AGENDA ITEM #21
TOWN OF FAIRFAX
STAFF REPORT
September 7, 2022
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Heather Abrams, Town Manager
David Woltering, Interim Planning and Building Services Director SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Adopting Fees for the Short-term Rental Program for Inclusion in the Master Fee Schedule
__________________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt the Resolution Adopting Fees for the Short-term Rental Program for Inclusion in the Master Fee Schedule.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
At its meeting of June 1, 2022, the Town Council adopted Resolution 22-44, which provides the policies and procedures necessary to implement and administer the Town’s Short-term Rental (STR) Program. The STR Program allows permanent residents in Fairfax to rent out specified residential dwellings for 30 consecutive days or less, subject to compliance with prescribed requirements including those related to occupancy limits and parking requirements.
At its meeting of July 6, 2022, the Town Council adopted Ordinance No.865, which allows STRs in single family residential zones in the Town, and Ordinance No. 866, which establishes the STR Program. Both ordinances became effective 30 days after being adopted, and the provisions of the adopted Resolution are effective in support of these ordinances. At the January 19, 2022, Town Council meeting, a third-party administrator of STR Programs, Host Compliance, presented to the Council the range of services it could provide in support of the Town’s STR Program. These services include the following: Address Identification; 24/7 Hotline Compliance Monitoring; Mobile Permitting & Registration; Rental Activity Monitoring; and Tax Collection. The Host Compliance services are primarily an online platform to coordinate the identification, registration, monitoring, initial enforcement, fee collection, and data collection activities involved with an STR Program. While the third-party contractor would provide a foundation for the implementation and administration of the STR Program, staff would still have a significant role in verifying registrations, responding to information requests and complaints, financial monitoring, business licenses, enforcement, and legal. The thirdparty contractor’s services would be extremely valuable in identifying STRs in the community and providing foundational support and data collection to make the program successful. At the January 19, 2022, Town Council meeting, Host Compliance representatives indicated they anticipated their services would cost the Town approximately $14,000.
Staff has followed-up with Host Compliance representatives to learn more about their services and requested a formal cost proposal. Host Compliance has submitted a cost proposal for the service areas listed above for a total amount annually of $13,823.00. While the Host Compliance proposal is firm, this is a new program and staff costs and associated program revenues can only be estimated. Staff estimated costs, proposed fees may not cover all program costs, and the Council may direct staff to review the program to adjust fees towards the end of the first year of operation when actual costs are more firm. As directed by the Town Council when adopting the implementing ordinances and resolution for this program, the registration fee will be waived for the first six months as an incentive to encourage registration of the STRs in the Fairfax community. Additionally, staff is recommending a relatively low initial registration fee of $150 per unit. As a local example for comparison, the City of San Rafael charges $170 for initial registration per unit, and $135 for renewals.
FISCAL IMPACT
Staff expects that towards the end of the first year, there will be relevant information about both actual costs and revenues to adjust the registration fee as may be necessary. A combination of the registration fee, Hotel User Tax (HUT), general funds, and business license fees can be used to fund the program.
ATTACHMENTS
A. Resolution Adopting Fees
B. Granicus (Host Compliance) STR Program Services Proposal
ATTACHMENT A
RESOLUTION 22-__
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF FAIRFAX ADOPTING A RESOLUTION
ADOPTING FEES FOR THE SHORT-TERM RENTAL PROGRAM FOR INCLUSION
IN THE MASTER FEE SCHEDULE
WHEREAS, California Government Code section 50076 permits municipalities to charge fees for services or regulatory activities which do not exceed the reasonable cost of providing those services or activities; and
WHEREAS, Town staff has analyzed the Town’s Short-term Rental (STR) Program (“Fee Estimate Worksheet for Short-term Rental (STR) Program, dated
9.1.22”), and determined a reasonable initial registration fee for the STR Program to be $150 per unit; and
WHEREAS, registrants of the STR Program also will be required to obtain a Town business license and pay an annual Hotel User Tax (HUT).
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Council of the Town of Fairfax does hereby adopt and authorize the $150 STR Program Registration Fee to be included in the Town’s Master Fee Schedule.
The foregoing Resolution was duly passed and adopted at a Regular Meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Fairfax held in said Town on the 7th day of September 2022, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
_____________________________
Stephanie Hellman, Mayor
Attest:
____________________________
Michele Gardner, Town Clerk
408 Saint Peter Street, Suite 600 THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE Order Form Saint Paul, MN 55102 Prepared for
United States Fairfax, CA
Order #: Q-167596
Prepared: 08/08/2022
Granicus Proposal for Fairfax, CA
ORDER DETAILS
Prepared By: Kester Bonsu
Phone:
Email: [email protected]
Order #: Q-167596
Prepared On: 08/08/2022
Expires On: 09/30/2022
Currency: USD
Payment Terms: Net 30 (Payments for subscriptions are due at the beginning of the period of performance.)
