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Home My WebLink About11-12-2013 ac dyole2 ss1F{ irjr-i::J"1¡r c-l*/ OcT 31 2013Goodwin, Heather From: Sent: To: Subject: Mejia, Anthony Wednesday, October 30, 2013 11:03 PM Goodwin, Heather Fwd: short term rentals in SLO AGENDA CORRESPONDENCË Begin forwarded message: From: "Johnson, Derek" <diohnson@slocity > Date: October 30,2073 at9:39:04 PM PDT To: "'Cnesslo@aol.com"' <Cnesslo@,aol.som> Cc: "Mejia, Anthony" <amejia@slocity.org> Subject: RE: short term rentals in SLO Dear M. Doyle, Thank you for your comments. I have passed them onto the City Clerk so that they are available as part of the record for the City Council meetÌng on November 12,20L3. Thanks Derek From: Cnesslo@aol,com Imailto:Cnesslo@aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 9:25 PM To: Johnson, Derek Subject: shoft term rentals in SLO Mr. Johnson I have lived in SLO for 33 years and owned a business in the same location for 26 of those years l, am a user of short term rentals. I have used this type of lodging in lstanbul, Berlin, Victoria and Yosemite. I love this type of stay.... experiencing the culture from a neighborhood point of view often very different than the typical tourist point of view. I love getting insider recommendations. This type of lodging is my first choice when traveling. l, am also a 'host' for short term vacation rentals of my primary residence. And I love doing this. lt gives me the opportunity to meet and host people from all over the world as well as receiving greatly appreciated extra income during my struggle through this economy. I think the time has come to review the outdated law preventing this type of rental. I would like to address some of the points our opponents have mentioned: VRBO or renting out a second home for short term, causes the same problems as primary residence rentals: I am against vacation rentals where the owner does not live on the premises, where 15 people rent an 1 entire home and come with all their trucks, parking on the street and party all weekend long This type of rental is very disruptive to the neighborhood BUT Short term primary residence rentals are NOT thatl We live in our homes, are renting one room and are there the entire time of the rental. We rent to one or two people who are in town usually from other states or countries and want to experience the city from a local point of view. They are not here to party. They are travelers. Again,l live in my home so there would be no opportunity to party. Degradation of the neighborhood: ln my opinion,these travelers do not add impact to the neighborhood. Most hosts I have spoken with are empty nesters. The rooms we rent used to be our children's who were there all the time. With short term rentals, our rooms are rented out about 12 days of the month. So where is the impact. lf anything there is less impact. I heard from one opponent that 30 day renters have more invested and would take better care of the neighborhood and home. That has not been my experience. When I have rented on a monthly basis, primarily to students, I have experienced theft, lack of care for the neighborhood and much more degradation in my home than with any short term guest. Short term rentals cause security risks: ln my research through the police dept., I have not been able to find any instance where short term guests of a PRIMARY RESIDENCE caused an incident. There is a vetting system on some short term rental sites to assist in safe choices of renters Short term rentals eliminate possible rentals for people who would like to live and work in SLO: l, personally, will no longer rent my extra room to someone with whom I have nothing in common, who may create an awkward living arrangement for both parties and who will be under foot for an entire month. Butlwouldliketobeabletorentitaboutl2daysofthemonth. Thiswouldstillaffordmeplenty of privacy and flexibility for relatives or personal out of town guests to visit. Therefore, I am not negatively affecting affordable housing in any way lf the law is changed everyone in the neighborhood will staÉ utilizing short term rentals: Renting out a room in one's home is not for everyone. lt takes a special type of person to allow somewhat of a stranger to share their home. lt is also not easy for the host. lt requires a lot of work, prepping the home, providing supplies, cleaning, socializing with guests. All of my neighbors know I am doing this and none of them have jumped on the band wagon. lt also takes a certain type of traveler who is interested in this type of stay. The majority of travelers would NEVER stay in someone's home fortheir lodging. ln my opinion, short term rentals would have very little impact on the hotel industry. The primary resident host will be making money while the guest uses public parking spaces: This is just absurdl A 30 day renter would use the same parking space to make money for me. Another nearby destination, Santa Barbara, has the same law on the books I spoke with city councilman Grant House and this is what he told me about how they resolved their issues. "We have recognized the social and economic forces at work. We rigorously enforce business licenses and TOT collection from in- home vacation rentals while enforcing zoning violations on a complaint only basis when a serious problem emerges, something he said rarely happens. This did not require a new or amended ordinance. Staff responded to City Council's policy priorities: collect the 12% TOT from allvisitor rentals to fairly apply the tax requirement and maximize funds for general fund while enforcing the zoning code on a complaint basis only. The complaint procedure was clarified and published online to show people with a concern in their neighborhood how to responsibly report it and what they might reasonably expect to 2 happen with their complaint. The system is working and has struck the right balance. lt has also been financially rewarding and very helpfulthrough the economic downturn for both the city and the hosts". Grant House offered to speak with anyone if they would like to do so. ln the 1980's when San Luis'present law was enacted, there was no world wide web. With the onset of the internet, commerce has taken on a whole new face. There is no denying the "sharing economy" is here to stay. Please don't let SLO get left behind by choosing an outdated law over more progressive thinking or be held hostage by one lone citizen who has never had a problem with a primary resident stay but is on a bent to make the city enforce the law. lf SLO chooses to stay with an outdated law it is possible travelers will simply go to places where they do have these choices..., Pismo Beach, Cayucos, Arroyo Grande. No matter what the city does, short term rentals will continue to grow in popularity, just with no meaningful regulation or standards. At the same time, SLO will lose millions of valuable discretionary dollars .....tot, business license, and spendable tourist dollars. This is simply bad economics. Number of short{erm rentals prior to ban enforcement approx. 55 Average length of stay 3.5 days Average occupancy 2 Average daily rental rate $100 Average Occupancy Rate 50% Expected TOT at 10% - $100,375 ($100 x 182.5 days x 55 rentals) Business license $3,900 Average spent in community per day $240 Totaldirect economic impact $2.4 million ($2a0 x 182.5 days x 55 rentals) Thank you for listening and I look fonryard to coming up with a solution that will be pleasing to both the city staff, council and San Luis'citizens. Sincerely, C. Doyle 3