Item 35 - Public Hearing - Short Term Rentals Ordinance

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Short-Term Rentals November 19, 2024 Page 2 4 6 6 6 GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: No BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION The recommended actions in this staff report will repeal and reenact in its entirety Article XXI to Chapter 8 of the SAMC prohibiting Short-Term Rentals (STRs) and establish enhanced fines for violations of the local short-term rentals ordinance. On April 2, 2024, the City Council, at a regularly scheduled meeting, adopted an urgency ordinance (Ordinance No. NS-3060) and approved the first reading of a regular ordinance (Ordinance No. NS-3061) prohibiting STRs. On April 16, 2024, the City Council approved the second reading of the regular ordinance prohibiting STRs. On June 17, 2024, the City was served with a petition for Writ of Mandate by the Santa Ana Short-Term Rental Alliance challenging the City’s STR ordinances on grounds including relating to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Case No. 30- 2024-01404861-CU-WM-WJC. (“Writ action.”) To address deficiencies identified by the Writ action, it is recommended that the City Council adopt the draft Ordinance as presented in Exhibit 1 of this report. Analysis The proliferation of online vacation rental websites such as Airbnb.com and vrbo.com have encouraged and enabled property owners, tenants, and occupants to rent their local, residential properties on a short-term basis to travelers or transients. These STRs, generally numbering less than 30 days, are often associated with excessive noise, parking problems, trash, and degradation of a neighborhood’s residential character. Data collected from various STR platforms reveals that there are more than 700 STRs currently operating in Santa Ana. These 700 STRs are advertised in 1,760 listings across multiple platforms. Areas like Downtown and its nearby neighborhoods, along with the Hutton Center area, have a higher concentration of these rentals. To put this in perspective, the City's Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for 2021-2029 is 3,137 permanent housing units. The 700 short-term rental units represent about 22% of the City's housing needs, diverting a significant portion of available housing away from permanent residents. As a result of the reduction in available housing for permanent residents, the negative secondary effects including, but not limited to, excessive noise, parking problems, and trash, the ordinance is necessary as an emergency measure to preserve the public peace, health, safety, and welfare. Presently, there are 227 confirmed active cases of STRs that have received enforcement notices and citations. Among these cases, 92 involve owners residing at the same address, while 131 involve properties owned by an LLC, managed by a property management company, or owned by absentee owners. Enforcement efforts in