Communication from Councilmember Bullock regarding resuming deliberations on proposed rules for Lakewood properties seeking to operate as short-term rentals. (referred to HPD 7/6/26)
Tonight I'm asking this council to finish the short-term rental ordinance it began drafting last
year, with these conditions:
First — owner-occupancy required. If you want to operate a short-term rental in Lakewood, you
live here. Shaker Heights and Chicago already require this.
Second — no short-term rentals within 1,500 feet of a school.
Third — a three-strikes provision tied to the rental permit itself. Three documented nuisance
violations — verified police calls, citations, confirmed incidents — and the permit is revoked.
Not fined. Revoked. That is the only penalty that isn't simply the cost of doing business.
This ordinance should be written to protect the community first — not the landlord's bottom line.
The only people who lose when this passes are the ones who were never Lakewood residents to
begin with.
Tonight I'm asking this council to finish the short-term rental ordinance it began drafting last
year, with these conditions:
First — owner-occupancy required. If you want to operate a short-term rental in Lakewood, you
live here. Shaker Heights and Chicago already require this.
Second — no short-term rentals within 1,500 feet of a school.
Third — a three-strikes provision tied to the rental permit itself. Three documented nuisance
violations — verified police calls, citations, confirmed incidents — and the permit is revoked.
Not fined. Revoked. That is the only penalty that isn't simply the cost of doing business.
This ordinance should be written to protect the community first — not the landlord's bottom line.
The only people who lose when this passes are the ones who were never Lakewood residents to
begin with.