West Hartford Hosts Lose Zoning Appeal, Take STR Fight to Court

West Hartford just made its position crystal clear: if you are running an Airbnb in a residential zone, the town considers you a hotel operator, and hotels are not welcome there. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously on September 16 to uphold an enforcement order against a Pheasant Hill Drive short-term rental, and the owners have now taken the fight to state Superior Court. Until a judge rules otherwise, the town is enforcing, and hosts who assume they are safe could be next.

What Happened and Why It Matters

Lisa Khan, Alexander Khan, and Rolak LLC own a 3,654-square-foot split-level home at 39 Pheasant Hill Drive, sitting in an R-10 residential zone. Zoning Officer Sam Santaniello issued enforcement orders on May 18 and May 28 directing the owners to stop operating the property as a short-term rental. The town's argument is straightforward: renting a home on Airbnb is a commercial, hotel-like use, and that use is simply not permitted in a residential district.

The Khans appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals and lost, unanimously, on September 16. On September 30, they filed a complaint in Hartford Superior Court asking the court to declare the board's decision null and void, vacate the cease-and-desist order, and let them keep renting. As of October 7, the listing was still active on both Airbnb and rolakresorts.com, and the Airbnb can continue operating while the litigation plays out.

The Town's Theory: Your Rental Is a Hotel

West Hartford Corporation Counsel Dallas Dodge has been explicit: the town treats Airbnb-style rentals as commercial, hotel-like uses that are not permitted in its residential districts. That framing is the engine driving every enforcement action here. It does not matter how the owner describes the property or how it is listed online. If guests are paying to stay short-term, the town says it is a hotel, and hotels belong in commercial zones.

The property in question is no small side hustle. Separate reporting identifies the rental as "The Nineteenth Hole," advertised for stays of up to 11 people and holding a 4.98-star rating on Airbnb. That profile, a large home marketed to groups, is exactly the kind of operation the town is targeting.

A Legal Landscape That Is Still Shifting

West Hartford has been here before. A separate case involving Raymond Road properties ended with a Superior Court ruling on October 31, 2025, finding the town's permitted accessory-use schedule ambiguous. West Hartford has petitioned for review, and that matter is still awaiting further action in Appellate Court. The town has not won a clean, final ruling yet, and it knows it.

At the state level, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in 2024 that a "residence" can include short-term rentals and does not require any particular degree of permanency. That same legislative session produced a housing bill strengthening towns' authority to adopt their own short-term-rental ordinances. So Connecticut courts have signaled some openness to STRs, but the legislature has also handed towns more tools to restrict them. The legal picture is genuinely unsettled.

West Hartford's Town Council reviewed a rough draft of a short-term-rental ordinance in January but has not taken up any further formal review since. Corporation Counsel Dodge has indicated the town is unlikely to revisit STR policy until the courts hand down a final, unappealable decision. In other words, do not expect a clear local ordinance anytime soon. The town plans to keep enforcing its current interpretation in the meantime.

What Hosts Should Do Right Now

If you operate a short-term rental in West Hartford, the message from this case is not subtle. The town has issued cease-and-desist orders, defended them through the zoning appeals process, and is prepared to litigate. The Khans' listing is still live only because litigation is pending, not because the town has backed down.

• Assume enforcement is active. The town has shown it will issue orders and defend them all the way through the appeals process.
• Know your zone. The R-10 residential classification is at the center of this dispute. If your property sits in a residential zone, the town's position is that you are operating an unpermitted hotel use.
• Watch the courts. The Khans' Superior Court case and the still-pending Raymond Road Appellate Court matter could both produce rulings that reshape the rules. Neither has been resolved.
• Do not count on a new ordinance to save you. The Town Council has shelved its draft STR ordinance until litigation concludes.

West Hartford currently has 159 active Airbnb listings, according to AirDNA data cited in reporting on this case. Every one of those hosts is operating under the same legal cloud that just produced a unanimous zoning board loss and a Superior Court lawsuit.

For the complete Hartford compliance guide including tax calculator, checklist, and daily monitoring, see Hartford, CT STR Regulations.