Urgency Ordinance No. NS-XXX
URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. NS-XXX
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA PURSUANT TO CHARTER SECTIONS 415 AND 417 ADDING ARTICLE XXI TO CHAPTER 8 OF THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE
PROHIBITING SHORT-TERM RENTALS
WHEREAS, the proliferation of online vacation rental websites such as Airbnb.com and vrbo.com have encouraged and enabled City of Santa Ana (“City”) property owners, tenants, and occupants to rent their local, residential properties on a short -term rental ( “STR”) basis to travelers or transients; and,
WHEREAS, these short-term rentals, generally numbering less than 30 days, are often associated with excessive noise, parking problems, trash, and degradation of a neighborhood’s residential character; and,
WHEREAS, the City has received numer ous complaints from residents about the negative secondary effects of short-term rental uses in their residential neighborhoods; and, WHEREAS, Short-term rentals also remove housing stock that could otherwise be available for long-term rental or for sale. Data collected from various STR platforms reveals that there are more than 1,100 active STR units across Santa Ana. The City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for 2021 -2029 is 3,137 permanent housing units. The 1,100 STRs represent about 35% of the City’s housing needs, diverting a significant portion of available housing away from permanent residents; and,
WHEREAS, pursuant to Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC) Section 41 -190(a), the Zoning Code (Chapter 41 of the SAMC) is a permissive ordinance, meaning that those uses expressly listed in the Zoning Code are permissible, and those not listed are prohibited.
WHEREAS, at present, the SAMC does not list STRs as an approved use in any zoning district, making them prohibited and unauthorized under the current enforcement practice afforded by Section 41-190(a).
WHEREAS, recent court rulings have brought into question the City’s ability to rely on the aforementioned section of the Zoning Code in specifically addressing STRs through the Code Enforcement process.
WHEREAS, the Santa Ana Municipal Code (“SAMC”) does not expressly address short- term rentals in residential zoning districts. However, because short -term rentals are not expressly permitted in residential zoning districts under the SAMC, such transient uses are prohibited; and, WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend the SAMC to expressly proh ibit short- term rentals within the City, to reaffirm existing law, and to preserve the residential character of City neighborhoods and stem the negative, secondary effects caused by those uses; and, Urgency Ordinance No. NS-XXX
WHEREAS, in response to recent legal developments, this urgency ordinance seeks to amend the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC) to prohibit short-term rentals in alignment with the SAMC's current practice and expectation, as well as compliance with recent court decisions; and,
WHEREAS, there currently exists over 100 confirmed active cases of STRs that have ongoing enforcement notices and violations;
WHEREAS, pursuant to Santa Ana City Charter sections 415 and 417, based on the above findings, this Ordinance is declared by the City Council to be necessary as an emergency measure to protect and preserve the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the City of Santa Ana and will become effective immediately if passed by the affirmative votes of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the City Council. The City Council hereby finds that there is an urgent need to adopt these regulations in order to address the current and immediate threats set forth above.
WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that it is necessary for preserving the public peace, health, safety, and welfare to expressly prohibit short-term rentals within the City and to declare such uses as a public nuisance punishable under the SAMC.
THE CI TY COUNCI L OF TH E CI TY OF SAN TA AN A DO ES ORDAI N AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Recitals. The recitals above are true, correct and each incorporated herein by reference and adopted as findings by the Santa Ana City Council (“City Council”) SECTION 2. Addition. Article XX I (Sections 8- 3400 – 8-3402) is hereby added to Chapter 8 of the SAMC to read as follows:
ARTICLE XXI. – SHORT-TERM RENTALS
Sec. 8-3400. – Definitions.
The definiti ons se t for th in thi s Secti on shall gove rn the applicati on and interpretation of this Article:
(a) Home-sharing rental means the rental of a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, to a person or group of persons, for compensation whether monetary or otherwise, for lodging or sleeping purposes for a period of less than thirty (30) consecutive calendar days while at least one of the dwelling unit’s owners lives on-site, in the dwelling unit, throughout the visitors’ stay. (b) Short-term or vacation rental means the rental to a person or group of persons of a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, for compensation whether monetary or otherwise, for lodging or sleeping purposes for a period of less than thirty (3 0) consecutive calendar days without concurrently being occupied by the property owner.
