CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: January 28, 2025
SUBJECT:
TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF SHORT-TERM RENTAL PROHIBITION
DATE:
jANUARY 24, 2025
FROM:
KIMBERLY HALL BARLOW, CITY ATTORNEY
PRESENTATION BY:
KIMBERLY HALL BARLOW, CITY ATTORNEY
RECOMMENDATION:
Mayor John Stephens has requested this item be brought forward for City Council consideration. Should the City Council wish to proceed, it should adopt the attached resolution.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS:
In 2021, after multiple discussions at public meetings regarding whether to permit, with or without regulation, short term rentals in the City of Costa Mesa, the City Council ultimately determined to prohibit short term rentals excepting only those which involved home-sharing, or “hosted,” with the resident remaining in the home during the rental, and which existed as of December 1, 2020. On November 2, 2021, the City Council adopted Ordinance 2021-17 to implement the prohibition.
This month, firestorms have devastated multiple communities in Los Angeles County, including Altadena, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu and fires continue to destroy open space and homes. Thousands of homes have been destroyed, leaving tens of thousands with no place to live. Governor Newsom signed a Proclamation of a State of Emergency in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties due to the fires and continuing high winds. In light of this emergency, Mayor Stephens has requested that the City Council consider a temporary suspension of the City’s prohibition on short term rentals so that people who have lost their homes in the fires may have access to temporary lodging to deal with the fires’ aftermath.
Should the City Council support such a suspension, it should adopt the attached resolution and direct staff when or under what conditions the prohibition should be reinstated.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED:
The City Council may receive and file the report.
FISCAL REVIEW:
There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund in requesting City Council to temporarily suspend the short term rental prohibition.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney’s Office prepared this report and the proposed resolution.
CONCLUSION:
Should the City Council find that temporarily suspending the short term rental prohibition would provide opportunities for firestorm victims to locate temporary housing, it should adopt the attached resolution. 3