Period of Performance: The term of the Agreement will commence on the date this document is signed and will continue for 12 months.
ORDER TERMS
ATTACHMENT B
G G"RANICUS
Order Form
Fairfax, CA
Order #: Q-167596
Prepared: 08/08/2022
PRICING SUMMARY
The pricing and terms within this Proposal are specific to the products and volumes contained within this Proposal.
One-Time Fees
Solution Billing
Frequency Quantity/Unit One-Time Fee
Address Identification - Setup and
Configuration Up Front 1 Each $0.00
Address Identification - Online Training Up Front 1 Each $0.00 24/7 Hotline - Setup and Configuration Up Front 1 Each $0.00 24/7 Hotline - Online Training Up Front 1 Each $0.00
Compliance Monitoring - Setup and
Configuration Up Front 1 Each $0.00
Compliance Monitoring - Online Training Up Front 1 Each $0.00 Mobile Permitting & Registration - Setup
and Configuration Up Front 1 Each $0.00
Mobile Permitting & Registration - Online
Training Up Front 1 Each $0.00
Rental Activity Monitoring - Setup and
Configuration Up Front 1 Each $0.00
Rental Activity Monitoring - Online Training Up Front 1 Each $0.00 Tax Collection - Setup and Configuration Up Front 1 Each $0.00 Tax Collection - Online Training Up Front 1 Each $0.00
SUBTOTAL: $0.00
G G"RANICUS
Order Form
Fairfax, CA
Order #: Q-167596
Prepared: 08/08/2022
New Subscription Fees
Solution Billing
Frequency Quantity/Unit Annual Fee
Address Identification
Annual 90 Rental
Listings $4,050.00
24/7 Hotline
Annual 74 Rental
Units $888.00
Compliance Monitoring
Annual 74 Rental
Units $1,665.00
Mobile Permitting & Registration
Annual 1 Each $5,000.00
Rental Activity Monitoring
Annual 74 Rental
Units $2,220.00
Tax Collection
Annual 1 Each $0.00
SUBTOTAL: $13,823.00
G G"RANICUS
Order Form
Fairfax, CA
Order #: Q-167596
Prepared: 08/08/2022
PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS
Solution Description
Address Identification Ongoing monitoring of 60+ Short Term Rental websites including major platforms Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, Booking.com, FlipKey, & Expedia. Our machine learning will deduplicate all known Listings into unique Rental Units, where our identification team will provide owner contact information for further enforcement. This product includes:- Ongoing monitoring of all listings in your jurisdiction
- Updating listing activity and details every 3-5 days
- Screenshot activity of every listing
- Deduplication of listings into unique Rental Units
- Activity dashboard and map to monitor trends and breakdown of compliance
24/7 Hotline 24/7 web and phone hotline for your community to report short term rental complaints such as parking, trash, noise disturbances, and illegal short term rentals. This product include:- Mobile-enabled online web form for citizens to submit tips or complaints (text, videos, and photos) - 24/7 call center for citizens to contact and report complaints verbally - Recordings for all call center complaints
- Email notifications to your team when complaints are logged - Automatic outbound IVR calls and SMS messages to permit emergency contacts notifying them of the complaint
- SMS support for emergency contacts to mark a complaint as acknowledged or resolved with the ability to send resolution notes - Hotline Dashboard for tracking complaint volumes, trends, and categories
- Ability to upload Notes/Comments to each complaint
Compliance Monitoring Compliance monitoring provides up-to-date information for each identified Rental Unit and its compliance status. We configure your compliance definition specific to your jurisdiction rules and ordinances in order to provide up-to-date compliance status of each identified Rental Unit. Additionally, this product will:- Allow your team to send letters to noncompliant properties 24/7 - Configure letter templates with your branding and letterhead - Add as many letter sequences as you need for escalation - Monitor properties that become compliant after letter enforcement G G"RANICUS
Order Form
Fairfax, CA
Order #: Q-167596
Prepared: 08/08/2022
Solution Description
Mobile Permitting & Registration Mobile-enabled online forms and back-end systems for streamlining the registration/licensing/permitting of individual short-term rental hosts. These registration forms and workflows include:- Parcel Number lookup and validation
- E-Signatures
- ACH, Debit, and Credit Payments exclusively powered by Stripe.com - Registration Number & Certificate creation
- Document Upload
- Renewals
- Email confirmation
- Admin approval & denial
Rental Activity Monitoring Ongoing monitoring of Short Term Rental listings for signs of rental activity including historical revenue estimates & occupancy. Coupled with our Tax Collection product, users can also compare historical revenue estimates to actual reported revenue to identify those that may be underreporting and underpaying sales tax (i.e. TOT).
