HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-06-2015 PH1 ShanbromSubject: FW: "Homestays " /airbnb
COUNCIL MEETING:
ITEM NO.:
From: shanbrom(a)aol.com [mailto:shanbrom(a)aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2015 1:32 PM
To: Mejia, Anthony; Carpenter, Dan; Christianson, Carlyn; Marx, Jan; Ashbaugh, John; Rivoire, Dan JAN 0 6 2015
Cc: shanbrom d)aol.com; rschmidtgd)calpoly.edu; rschmidtCabrain.org
Subject: "Homestays" /airbnb
Mr. Mejia, Please post as correspondence. Thank you.
Bob Shanbrom
Dear Councilmembers,
In all my years of observing the council I have yet to see an issue so sleazy as this. You are being railroaded by a mob of
scofflaws, portraying themselves as SLOHosts, "a mild- mannered group of people who just want to be ambassadors for
our lovely town." The claimed they only wanted to host people in their homes and now the proposal before the council is
that "their homes" will be defined only as the place they have their homestead exemption. THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO
LIVE THERE. Stealth Vacation Rentals by Owner and non - resident airbnbs /rooming houses. Clever. How did staff come
up with this black hole of a loophole? It wasn't the directive that the Council gave, to explore home stays, not to create
defacto motels.
Last meeting I attended I heard each and every one of the four allied members - -Dan, Carlyn, Jan and John - -vote to
authorize housing under the airport flyway, justifying it with the familiar slogans, "workforce housing," "affordable housing,"
"jobs /housing ratio," "owner (citizen)- occupied," "affordability ratio," "GHG emissions due to commuting," "traffic," etc. So
what are we to make of this if you vote in these stealth VRBO's and airbnb rooming houses /motels? That you will build
housing stock that put lives at risk for a long list of justifications but that you will not protect our housing stock from
conversion to tourist use because...? Please be on guard from being played by developers and those who would profiteer
on our civic capital. Be civic - minded, not totalitarian.
Even though we are a small town we share similar housing issues with NYC and San Francisco. There is a strong
backlash there against airbnb -type conversions of housing stock to tourist rentals. Please see the handwriting on the wall.
It was a mistake to ask staff to draft an ordinance. And a shock that they could not see through this real estate /developer
scheme to define ownership as having a homestead exemption (and living elsewhere if one pleased). But it is better to
admit the mistake and do the right thing than to compound it and go ahead and allow the massive airbnb /rooming
house /Bnb /rooming house boondoggle become a reality.
Dan C. - -The people who bought homes in R -1 neighborhoods have property rights. Do not take their rights from them by
converting their neighborhoods to commercial.
Dan R. - -This town will never be a biking town or an affordable town as long as we are giving residential beds to
tourists. You promised that you would not do this. Don't do it.
Carlyn- -Has a day ever gone by in the last ten years when you haven't proclaimed the need for more workforce housing in
SLO? Be true to your creed and don't give up workforce beds to tourists.
John - -I know you are a man of principle. Uphold the highest principles you have espoused.
Jan - -Thank you for your original vote to not even hear this issue. That took courage. Please provide the leadership
necessary tonight to send this idea packing. Maintain the ban on VRBOs AND ON AIRBNB and similar home stay
schemes.
Sincerely,
Bob Shanbrom
364 Montrose Drive