Fremont County's website still posts the ordinance it adopted on February 8, 2010. That ordinance requires a permit for any home rented as lodging for 30 consecutive days or less, and it requires a local contact person. It also calls for registration with the Idaho State Tax Commission and a physical inspection at least once a year. The county's posted application, titled "Occupation/Transient Rental Class I Permit," lists a $195 fee.
Since July 1, 2026, Idaho Code §67-6539 has said that no county or city "shall require a license, fee, permit, certification, or registration to operate a short-term rental." The county form and the state statute now point in opposite directions, and the form is still posted.
That mismatch is a small version of a bigger one inside the City of Ashton. On Thursday, October 15, the Planning and Zoning Commission holds its hearing on a new Comprehensive Plan. The plan names short-term rentals as something the city will need to manage, at the same moment state law has taken away nearly every tool for managing them.
What Ashton's draft plan says about rentals
The draft Comprehensive Plan dated August 18, 2026 puts a number on the issue. It says short-term rentals make up "nearly 13 percent of the total housing stock" in the city, and it frames them this way:
"STR's provide opportunity to accommodate tourists and commuters but can also be inconsistent economically compared to full-time residency. The STR market will be increasingly more important to track and manage as housing availability, along with buildable lots, are limited."
The demand behind that figure is easy to place. The plan notes that Highway 20 and Highway 47 bring "upwards of two million tourists" through the area each year, and that Ashton is still a leading producer of seed potatoes. The town sits where a farm economy meets a road to Yellowstone. The Ashton Chamber's lodging directory shows how small the traditional room supply is. It lists the Rankin Motel, The Fishing Bear Lodge, Eagle Peak Lodge & RV, and a few cabin and RV operations. The Fishing Bear Lodge, at 112 Main Street, was formerly the Teton Mountain Inn. Houses fill much of the gap.
The written-comment deadline for the plan hearing was October 1. Anyone who wants to comment now has to do so in person at 714 Main Street on October 15 at 6 p.m. As of this writing, the plan has not been adopted.
What July 1 took off the table
House Bill 583 passed the House 54-16 and the Senate 23-12. It was signed on March 16, 2026 and took effect July 1. It rewrote §67-6539 from a general "reasonable regulation" standard into a specific list. The statute now classifies a short-term rental as a non-transient residential use for zoning purposes, the same category as a house someone lives in year-round.
Here is what a city or county can and cannot require of a short-term rental under the current statute:
| Local governments may require | Local governments may not require |
|---|---|
| Working smoke alarms in all sleeping areas | A permit, license, fee, or registration to operate |
| A fire extinguisher and carbon monoxide detector on each floor | Reporting of use or other statistics |
| Removable escape ladders in upper-floor sleeping areas with windows | Inspections |
| Occupancy limits no stricter than building-code residential limits | A cap on the number of rentals in the city or county |
| An emergency information handout for guests | Limits on rental days, or on proximity to other rentals |
| Compliance with noise, parking, nuisance, curfew, and traffic rules that apply to every home | Owner occupancy, professional management, extra parking, or a conditional use permit in a residential zone |
Set that table next to the plan's two verbs. "Manage" would normally mean caps, permits, or spacing rules, and all of those are now prohibited. "Track" would normally mean a registry or required reporting, and those are named prohibitions too. Any future count of short-term rentals in Ashton will have to come from somewhere other than a local registration list, because the statute bars requiring one.
Local governments saw this coming. The Idaho Association of Counties opposed the bill, arguing that without registration, counties would struggle to identify rentals, notify owners, and enforce even the safety rules the law still allows. Statewide coverage carried by East Idaho News reported sponsor Rep. Jordan Redman's property-rights case for the bill, along with opponents' concerns about losing local tools. Across the valley, Teton Valley News reported Driggs Mayor August Christensen objecting to the loss of local contacts and enforcement tools, and Victor Mayor Will Frohlich supporting local regulatory authority.
