Sedona retreats on requiring licenses for short-term rentals

PHOENIX – The Sedona City Council has voted to repeal a requirement that operators of short-term rentals in the Arizona city known for red-rock landscapes obtain a business license violates state law.

The City Council’s May 22 action was a reaction to a report issued May 7 by state Attorney General Mark Brnovich (BURN’-o-vich) that concluded that the city’s requirement enacted earlier this year violated a 2016 state law on short-term rentals.

Brnovich’s office had said Sedona had to resolve the violation within 30 days or risk losing state-shared revenue.

City Attorney Robert Pickels Jr. said Brrnovich’s office handled the matter professionally but that the state law allowing individual legislators to force a legal review of local laws is “patently unfair” to cities.