PASO ROBLES IS BAN ON ALL VACATION RENTALS

Jill104
Level 2
Paso Robles, CA

PASO ROBLES IS BAN ON ALL VACATION RENTALS

Hey fellow Airbnb hosts, my name is Jill. I live in Paso Robles and am trying to get the word out about an Ordinance that is coming before the Paso Robles City Council for the final reading on June 18, 2019. This Ordiance will be BANNING ALL VACATION RENTALS in the City of Paso Robles. I received the following "Press Release" yesterday that states what this Ordinance entails. It is as follows:

 

PASO ROBLES, CA – On June 5, 2019, after a five-hour public hearing, the Paso Robles City Council voted 3-0 to introduce for first reading a Short-Term Rental Ordinance.  This ordinance includes input gathered since 2015 from numerous public meetings, two task forces, the Planning Commission, residents, visitors, and interested parties.  Two of the Councilmembers (Councilmember Gregory and Hamon) had conflicts of interests and were required to step down from hearing the item, leaving Mayor Martin, Councilmember Garcia and Councilmember Strong to vote.  
 
After hearing from 39 public speakers and dozens of written comments on Wednesday night, the Council considered three different versions of the Short-Term Rental Ordinance including versions from the Planning Commission, Short-Term Rental Task Force and an Alternative Version.  Ultimately, City Council deliberations yielded a fourth version referred to as “Ordinance D.”  After five failed motions, the City Council mustered three votes on the sixth motion to introduce Ordinance D, see details below.  
 
The Ordinance must come back to the City Council for a second reading on June 18, 2019.  The City Council is expected to approve a Short-Term Rental Permit processing procedure at the same meeting.  
 
The Short-Term Rental Ordinance would establish zoning regulations for Non-Hosted Accommodations (“Vacation Homes”) and hosted Home Shares throughout the City.  Currently the City has issued approximately 360 business licenses for short-term rentals that will be converted into Short-Term Rental Permits when the Ordinance goes into effect in the middle of July.  
 
The key provisions of the Short-Term Rental Ordinance “D” are:
• Holders of existing Short-Term Rental Business Licenses must apply for a Short-Term Rental Permit when the Ordinance becomes effective.
• Sets maximum occupancy requirements for daytime and nighttime.
• Sets minimum on-site parking requirements, with an exception process for properties with limited parking.
• Creates a Good Neighbor Brochure for renters and notifications of neighbors within 50 feet of the short-term rental.
• Creates a complaint resolution Hotline with the 30-minute response requirement.
• Creates a 24-month phase out of all Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals in the R-1 zone.  Home Share permits are not restricted in any zone including the R-1 zone.
• Sets a maximum cap of 250 Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental Permits outside of the R-1 zone.  Home Share permits are not restricted.
• Expands the definition of Home Shares to allow a home to be rented without the owner present for a maximum of 30 days annually.  
Following City Council approval of the second reading of the Short-Term Rental Ordinance on June 18th, the Ordinance would become effective in the middle of July 2019.  The first day to submit applications for a Short-Term Rental Permit would be July 19, 2019.
Warren Frace  
Community Development Director 
805/237-3970
wfrace@prcity.com

 

A number of vacation rental owners and hosts have come together to "Save Paso" and started a petition that needs your signature! Please chick on the link provided and sign it so that we can present this to the City Council to stop the Ordiannce from going forward for approval. We need to protect our rights to rent out of homes to whoever we want, whenever we want! Paso Robles has over 450 wineries and tasting rooms which bring in thousands of tourists annually. Without vacation rentals our businesses will suffer, homes will be lost to foreclosure and the City's revenue will be greatly affected. Help us Save Paso and pass the link along to anyone you know. Thanks!

http://chng.it/Fv2jz2TM

1 Reply 1
Sally221
Level 10
Berkeley, CA

Dear Jill,

ordinances like this are the coming thing, with the saturating markets and lack of oversight it was going to happen so now is the time to choose your battles carefully.

The folks who live in proximity to the heavily booked party house will not be on your side if the host attitude is "who ever and when ever and where ever" and you will need buy in from the non hosting community.

Allowing those who currently hold short term business licenses  to roll over to the renting permits if they have not been public nuisances seems like an easy win, deciding how many of these permits ought to be issued beyond those grandfathered in and how often this number is reviewed for possible expansion is something all stakeholders shouild be able to discuss.. Deciding how to have  guest max per size of listing  is better than having an arbitrary cut off - a huge party in a small house will set many neighbors firmly against the whole concept, right?  Outreach to the folks  in residential zoned neighborhoods to find out why they want stricter controls and how to craft policies that preserve livihoods and property values and peace of mind would be a wise move. I love visiting your area as a guest & I'm a host in Berkeley myself & it's going to be Crazy when we start setting our own policies. It would be great if the communities doing it ahead of us have worked out the broader details-I hope you can do it wisely & well, good luck, Sally