Some counties have already adjusted. In June, the Bonner County Daily Bee reported that Bonner County was ending its short-term rental permitting software contract, effective July 10, after the bill was signed. Fremont County's website still carries its 2010 ordinance and permit form.
The land just past the city limits follows county rules
The draft plan says rentals matter more as "buildable lots" become scarce. That points to the land outside town, and a separate 2024 change in state law decides who controls it. Senate Bill 1403 took effect July 1, 2024. Under the amended §67-6526, a city's area of impact is under county jurisdiction. The county comprehensive plan and county zoning apply there. The city must get written notice at least 15 days before relevant county hearings and may give input, but "cities do not govern or control decisions on those applications."
Ashton's draft plan says this outright. It describes its Future Land Use Map for the area of impact as a statement of vision, and it notes that decision-making authority stays with the county. So the two laws work together. Inside city limits, the city can no longer meter short-term rentals. Just outside city limits, the county, not the city, decides what gets built.
The levers Ashton still holds are about supply
With caps and permits gone, the plan's remaining housing tools are about adding homes. It supports "a range of housing types," including duplexes and triplexes, infill development, and upper-floor housing downtown. It also recommends a housing needs assessment, possibly as a joint effort with Fremont County. Zoning is the other lever. The October 15 agenda includes a proposal to raise the maximum building height in the Highway Commercial district from 35 to 50 feet, and a request to rezone a parcel. The city's public notice identifies that parcel as 98 Maple Street and describes the change as Community Core to Highway Commercial. Both are hearing items, and neither has been decided.
For a buyer, this changes the timeline. Supply-side tools take years to show up as new homes. Any change on a particular block, whether a house next door becomes a rental or a rental returns to a full-time household, will come from individual owners' decisions, not from city policy.
What this means when you are comparing Ashton
For someone weighing Ashton against Driggs, Victor, or Tetonia, the old way of comparing towns, by asking which one regulates short-term rentals more tightly, mostly stopped applying on July 1. The same statute now covers every city and county in Idaho. What still differs is the street, the parcel, and the paperwork that comes with them. These are the questions we would bring to a specific Ashton property:
- Is the house nearby already a rental? Without a registry, no city list will answer this. Observation and conversation with neighbors still can.
- Is the parcel inside city limits or in the area of impact? That decides whether the City of Ashton or Fremont County applies its zoning to whatever is built nearby.
- Are there recorded covenants? The statute's covenant language covers covenants enforced by a county or city. Private recorded documents are a separate question for the title review and the buyer's own counsel.
- If you plan to rent the home yourself, how will lodging taxes be handled? HB 583 requires rental marketplaces to register with the state Tax Commission and collect applicable lodging taxes. An owner who rents directly, without a marketplace, takes on the same tax-section requirements.
- What safety items does the property already have? Smoke alarms, extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors, and escape ladders are on the list a city or county may still require.
Frequently asked questions
Can Ashton cap the number of short-term rentals? No. Section 67-6539 specifically bars a city or county from restricting the number of short-term rentals.
Does Fremont County's $195 transient rental permit still apply? The county still posts the 2010 ordinance and the form. State law in effect since July 1, 2026 bars requiring a permit or fee to operate a short-term rental. Until the county publishes a decision reconciling the two, the status is unresolved. Questions about a specific property belong with the county and the owner's own counsel.
What rules still apply to a short-term rental neighbor? The same noise, parking, nuisance, curfew, and traffic ordinances that apply to every home.
Will the October 15 hearing change any of this? The hearing covers the Comprehensive Plan, the Highway Commercial height change, and the 98 Maple Street rezone. None of those can override §67-6539.
If you are weighing an Ashton home, whether as a full-time residence or as a property you might rent, our team at Wealthwise Realty Group can go through the parcel's jurisdiction, recorded documents, and nearby uses with you before you make an offer. Contact Us to start that conversation privately.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
