Ball gets rolling on short-term rental issue

Tuesday’s public meeting regarding the divisive issue of renting space in houses and apartments for 30 consecutive days or less in Laguna Beach ended much like prior gatherings on the topic — with more questions than answers.

A majority of the 50 or so attendees inside City Hall addressed Mayor Steve Dicterow, Councilman Bob Whalen and city staff in a meeting specifically dedicated to revising Laguna’s ordinance concerning short-term rentals.

Laguna’s moratorium on issuing new rental permits expires Oct. 1, thus the city wants an updated ordinance in place when the ban expires.

Companies such as Airbnb and HomeAway have created lucrative businesses by advertising available stays online in destinations throughout the world.

Earlier this year the council backed away from an outright ban on short-term rentals in all residential zones as the Planning Commission wanted. Council members mulled limiting the number of and duration of stays.

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Whalen and Dicterow, who formed a subcommittee to draft a revised ordinance, did not delve into specifics regarding length of stays Tuesday.

They requested staff return at the next subcommittee meeting in July with a report on whether the nature of short-term rentals has changed to possibly conflict with Laguna’s general plan.

Ann Larson, Laguna’s assistant community development director, said there is a difference between short-term lodging in 1999 and today.

“Previously, a very limited amount of people were coming to the city asking for short-term lodging permits,” Larson said. “Over the past few years, with the technology, web-based sites, it has mushroomed into a really intense commercial use because people can get the word out because it is available. What we approved previously [1999] is not what we have been seeing recently.”

Speakers have called short-term lodging a business that has no place in residential neighborhoods.

Laguna’s ordinance, adopted in 1999, allows short-term rentals in some, not all, residential zones. Some areas allow, under certain conditions, preschools, daycare centers and churches.

Since Laguna enacted the moratorium in May 2015, the city received 377 complaints from callers alleging myriad unruly behavior connected with short-term renters. A majority of the complaints centered on parking, Community Development Director Greg Pfost said.

Sixteen of the complaints were linked to the 36 permit holders.

In addition to familiar refrains that these types of rentals chip away at the city’s long-term housing stock and contribute to parking congestion on Laguna’s streets, speakers challenged prior claims that the practice helps property owners cover mortgage payments.

“For people with financial hardships, the council should direct them to financial counseling,” Mike Beanan, vice president of the South Laguna Civic Assn., said.

Supporters of short-term rentals also challenged prior claims, saying that some full-time residents are just as unruly as renters staying in a house or apartment for 30 days or less. Others said they have rented short-term for years and have encountered few or no problems.

“We’ve never had drug dealers or rowdy people,” said Pamela Brown, who stopped renting an apartment along South Coast Highway near Hotel Laguna when she heard the city enacted a moratorium. “Families, couples come to the city, spend money on restaurants and art galleries.

“I tried for over a year to get [a permit], then the moratorium started.”

Owners should only be able to rent out their primary residence for short-term stays, Dicterow suggested.

“It can’t be a second or vacation home,” Dicterow said. “We want them to have risk involved.”

It’s unclear how many of the existing 36 permits belong to properties in residential zones. The council earlier this year agreed with planning commissioners that owners could keep those permits no matter the outcome of the revised ordinance.

Whalen suggested the ordinance should address property owners wishing to capitalize financially with short-term rentals at the possible expense of quality of life.

“The notion of allowing people to come in and convert an existing home to a short-term property, that I don’t support,” Whalen said.

Regardless of what happens, enforcement figures to be a challenge. Dicterow asked staff to return with more ideas on how to identify lawbreakers.

The next meeting will be 4:30 p.m. July 14 at the Laguna Beach Community & Susi Q Center at 380 Third Street.

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Bryce Alderton, bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce

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