Short-Term Vacation Rentals

As Mayor, I will enforce our existing municipal code, which prohibits short term rentals in all residential zones.

We can't continue to let a multi-billion dollar industry take advantage of our City. Currently, up to 16,000 single-family homes are being used as short-term vacation rentals as well as a growing number of apartments and condominiums.

We are losing precious housing stock at a time that we have a housing shortage.

Economic studies show that the costs of short-term rentals to our City outweigh the benefits, increasing housing costs, reducing City tax revenues from tourism, circumventing zoning laws, and creating more income inequality, not less. Auditors also revealed that THE CITY SPENT $2 MILLION to pick up trash at 16,000 properties being used FOR ILLEGAL short-term rental businesses.

https://www.facebook.com/1584050195202316/posts/2397565720517422

In 2018, I tried to negotiate a compromise with Airbnb when I led an effort to have the City Council pass legislation. This compromise was not acceptable to Airbnb which spent over $1 million to “referendize” our legislation so the Council was forced to rescind it. Since then, the numbers have increased, and now apartments are also being turned into visitor accommodations.

It is time to enforce our existing municipal code which prohibits short-term vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods.

My opponent and I have very different opinions when it comes to Short-Term Vacation Rentals

He failed to regulate short-term vacation rentals when he served on the local City Council.

I recognize the damage 16,000 unregulated short-term rentals have done to our housing stock, rental prices, neighborhoods, and taxpayers. That’s why I’ve led the effort to demand enforcement of reasonable regulations that protect our neighborhoods from this multi-billion dollar industry.