City attorney says short term rentals not allowed in San Diego

[TexasTowelie]

A City Attorney memo declaring that short-term rentals are not allowed in San Diego has intensified a long-simmering debate that is sure to boil over during a public hearing next week to consider new regulations governing home sharing.

In a break with the legal opinions of her predecessors, City Attorney Mara Elliott concluded that San Diego’s municipal code does not permit vacation rentals in any zone.

As recently as last November, former City Attorney Jan Goldsmith advised the City Council that the current code is too vague and would need to be amended if the city wanted to clarify that rentals listed on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO are in fact prohibited.

Elliott’s opinion arrives just as the city planning department is getting ready to release next week long-awaited draft proposals for regulating short-term rentals. A hearing has been scheduled for Friday before the council’s Smart Growth and Land Use Committee.

Read more: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/tourism/sd-fi-shortterm-rentals-20170315-story.html

[honeylady]

1. I have a vacation rental in San Diego

I have an attached granny flat we built for my mother-in-law 25 years ago. In 2011, we turned it into a vacation rental. Its been wonderful. We've made a good living and met so many wonderful people from all over the world.

But I certainly see why it should be regulated:

1. Beach and trendy, upscale neighborhoods are being severely impacted. One place my husband saw advertised on AirBnb had room for 20 to sleep, but parking for one car. We are not in a beach or upscale neighborhood so our little granny flat that we rent out does not impact our neighborhood in any way.

2. The other problem is one I can attest to personally. So many people are taking their rental units off the market for the sole purpose of short term rentals that San Diego has a 1.5% vacancy rate. Rents are skyrocketing. I have family members who cannot find a decent place to live that's affordable.

There definitely needs to be more regulation of the short term rental industry. I just hope we can keep renting out our little piece of paradise here on Mulberry Street.

[TexasTowelie]

2. One of the issues against short term rentals

is that it deprives local and state governments of tax revenue since many of those properties do not collect taxes. The hotel industry is opposed to the rentals because they believe that it gives an unfair advantage to those properties compared to hotels which require staffs for clerks and room service.

In other areas, the neighbors do not care for short term rentals because they sometimes have party-goers disrupting the neighborhoods way past normal hours.

[honeylady]

3. I always collect taxes and pay them n/t