Short-term rentals not permitted in most areas of Santa Barbara

Rentals

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“Unregulated short-term rentals are inherently incompatible with the surrounding land uses and neighborhood due to the intensity of use and potential nuisance impacts related to noise, parking, littering, traffic congestion, public safety, ‘party houses,’ loss of community and the displacement of long-term residents,” staff said.

The second is that operating a residential unit as a short-term rental is typically far more lucrative than renting the unit on a long-term basis, which can take away already scarce housing for long-term rentals in Santa Barbara, and may encourage tenant evictions if a landlord concludes that they can earn more from short-term rentals than from a long-term tenant, staff said.

The overall objective of the year-long pilot program is to gather accurate data on the number, location and seasonality of short-term vacation rentals operating in the city, staff said. Once accurate data is obtained, the effort shifts to that of gaining compliance with the city’s zoning laws through investigation and, if necessary, prosecution of people operating illegal rentals in the inland areas of the city and in the Coastal Zone in response to nuisance-based complaints, staff said.

“The true magnitude and accompanying costs of that enforcement effort cannot be determined until accurate information is ascertained,” staff said.

While short term rentals are not permitted in most areas of Santa Barbara, they have nonetheless become a new form of visitor lodging in the city within the past decade.

STRs constitute the rental of any dwelling unit to any person for exclusive transient use of less than 30 days.

“While an informal market may have existed in years past, hosts can now make a spare room or an entire apartment or house available to potential visitors through websites such as Airbnb, VRBO and others,” staff said.

“Guests can select from a variety of housing options and have the experience of staying in a home in a neighborhood not traditionally geared to tourism.”

Because of the start of a significant increase of STRs in Santa Barbara in 2015, the council directed staff to begin proactive enforcement of existing zoning regulations on unlawful vacation rentals. Gathering the necessary evidence to support proactive enforcement was time-consuming and costly because of the number of unlawful vacation rentals then existing in the city, staff said.

The City Council allocated $170,000 from the General Fund to cover the costs of increased enforcement by the City Attorney’s Office and Community Development Department in Fiscal Year 2016 to hire contracted staff to assist in the enforcement of illegal STRs.

“Unfortunately, what was learned from that enforcement experience is the amount and resources allocated at that time was nowhere near enough to curb the explosion of the STR market,” staff said.

In subsequent years, the focus and resources dedicated to enforcement shifted to defend the city’s ability to prohibit STRs in multiple legal battles. One case in particular, Kracke v. City of Santa Barbara, changed how STRs are enforced in the Coastal Zone. The

Second District Court of Appeal determined that enforcement actions against Coastal Zone STRs are limited to situations where complaints are received due to tenant behavior or other nuisance-like conditions.

“Therefore, the city is unable to proactively initiate STR enforcement actions against unlawful rentals in the Coastal Zone as compared to inland where the city is free to enforce whether or not a complaint is received,” staff said.

In September, a presentation by the Community Development Department to the City Council noted that there continue to be a high number of STRs operating in the city (though that exact number is not known).

“At that meeting, noting concerns regarding neighborhood compatibility and the loss of urgently needed housing to a commercial enterprise, City Council expressed the need for increased enforcement on STRs.”

The new pilot program will have one primary goal: achieving permanent compliance with the Zoning Ordinance in the inland areas of Santa Barbara and compliance in the Coastal Zone in adherence to the parameters put in place by the court in the Kracke decision.

“To be clear, the recovery of unpaid Business License and Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) cannot be the primary goal of the program,” staff said. “The results of any investigation can form the basis of a criminal filing by the City Attorney’s Office. Therefore, any action taken will be focused on deterring the activity, and revenue generation cannot be considered as an objective in the prosecution portion of this program.” email: nhartsteinnewspress@gmail.com

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