1 Vernice Hankins
From: Lynne Grande <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2022 7:14 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: comments re: Adoption of a Resolution to Establish a Home-Share Legalization Program
EXTERNAL
Dear City Council Members
I was born and raised in Santa Monica and have lived
here for my 60 years of life. My husband and I raised
our 4 daughters in our home of 28 years and as we
approached our retirement and began to tackle the
payback of our children’s college loans we decided to
capitalize on our property to generate a much
needed income. As we traveled to visit our daughters at their various colleges,
Airbnb provided an amazing alternative to expensive
hotels, we could be nestled in neighborhood homes and
spend time with our kids without breaking the bank.
Our existing garage became a permitted detached
accessory building when we built a room above it in
2002 and the idea of sharing our beautiful
neighborhood with other parents and grandparents
visiting family in Santa Monica seemed perfect.
We furnished, painted and decorated the space and
applied to the city for a license.
We received our Business License in November 2016
and for the next 4 years we
hosted and built relationships with travelers mostly
visiting family in Santa Monica.
We shared our favorite local restaurants, bike rentals
and shops and paid back thousands of dollars in student loans and generated approximately $14,000/year
in TOT taxes for Santa Monica.
In June of 2019 we were denied renewal of our license
for various reasons which
ranged from; the accessory building was 8 feet instead
of 6 feet from our home to, the lack of a final inspection which we subsequently got.
In June 2022, exactly 6 years from the issuance of our
first license, we received a citation and were fined
$1500.
2 We invested thousands in our home‐sharing business
and as we begin to payback our last daughter’s student
loan it is devastating to have our
small business stripped from us. Grandparents
preparing for the holidays with family
are bewildered that we have to turn them away and are
shocked at the local hotel
prices which they can’t afford on fixed incomes. Which
was once a win win for our family, Santa Monica and
travelers to our city has become “unlawful” and we feel targeted by the city we have supported and paid taxes
to for 28 years .
Please help us find a path back to legalization. At this time are also hoping for an issuance
of temporary Home‐Share permits pending
amendments so our guests of the past
6 years can enjoy time with their families during
Thanksgiving and the holidays.
Best
Lynne Grande