Address Identification - Setup
and Configuration
Setup and configuration of the platform to facilitate the systematic identification of the addresses and owner's contact information for shortterm rentals located in a specific local government's jurisdiction.
Note: The implementation timeline for Client is dependent on Granicus' receipt of all data from Client required to complete the services, including assessor data and registration files, in the format agreed upon by the parties prior to project kick-off. Any fees associated with the collection or receipt of required data will be borne by Client.
Address Identification - Online
Training
Virtual training session with a Granicus professional services trainer. 24/7 Hotline - Setup and
Configuration
Setup and configuration of the online platform to enable neighbors to report, prove and get instant resolution to non-emergency short-term rental related problems.
24/7 Hotline - Online Training Virtual training session with a Granicus professional services trainer.
Compliance Monitoring - Setup
and Configuration
Setup and configuration of the system to enable ongoing monitoring of a specific jurisdiction's short-term rentals for compliance with the relevant registration/licensing/permitting requirements.
Compliance Monitoring -
Online Training
Virtual training session with a Granicus professional services trainer.
G G"RANICUS
Order Form
Fairfax, CA
Order #: Q-167596
Prepared: 08/08/2022
Solution Description
Mobile Permitting & Registration
- Setup and Configuration
Setup and configuration of mobile-enabled online forms and back-end systems for streamlining the registration/licensing/permitting of individual short-term rental hosts and capturing and processing the associated signatures, payments and required documentation
Mobile Permitting & Registration
- Online Training
Virtual training session with a Granicus professional services trainer.
Rental Activity Monitoring -
Setup and Configuration
Setup and configuration of ongoing monitoring of Short-term Rental listings for signs of rental activity.
Rental Activity Monitoring -
Online Training
Virtual training session with a Granicus professional services trainer.
Tax Collection Tax Collection can be built as a separate mobile-enabled form or coupled with Mobile Permitting & Registration in one single portal allowing your users to:- Report revenue monthly, quarterly, or annually and pay sales tax due (i.e TOT)
- Remind users when they are registering for a permit/license to also report any back taxes
- Collect ACH, Debit, and Credit Payments exclusively powered by Stripe.com
Tax Collection - Setup and
Configuration
Setup and configuration of mobile-enabled online forms and back-end systems for streamlining the monthly/quarterly collection of taxes from individual short-term rental hosts and capturing and processing the associated signatures, payments and required documentation Tax Collection - Online Training Virtual training session with a Granicus professional services trainer.
G G"RANICUS
Order Form
Fairfax, CA
Order #: Q-167596
Prepared: 08/08/2022
TERMS & CONDITIONS
• Link to Terms: https://granicus.com/pdfs/Master_Subscription_Agreement.pdf • This quote is exclusive of applicable state, local, and federal taxes, which, if any, will be included in the invoice. It is the responsibility of Fairfax, CA to provide applicable exemption certificate(s). • Granicus certifies that it will not sell, retain, use, or disclose any personal information provided by Client for any purpose other than the specific purpose of performing the services outlined within this Agreement. • Any lapse in payment may result in suspension of service and will require the payment of a setup fee to reinstate the subscription.
• Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, Granicus reserves the right to adjust pricing at any renewal in which the volume has changed from the prior term without regard to the prior term's per-unit pricing.
G G"RANICUS
Order Form
Fairfax, CA
Order #: Q-167596
Prepared: 08/08/2022
BILLING INFORMATION
Billing Contact: Purchase Order
Required?
[ ] - No
[ ] - Yes
Billing Address: PO Number:
If PO required
Billing Email: Billing Phone:
If submitting a Purchase Order, please include the following language:
The pricing, terms, and conditions of quote Q-167596 dated 08/08/2022 are incorporated into this Purchase Order by reference and shall take precedence over any terms and conditions included in this Purchase Order.
AGREEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE
By signing this document, the undersigned certifies they have authority to enter the agreement. The undersigned also understands the services and terms.
Fairfax, CA
Signature:
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Name:
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Title:
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Date:
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G G"RANICUS