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People v. Venice Suites, LLC, 71 Cal.App.5th 715 (2021) 286 Cal.Rptr.3d 598, 21 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 11,565, 2021 Daily Journal D.A.R. 11,835 case were concluded, the City enacted the Home Sharing Ordinance, which addresses short-term rentals in private homes. There is no contention the Home Sharing Ordinance applies to 417 OFW. In 2014, Lambert approached the City's planning department about entitlements to specifically permit short-term rentals at 417 OFW. He was instructed to proceed with the planning department and California Coastal Commission for such entitlements. As a result, Lambert submitted a Mello Act Determination of Affordable Units Application 2 for 417 OFW, stating he sought "conversion to transient occupancy residential." The planning department accepted the application to change 417 OFW "from an (E) 32- Unit Apartment Building to a 32-room transient occupancy residential bldg. in the Venice specific plan area and dual jurisdiction coastal zone." That application was ultimately denied. On January 26, 2015, the City issued a notice and order to comply, which asserted Venice Suites effected an "[i]llegal change of occupancy from `R-2 Occupancy' residential occupancies primarily permanent in nature (apartments) to `R-1 Occupancy' residential occupancies primarily transient in nature (hotel/motel) ...." The notice ordered Venice Suites to correct all violations by March 4, 2015. On June 17, 2016, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office filed a civil law enforcement action on behalf of the People against Venice Suites, seeking injunctive relief, equitable relief, and civil penalties for the use of 417 OFW as an illegal hotel or illegal TORS. The People alleged four causes of action: 1) violation of the LAMC, 2) public nuisance, 3) unfair competition under FABusiness and Professions Code section 17200, et seq., and 4) false advertising practices under Business and Professions Code section 17500, et seq. *722 As to the first cause of action, the People alleged a violation of LAMC section 11.00, which provides: "In addition to any other remedy or penalty provided by this [Los Angeles Municipal] Code, any violation of any provision of this Code is declared to be a public nuisance and may be abated by the City or by the City Attorney on behalf of the people of the State of California as a nuisance by means of a restraining order, injunction or any other order or judgment in law or equity issued by a court of competent jurisdiction." Specifically, the People alleged Venice Suites violated the following LAMC sections by operating 417 OFW as an illegal hotel or TORS: 12.10(A), which specifies the allowable uses in a R3 zone; 12.21(A)(1), which only allows the uses permitted in the applicable zone and after securing the requisite permits; 12.26(E) and 91.109.1, which require a certificate of occupancy to be issued before a building may be occupied; 91.8105.1, which requires a building permit be issued; and 91.8204, which prohibits changes to the use of a **603 building unless it is made to comply with the LAMC. The People further alleged Venice Suites failed to comply with an order issued pursuant to LAMC section 91.103.3. The second cause of action for public nuisance in violation of Civil Code sections 3479 and 3480 was predicated on the same violations of the LAMC as the first cause of action. The parties filed cross -motions for summary judgment or summary adjudication, disputing whether Venice Suites violated the LAMC. The primary dispute involved whether short-term occupancy of an Apartment House located in an R3 zone is prohibited under the LAMC. The People interpreted the LAMC to exclude short-term occupancy of Apartment Houses, relying on provisions of the Zoning Code (LAMC, § 11.00, et seq.), the RSO (LAMC, § 151.00, et seq.), and the Transient Occupancy Tax Ordinance (TOT; LAMC, § 21.7.1, et seq.). [1] Venice Suites argued the Zoning Code controlled and did not regulate the length of occupancy in an Apartment House. Short-term rentals were permitted because none of the provisions relating to an Apartment House in the Zoning Code specified a length of occupancy. Neither did the relevant land use plans regulate length of occupancy for an Apartment House. Venice Suites cited to testimony to that effect from the persons designated by the People to be the most knowledgeable on the subject. Venice Suites also relied *723 on a report issued by the City that concluded short- term rentals were not prohibited under the RSO.3 The trial court granted Venice Suites's motion for summary adjudication as to the first and second causes of action for violation of the LAMC and public nuisance, and it denied both motions as to the third and fourth causes of action for unfair business practices and false advertising. The People subsequently dismissed their third and fourth causes of action without prejudice and appealed the resulting judgment. WESTLAW © 2023 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. 5