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People v. Venice Suites, LLC, 71 Cal.App.5th 715 (2021)
<br />286 Cal.Rptr.3d 598, 21 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 11,565, 2021 Daily Journal D.A.R. 11,835
<br />Zoning code expressly authorizing use of
<br />apartment house in zone for human habitation
<br />without length of occupancy restriction could
<br />not be read in conjunction with rent stabilization
<br />ordinance (RSO) or transient occupancy
<br />tax ordinance (TOT) to require long-term
<br />occupancy; RSO's application only to monthly,
<br />and not weekly or daily, rent did not compel
<br />conclusion that apartment house was limited to
<br />long-term occupancy, definition of tenant did not
<br />have length of occupancy requirement, and TOT
<br />expressly contemplated that apartment houses
<br />could be occupied by transients, who exercised
<br />occupancy for 30 days or less.
<br />2 Cases that cite this headnote
<br />**600 APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of
<br />Los Angeles County. Teresa A. Beaudet, Judge. Affirmed.
<br />(Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC624350)
<br />Attorneys and Law Firms
<br />Michael N. Feuer, City Attorney, Kathleen A. Kenealy, Chief
<br />Assistant City Attorney, Scott Marcus, Chief Senior Assistant
<br />City Attorney, Blithe S. Bock and Michael M. Walsh, Deputy
<br />City Attorneys for Plaintiff and Appellant.
<br />Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, Benjamin M. Reznik,
<br />Matthew D. Hinks and Lara Leitner, Los Angeles, for
<br />Defendants and Respondents.
<br />Opinion
<br />OHTA, J.
<br />**601 *719 The People of the State of California
<br />brought suit against Venice Suites, LLC and Carl Lambert
<br />(collectively, Venice Suites) for *720 violation of the Los
<br />Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) and for public nuisance,
<br />among other causes of action. Venice Suites owns and
<br />operates an "Apartment House" as defined under LAMC
<br />section 12.03. 1 The People allege Venice Suites illegally
<br />operates a hotel or transient occupancy residential structure
<br />(TORS), defined below, in a building only permitted to
<br />operate as an Apartment House for long-term tenants and not
<br />overnight guests or transient renters. Further, the Apartment
<br />House is located in a R3 Multiple Dwelling residential zone,
<br />which disallows short-term occupancy. The trial court granted
<br />summary adjudication for Venice Suites on the two causes of
<br />action described above, finding the LAMC did not prohibit
<br />short-term occupancy of Apartment Houses in an R3 zone.
<br />The People appealed after they voluntarily dismissed the
<br />remaining claims. We affirm.
<br />FACTS
<br />The material facts of this case are undisputed. The subject
<br />property, a 32-unit building, is located at 417 Ocean Front
<br />Walk (417 OFW) in an area zoned for R3 Multiple Dwellings.
<br />The building was developed in 1921 in the City of Venice,
<br />which was later consolidated with the City of Los Angeles
<br />(City). The City issued a certificate of occupancy on June 10,
<br />1966, permitting use of 417 OFW as a "Thirty Two — Unit
<br />Apartment House. H Occupancy." In 1966, "H-Occupancy"
<br />uses were associated with the following subgroups: subgroup
<br />H-2 was for "Apartment House" use, H-3 was for "Hotel" use,
<br />and H-4 was for "Apartment/hotel" use.
<br />Lambert is the owner and corporate manager of Venice Suites,
<br />LLC. Venice Suites, LLC purchased 417 OFW on September
<br />14, 1999, when it housed a mixture of short-term occupants
<br />(those staying 30 days or less) and long-term occupants (those
<br />staying more than 30 days). The 32 units in 417 OFW are
<br />subject to the City's Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) and
<br />Venice Suites annually pays the RSO's registration renewal
<br />fee. Additionally, Venice Suites has obtained annual Los
<br />Angeles tax registration certificates and has paid business
<br />taxes for "Hotel, apartment, etc." for 417 OFW.
<br />After its purchase, Venice Suites began to renovate the
<br />property and paid relocation fees in compliance with the RSO
<br />to long-term tenants who wished to move. There have been
<br />no evictions from 417 OFW by Venice Suites. Since 2012,
<br />Venice Suites has rented the units at 417 OFW to members
<br />of the public on a short-term basis with no minimum stay
<br />requirement.
<br />*721 In 2014 and 2015, the City underwent a change of
<br />policy with regard to the regulation of short-term rentals;
<br />it did not change the law applicable to short-term rentals
<br />at that time, however. On several **602 occasions in
<br />mid —to —late 2014, the City moved to develop and adopt
<br />an ordinance to regulate short-term rentals and convened
<br />working groups to assist in establishing such an ordinance.
<br />In 2018, after the summary judgment proceedings in this
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