New rules in Laguna Beach target Airbnb and other short-term housing

Laguna Beach has joined the ranks of cities passing regulations governing short-term housing such as the Airbnb-style hotel alternative.

Affirming its first vote in August, the City Council voted unanimously last week to ban the controversial practice — which involves renting out space in a house or apartment for 30 days or less — in residential zones.

It would be allowed in commercial zones, such as in units above retail stores.

The new ordinance also requires property owners to provide the name and contact information of a person who could be on the site within one hour of a complaint to the city. It also limits overnight guests to two per bedroom, and tenants must be provided with at least two parking spaces.

The vote followed last-ditch efforts by opponents of the restrictions to get council members to change their minds.

Laguna has not issued any new short-term housing permits since May 2015 amid mounting complaints of loud parties and littered sidewalks and streets, problems that some residents have attributed to the transient renters.

The 36 permits issued before the moratorium would be grandfathered in.

Cities across the country have wrestled with how to address short-term lodging, which offers the property owner a source of income and the tenant another vacation option.

A subcommittee held two public meetings to gather residents’ input. The council, heeding the Planning Commission’s recommendation, voted Aug. 9 for the ordinance changes.

The revised ordinance becomes effective Sept. 30, one day before the current moratorium on issuing new permits was set to expire.

Opponents of short-term lodging in residential areas have repeatedly said renters create noise and eat up limited street parking.

But Wendy Crimp, who owns a duplex in north Laguna, told the council that not all renters are looking for a place to party.

Crimp said that most of the time she rents her available unit to tenants for more than 30 days, but “sometimes it goes unrented for months until I find the right people.”

Crimp said she has offered space for a neighbor displaced by a landslide and parents of a single mother who did not have enough room for the family in a studio apartment.

“Over the last five years, there have been eight times when neighbors approached me,” said Crimp, explaining that they know to go to her when someone needs help. “None of these good neighbor actions are possible in a post-ordinance world.”

Any property owner who had an approved city permit to rent short-term before the moratorium — even if the house or apartment is in a residential area — is allowed to continue to rent. In these cases. the permit would stay with the property in the event of an ownership change.

With the revised ordinance, any new permits issued would end when ownership changed. The new owner would need to obtain a new permit.

Councilman Robert Zur Schmiede said he favored relegating short-term lodging to commercial areas to avoid violating the city’s general plan.

Allowing short-term rentals in residential areas “would essentially be a policy to convert residential districts into commercial vacation areas over time,” he said.

“Our long-term rentals will be reduced, and second homes will become year-round mini-hotels, with our Police Department and 911 serving as the front desk,” Zur Schmiede said.

bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce

Alderton writes for Times Community News.

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