentals are renting to large groups of people, and so the nightly rentals there tend to be like events,” Wirts said. ”So there ends up being a lot of noise, a lot of trash being thrown around. I’ve had people park in front of our driveway, obstructing our vehicles.”
And Wirts isn’t the only frustrated homeowner. In January, she and 25 other residents cosigned a letter to the Summit County Council asking for tougher restrictions.
They count at least three nightly rentals on their block alone. They say they’ve had to call sheriff’s office because of rowdiness and firefighters because of reckless fire pit use during a red flag warning. According to Wirts, Summit Park has an opt-in homeowners association that can’t enforce CC&Rs on every property.
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