From: Meads, Shari
To: Cleary, Eileen
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] Fwd: Short Term Rentals
Date: Thursday, July 28, 2022 4:49:14 PM
Shari Meads (she/her) | Senior Planner
Planning & Economic Development |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3| Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Tel. (707) 543-4665 | Fax (707) 543-3269 | [email protected] All emails are subject to the California Public Records Act and neither the sender nor any recipients should have any expectation of privacy regarding the contents of such communications.
Due to increased demand, limited resources, and time constraints, delays are expected in the City's permit processing. The Planning Division anticipates returning to standard processing and response times by Fall 2022. Thank you for your patience and understanding as City operations are reestablished following the coronavirus pandemic.
From: Maureen Linde <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2022 4:10 PM
To: Smith, Maraskeshia <[email protected]>; Nutt, Jason <[email protected]>; Hartman, Clare <[email protected]>; Oswald, Jesse <[email protected]>; [email protected]; Rogers, Chris <[email protected]>; Rogers, Natalie <[email protected]>; jsawyer@srcityorg; Alvarez, Eddie <[email protected]>; MacDonald, Dianna <[email protected]> Cc: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Fwd: Short Term Rentals
Good afternoon- I am forwarding my letter that I wrote to Victoria Fleming re: short term rentals to you as I am unable to attend the upcoming meeting and I would like my opinion included in the meeting.
Thank you,
Maureen Linde
Begin forwarded message:
From: Maureen Linde <[email protected]
>
Subject: Short Term Rentals
Date: July 28, 2022 at 2:32:18 PM PDT
To: "[email protected]
" <[email protected]>
Good afternoon Ms. Fleming- I write to you today as a concerned resident of Santa Rosa. My husband and I have lived in Santa Rosa nearly sixty years. We have a short- term rental next to our home that has completely upended our lives. Our home is on the east side of town in the Hidden Valley neighborhood. The couple that purchased the home (with cash and well over market value) live outside of the area and have never resided in this home. From my research, they own several other short-term rentals in Southern California. They have made short term rental ownership their business. They have chosen Santa Rosa because of the wonderful attributes this area has: wine country, beautiful coastline, gorgeous weather, amazing food and shopping venues. Those same qualities that we appreciate and love will also be our demise if the city allows short-term rentals to overrun our neighborhoods. I can assure you that we can have a viable tourist destination without implementing short term rentals.
I am writing this not only as a concerned resident, but also as a Realtor. For years Santa Rosa has touted the fact that we need more homes, homes for the underprivileged, homes for the workers that make our tourist attractions run and homes for the homeowners or those moving to our area to upsize or downsize. When the City doesn’t implement or curtail short-term rentals, it puts a burden on our already diminished housing stock. Typically homeowners move every 5-7 years. Short term rentals have made the prices artificially inflate because most of the short-term rental buyers have cash and are coming from out of the area (as my new neighbors did) and a million dollar home is “a steal” in their viewpoint. Most “regular” homeowners don’t have the cash to make “the deal”, so the average homeowner loses out again and again to the corporations buying up our housing stock, making it nearly impossible to upsize or move to a more desirable area.
Additionally, it also inflates the rental market. Homebuyers who are outbid or unable to compete with the short-term rental buyer rent in the area, thus the lower wage earner or first-time buyer is squeezed out of the rental market.
One more facet that I would like to mention before closing is, if my husband and I want to relocate or move outside of the area, we are required to “disclose” the short term rental. It puts a big red “X” on our home and negatively impacts our home's resale value. We are losing the “local” feel of the neighborhoods; we are losing students for our schools and the blue-collar workers due to lack of affordable housing and long- standing Sonoma County Residents families are forced to move elsewhere because of the inflated housing prices.
Please don’t put money ahead of your citizens! We are hoping for a just resolution that will ensure our neighborhoods remain quiet and safe.
Thank you very much for your time and attention to this crucial issue!
