Police Chief George Crum provided an annual recap of the Short-Term Vacation Rentals Compliance Team progress from the period of November 13, 2020, to November 28, 2021. He presented the following points:
Number of short-term vacation permits by month
Licenses in HOA and non-HOA areas
Call for service
Citations issued
Hearing Dispositions
Top 8 residence that accounted for 63.8% calls for service Councilmember Raymond Gregory inquired on what the City is doing to collect outstanding fees.
City Manager Charles McClendon responded that the City could place a notice of pendency on the property, send to collections, or place a lien on the property.
City Attorney Eric Vail provided further clarification on the options laid out by the City Manager to collect the outstanding fees. He feels that revoking their license is the biggest penalty that the City can impose on violators.
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez inquired if the City can add legal fees to a judgment.
Eric Vail responded in the affirmative. He indicated that the City can ask the court to include these fees, typically the courts have allowed us to collect court and filing fees not attorney fees.
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez inquired if there is a breakdown of the outstanding fees by category.
City Manager Charles McClendon responded that he does not have that information at this time, however, he will have staff work on providing that information to the City Council.
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez inquired if the response time is the same for calls to the hotline and the Go Request app.
Police Chief George Crum responded that there can sometimes be a slight delay with Go Request submissions, however, the response time is typically the same.
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez inquired what is the top violation that the hearing officers have dismissed.
Police Chief George Crum responded that advertising violations where the top violation dismissed by the hearing officers.
Councilmember Raymond Gregory inquired if the options laid out by staff for collecting outstanding fees will be discussed, worked on, and moved forward in the upcoming sessions.
City Manager Charles McClendon responded in the affirmative.
Mayor Pro Tem Rita Lamb requested clarification on the process for placing a lien on a property prior to a property being sold.
City Attorney Eric Vail provided clarification on the options staff has to try and collect the fees. He stated that the City can place a Notice of Pendency on the property, place a lien on the property, or put a lien on the tax roll.
Councilmember Nancy Ross inquired why fees were not collected or a lien placed on the property mentioned by staff, which had outstanding fees that was sold.
City Manager Charles McClendon responded that the City was not at that point with the legal team to be able to act prior to the sale of the property, however, everyone was happy that this particular property was sold due to the amount of staff time and resources it used up.
Sandra Richter provided an overview of her experience with the short-term rental near her home, which has been sold. She thanked the City Council for their support and efforts. She urged the City Council to make all those who do business with the City provide a valid street address.
Tony Michaelis, President of Montage at Mission Hills HOA, informed the City Council that they enforced restrictions on short-term rentals in 2018. One of the homeowners sued the HOA, Brown vs. Montage at Mission Hills, and prevailed due to Civil Code section 4740. He urged the City Council to change the ordinance to protect HOAs from this situation.
Doug Evans thanked the City Council for giving his neighborhood back. He urged the city to be more aggressive in suspensions and non-renewals and to keep an eye on the illegal operators moving forward. He would like the City to amend the zoning ordinance to prohibit short-term vacation rentals in R1 and R2 zones.
The Following individuals submitted public comments via email and were read into the record by City Clerk Tracey Martinez:
Joan and Andy Braunstein expressed their gratitude to the City Council for their support and execution of Measure B, which has returned their neighborhood back into a community of residents. They hope the violators continue to be enforced and cited.
Pattie Hagedorn thanked staff and the City Council for their efforts to enforce the new ordinance. She also thanked the residents that stood up and spoke up.
Ed Emond-Worline congratulated the City Council and staff for the success of the STVR program to date. He urged the City to continue to enforce rules and regulations harder.
City Manager Charles McClendon stated that this item was for information and discussion only and no action is needed. There will be an item on the January 26, 2022, Agenda to discuss some recommended changes and receive feedback from the City Council on additional recommendations to the STVR Ordinance.