Sec. 8-3401. -Prohibited.
Urgency Ordinance No. NS-XXX
It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to: offer or make available for rent (via advertisement on a short-term or vacation rental website or otherwise) or to rent (by way of a rental agreement, lease, sublease, license, via a short -term or vacation rental website, or any other means, whether oral or written) for compensation or consideration a home-sharing rental, short-term or vacation rental for less than 30 days, pursuant to a rental agreement, lease, sublease, license, via a short - term or vacation rental website, or any other means, whether oral or written, for compensation or consideration, or maintain any advertisement of a home-sharing rental, short -term or vacation rental for less than 30 consecutive days.
Sec. 8-3402. -Violation; nuisance.
Any violation of this Article is unlawful, is hereby declared a public nuisance, and constitutes a misdemeanor punishable as set forth in Chapter 1 of the SAMC section 1-8. At the discretion of the City Attorney, a violation of this Article may be prosecuted as an infraction or misdemeanor.
In any civil action brought pursuant to this Article, a court of competent jurisdiction may awa rd reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the prevailing party. Pursuant to Municipal Code Section 1-21, the City may issue an administrative citation for any violation of this Article. Such administrative remedy may be exercised in place of, or in addition t o, any administrative, criminal, civil, or equitable remedy allowed by law.
SECTION 3. Urgency Findings. In accordance with Santa Ana City Charter Sections 415 and 417 and necessary as an emergency measure for p reserving the public peace, health, safety, and welfare, the City Council finds as follows:
A. The rise of short -term rentals within the City has become a public nuisance that has caused numerous complaints from residents about the negative secondary effects such as excessive noise, parking problems, trash, and degradation of residential zoning districts. The City Council, therefore, adopts this Urgency Ordinance to become effective immediately upon adoption pursuant to Santa Ana City Charter section 417 and to remain in effect until rescinded to prohibit short-term rentals within the City and provide City enforcement officials with a means to enforce the newly enacted Article.
B. The City wishes to have these new regulations immediately in place to preserve the residential characteristics of resid ential zoning districts and to mitigate the harm to the residential zoning districts that result from short-term rentals.
C. The City Council further finds that this Urgency Ordinance is necessary as an emergency measure for preserving the public peace, health, safety and welfare by prohibiting short-term rentals within the City.
D. Finally, the City Council finds that the regulations contained in this Urgency Ordinance are reasonable in order to preserve the public health, safety and welfare of its residents.
SECTION 4. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phase, or portion
Urgency Ordinance No. NS-XXX
of this Urgency Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Urgency Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Urgency Ordinance, and each section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof, irre spective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, phrases or portions might subsequently be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. CEQA Determination. The City Council finds that this Urgency Ordinance is not subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, pursuant to (Guidelines) Section 15060(c)(2) because the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and 15 060(c)(3) because the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly and so is not a project.
SECTION 6. Effective Date. Pursuant to Charter Section 417 (d), t his Urgency Ordinance is introduced, passed and adopted at one and the same meeting and is thereafter immediately effective. The City Council finds that this Urgenc y Ordinance is necessary as an emergency measure for preserving the public peace, health, safety, and welfare. The reasons for the emergency are set forth in Section 3, A-D, inclusive of this Urgency Ordinance.
SECTION 7. Publication. The City Clerk sha ll certify the adoption of this Urgency Ordinance and shall cause the same to be posted as required by law.
ADOPTED this ___ day of ___________________, 2024.
_______________________
Valerie Amezcua
Mayor
Urgency Ordinance No. NS-XXX
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Sonia R. Carvalho, City Attorney
_______________________________
Brandon Salvatierra
Deputy City Attorney
AYES: Councilmembers: ________________________________________
NOES: Councilmembers: ________________________________________
ABSTAIN: Councilmembers: ________________________________________
NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers: ________________________________________
Urgency Ordinance No. NS-XXX
CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY
I, Jennifer L. Hall, City Clerk, do hereby att est to and certify the attached Ordinance No. NS - XXXX to be the original ordinance adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on _________________, 2024.
Date: ________________ ____________________________________ City Clerk
City of Santa Ana