Maureen & Erik Linde
Sent from Mail for Windows
From: Meads, Shari
To: Cleary, Eileen
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] STR meeting 8/9
Date: Monday, July 25, 2022 4:57:54 PM
Shari Meads (she/her) | Senior Planner
Planning & Economic Development |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Tel. (707) 543-4665 | Fax (707) 543-3269 |
[email protected]
Due to increased demand, limited resources, and time constraints, delays are expected in the City's permit processing. The Planning Division anticipates returning to standard processing and response times by Fall 2022.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as City operations are reestablished following the coronavirus pandemic.
-----Original Message-----
From: Rhonda Fitzgerald <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2022 6:07 AM
To: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] STR meeting 8/9
For my 2 cents - 215 non-hosted rentals is way too much to be allowed for this city. Non-hosted rentals are what caused the problems in the first place and to allow 215 is way too generous. 15 would be a more appropriate number.
Also, I find it interesting you put this 215 figure in your email message about the meeting but nowhere can I find what the proposed fee will be. It would be nice to know what the City has decided to settle on. $1129 is way too high a figure. $129 would be reasonable. If you got rid of 200 non-hosted rentals a $129 fee should more than cover admin costs to regulate what is left - law-abiding, well-managed hosted rentals and a few non-hosted. What is the proposed fee?
Thanks - Rhonda
Sent to you from my IPhone.
From: Meads, Shari
To: Cleary, Eileen
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] Reply to "Notice of Public Hearing: Short-Term Rentals on Aug. 9" Date: Monday, July 25, 2022 4:57:11 PM
Attachments: image002.png
Shari Meads (she/her) | Senior Planner
Planning & Economic Development |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Tel. (707) 543-4665 | Fax (707) 543-3269 |
[email protected]
Due to increased demand, limited resources, and time constraints, delays are expected in the City's permit processing. The Planning Division anticipates returning to standard processing and response times by Fall 2022. Thank you for your patience and understanding as City operations are reestablished following the coronavirus pandemic.
From: Sonoma County Coalition of Hosts <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2022 9:23 AM
To: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Reply to "Notice of Public Hearing: Short-Term Rentals on Aug. 9"
Dear Shari,
Thank you for the clarifications.
Our main concern in (2) regarding penalties explained above, is that it seems to us that all infractions are treated the same. Forgetting to include your TOT# in a listing – is not the same infraction as letting a wild house party rage on until 3 am. If our goals are to stop noise and nuisance problems, why would we give these very different infractions the same weight? This takes up valuable staff and enforcement time on issues that do not help solve our reasons for having an ordinance in the first place.
With regard to (1) we would reiterate our position that it is more fair to the citizens of Santa Rosa to limit the number of permits one owner can be issued. This is recommended rather than rely on arbitrary caps or 1000 foot limits, since every homeowner would retain the same rights and restrictions. This would prohibit big outside investors from coming in and swooping up properties, but allow the average owner the option to propose a property short-term. One never knows when some unexpected event in their life (i.e., loss of a job, care of a loved, divorce or death of a spouse) and they find themselves needing to earn extra income-offering a home short-term could be the only way to make ends meets.
This cap of 215 only pushes up the price of lodging for middle-class and working families, and caps small businesses and jobs in our city at a time when it is much needed. Ask anyone who owns a restaurant or café if they are at full capacity, and we believe the answer will be no.
Why is a cap necessary when there is a 1000-foot radius limit? Does the City think both are necessary?
Again Shari, thank you for your reply during this busy time of the year! Sonoma County Coalition of Hosts
On Fri, Jul 15, 2022 at 10:17 AM Meads, Shari <[email protected]> wrote:
Good morning!
I’m fighting a deadline today so forgive the “shortness” of my reply. I want to provide answers to your questions as soon as possible.
