Item 35 - Public Hearing - Short Term Rentals Ordinance

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Ordinance No. NS-XXX Page 1 of 7 ORDINANCE NO. NS-XXX AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, REPEALING AND REENACTING IN ITS ENTIRETY ARTICLE XXI TO CHAPTER 8 OF THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE PROHIBITING SHORT-TERM RENTALS WHEREAS, Article XXI of Chapter 8 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (“SAMC”), entitled “SHORT-TERM RENTALS” was adopted to preserve public peace, health, safety, and welfare by expressly prohibiting short-term rentals in the City of Santa Ana and to declare such uses as a public nuisance punishable under the SAMC; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to repeal and reenact Article XXI of Chapter 8 of the SAMC and make additional findings for its short-term rental prohibition; and WHEREAS, the proliferation of online vacation rental websites such as Airbnb.com and vrbo.com have encouraged and enabled City of Santa Ana (“City”) property owners, tenants, and occupants to rent their local, residential properties on a short-term rental (“STR”) basis to travelers or transients; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend the SAMC to expressly prohibit STRs within the City, to reaffirm existing policy and practice, and to preserve the residential character of City neighborhoods and stem the negative, secondary effects caused by those uses; and WHEREAS, during the period beginning June 1, 2023 to the present, the Santa Ana Police Department (“SAPD”) has received more than 250 calls for service and approximately 80 complaints related to the negative secondary effects of STRs in Santa Ana residential neighborhoods including but not limited to excessive noise, excessive alcohol use, parking problems, and fighting. These conditions constitute a public nuisance, threatening public health and safety and degrading the residential character of homes and neighborhoods; and WHEREAS, the City has limited police and staff resources, and these limited resources have been inordinately taxed by the need to respond to the calls for services and complaints related to the nuisance conditions created by STRs across the City; and WHEREAS, STRs also remove housing stock that could otherwise be available for long- term rental or for sale. 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. The City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for 2021- 2029 is 3,137 permanent housing units. The 700 STRs represent about 22 percent of the City’s RHNA housing needs, diverting a significant portion of available housing away from permanent residents; and, WHEREAS, historically, the City has prohibited STRs under a permissive zoning theory, meaning that those uses expressly listed in SAMC Section 41-190 of the Zoning Code (Chapter