I am a host in Santa Cruz and would like to start a Santa Cruz County community group or meet up. As many of you may know, Santa Cruz Co-Supervisors are developing new laws that would limit Airbnb in Santa Cruz County to two months a year and only one rental. The auspices of this movement to limit Santa Cruz Airbnb rentals appear to be the lack of affordable housing and the hotel industry complaints. However what is not taken into consideration is how hard it is the pay a mortgage in Santa Cruz and maintain being a homeowner. Many Airbnb hosts join Airbnb just to help pay their mortgage. There is also the issue of the many seniors who host who are trying to continue to own their home and get by on social security. Single women and college students who supervisors are targeted are needing rentals but need kitchen space to cook meals for children and many times have their kids living with them. Airbnb gives hosts income, a way to host without having multiple folks using one kitchen, and can limit children if renters are year-round would preclude using Airbnb in the two months that would be allowed( I assume the summer. )
I would like to organize a Santa Cruz community, have meetings very soon, trade information and make presentations to the supervisors as an organized one voice group. The supervisors did not send anything through Airbnb about this and I understand used Neighborhood groups to send a questionnaire out to Airbnb hosts, which does not cover the airbnb community so they got, I assume, no fair response from the hosts from the Santa Cruz community.If you are interested in helping to address this issue or other issues unrelated please let me know.