Council to consider action on illegal short-term housing rentals

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The City Council’s Finance Committee is urging the full council to approve a pilot program aimed at counting the number of short-term housing rentals operating in Santa Barbara – and cracking down on the ones that are illegal.

Chair Eric Friedman told the council at its last meeting that the Finance Committee had voted 3-0 to endorse the oneyear rental enforcement pilot program, to be directed by the City Attorney’s Office and the Finance Department.

The council could consider the matter at its April 11 meeting.

The city has long wanted to do something about the increasing number of illegal short-term housing rentals operating in Santa Barbara, and the Finance Committee believes this aggressive enforcement program could do the trick.

There seem to be two main problems being addressed by the crackdown, aside from the fact that these illegal rental housing units violate the city’s zoning code.

The first is that they’re often incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood.

Please see RENTALS on A2