Rental Housing Coalition Local Legislative Update
Palm Springs to vote on June 5 referendum restricting short-term vacation rentals
On June 5, Palm Spring voters will decide if more restrictions should be imposed on vacation rentals operating in the city. The Palm Springs City Council on February 21 voted to place a referendum authored by the Palm Springs Neighbors for Neighborhoods on the June 5 ballot. The vote follows the City Council’s decision in January to direct city staff to conduct an economic impact study on the proposed ordinance. If approved by voters, the ordinance would ban all vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods to rent for less than 28 days unless the property is
occupied by the owner at the time the unit is being rented.
At the February hearing, the consultants revealed the analysis of its economic impact report. The report showed that the ordinance would affect 75 percent of the 1,986 vacation rentals registered with the city that are located in residential neighborhoods. The data showed there were 467,000 visits that used homesharing or vacation rentals last year. If the ordinance is approved, Palm Springs would lose $199 million in economic activity, lose $9.6 million in tax revenue per year, and lose as many as 1,200 jobs across multiple sectors of the economy. Those in favor of the proposed
Š Welcomia | Dreamstime.com
ordinance criticized the report for not taking into account the economic impact of those units being long-term rentals or occupied by a homeowner living in the unit. Critics also added the impact report did not account for the decrease in economic activity due to the lower quality of life brought on by nuisance vacation rentals. The question is how effective and enforceable will the ordinance be if it is voted into law. The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians have already said they will not comply with the ordinance even if it is approved. According to the City of Palm Springs, approximately 770 vacation rentals are located on tribal lands. Half of Palm Springs belongs to the Agua Caliente Tribe in a checkered April 2018 RentalOwner | 17