Short-term rentals in town will have a new registration process after a City Commission vote Monday aimed at preparing the city for World Cup visitors this summer.
Kansas City will host six World Cup matches and three international teams this summer. In addition, the Algerian national team will stay in Lawrence. Regional planners are anticipating 650,000 visitors to the metro area.
The resolution approved by commissioners Monday created a registration system for short-term rentals, like those from Airbnb and Vrbo. Eudora doesn’t currently have any regulations on short-term rentals.
The registration system would ask rental owners to fill out a form with contact and property information and submit it to the city. The registration would also include a free assessment from the Fire Department to provide safety recommendations, focused on basic safety measures like smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.
The guidelines will last from May 25 to July 31.
Assistant to the City Manager Michael Gentry said they wanted to keep the process simple while still providing public safety staff with the information they needed.
City Manager Zack Daniel said city staff will propose permanent changes to short-term rental guidelines after the World Cup.
Daniel said other cities, like Lawrence, are working to roll back short-term rental guidelines for the World Cup. Eudora is approaching it from a different angle, because they don’t currently have any regulations for short-term rentals.
Also on Monday, the City Commission approved changing its existing STAR Bond fund into a broader economic development fund.
According to city budget documents, the fund has mostly been spent on consulting in recent years. The economic development fund will be funded through a mixture of developer fees and transfers from other funds. According to the 2026 budget, the fund had about $186,315 at the start of this year.
Daniel said the city hasn’t ruled out pursuing a STAR Bond project. It just wanted to adjust the fund’s use to a broader scope of economic projects.
In other business, The commission approved a request from Gene’s Heartland Foods to replace its current sign with an LED screen. City staff recommended approval because it generally complies with city regulations.
However, the application had one hold up. Current sign regulations require landscaping at the base of signs in non-industrial districts, and the Gene’s sign has no existing landscaping because it is situated on the parking lot.
City code is unclear how to handle this situation, City Planner Kyle Kobe said. City commissioners needed to decide whether to approve the sign as it was proposed or add a condition requiring landscaping around the base.
Commissioners elected to approve the sign as it currently stands and not require new landscaping.
Commissioner Alex Curnes asked if city staff could work to clarify ambiguous areas of the code like this as it reworks city code. Kobe agreed they would.
City commissioners approved easement plans associated with the Compton Addition.
The Compton Addition is a planned set of apartments south of East 15th Street and east of Church Street. The 2.75-acre lot will have three apartment buildings. Each building will have 24 dwelling units for a total of 72.
The Planning Commission earlier this month unanimously advanced the application.
The commission proclaimed April as National Arbor Month and April 24 as National Arbor Day.
Fire Chief Justin Lee said they are getting ready to break ground on the new Fire Department training center.
Lee said the training area won’t be anything fancy. It’s a slab of concrete with some shipping containers and training props by the wastewater plant, but it will give the fire department a place to train, which they currently lack. He’s hoping it will be ready to use by September.
Parks and Recreation Director Sally Pennington said due to the nice weather they were able to make some progress on baseball and softball field renovations funded by a grant from the Kansas City Royals. They are anticipating having them done by the time the summer season starts.
Daniel said the federal government has signaled it is moving toward finishing the review of a RAISE grant the city plans to use for Church Street reconstruction.
Reach reporter Cuyler Dunn at [email protected].
