A caller from Mission Beach described the glut of Airbnbs that keep friends and family away.
It’s finally the home stretch for vacation rentals. After years of a Wild West pitting neighbors against neighbors and distant investors who they say turn homes into hotels, the rules have taken shape.
The San Diego Planning Commission recommends that the city pass regulations that halve the number of entire vacation rentals, use a lottery to distribute licenses, and include enforcement measures.
Mission Beach would get – or get stuck with – the biggest share. The tiny sandspit enclave would see 30% of its housing eligible for short-term rental against the remainder of the city’s 1% cap.
A decision on Proposal, submitted by council member Jen Campbell in October and returned to her office for changes, will be done by city council early next year. If approved, the ordinance would come into effect on January 1, 2022.
It defines a short-term rental occupation as a stay of less than a month, and a guest as a “natural person” rather than an LLC. The plan is described as balancing the rights of hosts and neighbors, but while the committee unanimously agreed on the rules, hosts and residents did not.
It “will crush San Diego citizens seeking equality in life,” said Scott Bishop, who manages more than 20 short-term rentals, which he says has taken his family out of a middle income. “We can be responsible without depriving ourselves” of our rights, he added. “No capital letter.”
Airbnb echoed the call. Sarah Simon, head of advocacy, called on the commission to raise the city-wide cap to 1.2% to get “all the economic benefits.”
Others worried about the locals, flanked by hordes of visitors. At Mission Beach, the proposal opens the door to 1,081 entire vacation rentals, allowed more than 20 days a year in the absence of the owner.
Andrea Schlageter: The Mission Beach carveout is “a gift” for investors.
A caller from Mission Beach described the glut of Airbnbs that keep friends and family away.
Gary Wonacott, a former member of the Mission Beach city council, is also opposed to the exclusion, who commented OB cloth that no area of southern California beach has been more saturated with vacation rentals. “Mo is being destroyed; the first step in recovery is to eliminate exclusion. “
Venus Molina, Campbell’s chief of staff and lead author of the plan, said 30% was enough to keep housing units and comply with Coastline Law that demands affordable housing. “And at the same time, we know there is a history of short-term rental in the Mission Beach community.”
Andrea Schlageter, Chair of the Ocean Beach Planning Council, agreed with short-term shared or whole house stays. But short-term whole-house rentals for over 20 days a year and the Mission Beach carveout “are a giveaway” to investors.
Vacation rentals can still operate in mixed-use areas, she said. “It could help revamp our main street.”
Molina said the rules will reduce abuse of the system, as only one host can apply for a license, and only one at a time. Additionally, the whole house rental cap limits the number of licenses and they cannot be transferred to other people or properties.
The difficulty of the lottery system, which applies to rentals of entire homes, discourages bad actors, she said. If someone loses their license, someone else on the list will get it, creating a great incentive to play by the rules.
The regulations will allow the city to differentiate between part-time use, home sharing, and whole house units, and the licenses will help with tracking and enforcement. The city’s development services department plans to switch from paper to digital modules by the end of December.
A 24/7 complaints portal on the city’s website will keep track of multiple complaints, which can result in a host’s license being revoked.
Will neighbors abuse the complaints system? In 2017, the city banned the rental of Grandma’s apartments for less than 30 consecutive days. But 100 units authorized earlier had acquired rights for such use. And guest accommodations are not eligible for vacation rentals, although neighbors may find it difficult to tell the difference.
The commission recommended several revisions to council’s attention, suggesting that the whole house boundary be divided equally by district or other boundary; a requirement that the license holder validate their permanent address to match the rental property; and adding restrictions for issues such as noise attenuation.
Planning Commissioner Vicki Granowitz questioned the possibility of putting limits on the occupation to deal with the “holiday problem”.
This, however, is governed by state law, Molina said.
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