CommentsSOUTH OF THE 10 - Has the definition of “urgency” changed? Apparently in Inglewood it has. What was adopted as an “urgent” moratorium on short-term rentals in Inglewood last month, has morphed into a proposed 10-month extension as the number of listings has increased since 2017.
“We need to take a pause and think of the community since that is who we work for,” said Councilwoman Dionne Faulk, during the Feb. 1, 2022, city council meeting when the urgency ordinance was enacted.
The council implemented the urgency moratorium after a mass shooting took place at birthday party held at an un-regulated short-term rental weeks before the Super Bowl.
At the time the City was seeking to “pause” the growth of the industry that they were aware of since 2017.
During a public hearing held Oct. 27, 2020, the planning department stated the industry “should be allowed to promote tourism, protect housing stock, and create an enforceable structure to allow licensed short-term rentals in the city”.
On July 18, 2018, the Planning Commission approved a resolution recommending the city council approve the Zoning Code Amendment to establish short-term rental regulations.
The item was placed on multiple 2020 city council agendas, and pulled from each one of them . A scheduled Oct. 27, 2020 public hearing on the matter was also pulled from the agenda.
The issue appears to only being [publicly] addressed, we believe, is because of the shooting, not because the City wants to address short-term rentals. Airbnb is a member of the City’s local Chamber of Commerce.
The City allowed the Planning Commission to vote on the matter in 2018, months before the re-election of Mayor Butts, Dotson and Padilla, who are now up for re-election with the same issue before them?
The City is beginning enforcement of Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) tax collection of 14.5% of hosts earnings, dating back to Jan. 1, 2022, but how much revenue was lost since 2017 when the City first began to notice the upwards trend of listings? Or since Oct. 27, 2020, when the city had the fee schedule before them for adoption but instead pulled the item?
In 2018, the city knew of 421. That list has now grown between 500-800 listings. According to the actual numbers on the budget, the City needed that money.
If the listing is $100 x 14.5% tax is $14.50. $14.50 x 421 / month is $6104.50 x 12 = $73,254 annual and that’s assuming they have only hosted one night per month at this rate. Instead of charging business owners to operate, as they do every other business in the City, they choose to charge residents to park in front of their homes.
The mayor is requesting the Housing Protection Department’s division manager, over short-term rentals, work with him to “straighten things out”, however, city hall insiders allege that’s another “melanie” situation waiting to happen.
If we opine the delay of implementation of municipal code amendments, is for a possible campaign donation, would we be wrong?
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