From: Karen Miller
To: Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft; Tony Daysog; Michele Pryor; Tracy Jensen; Greg Boller; Lara Weisiger Subject: [EXTERNAL] Item 5K in the next Coucil meeting
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2026 11:11:13 AM
Dear Mayor and Council members,
I am opposed to the new regulations on short term rentals. Not becasue I disagree with making limitations but that if you are going to change the rules I would expect that the new rules be in effect as of the date of passage. In this ordinance you have an exemption for hosts that have operated for the past year. What about the business people who purchased existing businesses in less than a year? I have a client that just completed a 1031 exchange for an existing short term business in August. She is an elderly woman who cannot move in before 2 years of completing the exchange. Her daughter lives in Alameda and my client is planning on moving in to be near her daughter so that she has some support as she ages. Buying this existing business was an ideal situation as she receives some income while she waits until she can move in. She purchased the business in August when there was no restrictions regarding her purchase. With the new ordinance she would not qualify for the exemption. This was an existing business that has operated for years. My reading of the ordinance would not exempt her as a host even though she purchased an existing business. Is this what you intended? She is not starting a new business and made a business decision that was based on existing law.
When you consider changing a law, I'm not sure how you can add a "look back restriction" that nullifies people who have made a business decision that they made in less than the last year. If you would like to hear more about my client's situation, I would be happy to speak with any of you.
Thank you,
Karen Miller
510 388-2501
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