The proposed STR Urgency Ordinance (Urgency Ordinance) will:
(1) set a maximum number of 215 non-hosted STR Permits to be issued citywide. This will allow continued processing of the STR Permits that have been submitted in good faith since the adoption of the STR Ordinance and prior to the adoption of this Urgency Ordinance while prohibiting the submittal of new non-hosted STR Permit applications; and (2) clarify that enforcement penalties apply to permit holders and operators in good standing.
Section 20-48.080 includes a three-step violation process that imposes a $500 penalty for a first violation, a $1,000 penalty for any second violation, and a $2,000 penalty and revocation of the STR Permit for any third violation accrued within one year. Table 48.1 specifies that the penalties and permit revocation apply to STR permit holders. This section is revised to clarify that the enforcement penalties and revocations apply not only to STR permit holders but also to “operators in good standing” who are still in the permit review process. By making this revision, those operators that meet the Chapter 20-48 definition of “operator in good standing” (having registered for TOT by October 27, 2021 and applied for a STR Permit by December 3, 2021) will be subject to enforcement penalties and their “good standing” status will be revoked after three violations. The result of such revocation is the same as denial of an STR Application, which is that the “Operator is no longer considered an Operator in Good Standing and shall immediately cease renting, offering, or advertising the short-term rental” pursuant to Section 20-48.040(B)(1)(b).
The proposed Resolution will establish an STR Permit annual renewal fee equal to the Over-the- Counter Temporary Conditional Use Permit application fee as set forth in the City of Santa Rosa Fee Schedule. This fee is currently $256.
th
The ordinance headed to the Council on August 9 will address ONLY these changes. Staff will still begin a community engagement process and determine any future necessary amendments (I have a large list for consideration – including all that you have previously submitted) once we get past this step. The input of your team will be invaluable.
Hope this helps. We can chat more next week if you would like.
Shari
Shari Meads (she/her) | Senior Planner
Planning & Economic Development |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Tel. (707) 543-4665 | Fax (707) 543-3269 |
[email protected]
Due to increased demand, limited resources, and time constraints, delays are expected in the City's permit processing. The Planning Division anticipates returning to standard processing and response times by Fall 2022. Thank you for your patience and understanding as City operations are reestablished following the coronavirus pandemic.
From: Sonoma County Coalition of Hosts <[email protected] >
Sent: Friday, July 15, 2022 9:56 AM
To: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Reply to "Notice of Public Hearing: Short-Term Rentals on Aug. 9"
Dear Shari,
We look forward to the meeting on Aug. 9th at which the City Council is considering updates to the Short-Term Rental Urgency Ordinance.
We would love to be of help as you consider changes to the rules. We had a couple of questions and comments for you.
1) Our Coalition had some questions as to how the cap of 215 permits for non-hosted rentals was settled upon?
2) We would love to know more about what you mean when you highlight clarifying enforcement and penalties? Will any of the guidelines change or is the city finding better ways to communicate them?
3) Can you expound on the Fee adoption resolution that would establish an STR Permit annual renewal fee?
You have mentioned in the past your willingness to work with our coalition.
A few select representatives would welcome the chance to meet with you to discuss some things that are working well with the ordinance, as well as some ideas for improvement.
We think that some education and outreach could go a long way. Training sessions or videos on “how to do a floor plan”, “Top ten things to do to be a good host” are some examples that might help with some of the obstacles that hosts and your office have been facing.
We have included below our email to you of May 18th which recapped some of our previous suggestions.
With Regards,
The Sonoma County Coalition of Hosts
Dear Shari,
Our coalition hopes that the first round of permitting has gone well for the planning staff; we understand it is hard to implement new processes.
Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help, such as educating our members on key issues, etc.
As Santa Rosa looks to implement a more permanent ordinance, our Coalition wanted to weigh in on a few key policy areas.
1. Short-Term Rental Permit Application Fee and Duration
We propose an initial fee should be $150 per STR bedroom, renewable every two years for permits in good standing at a fee of $75 per bedroom. Other cities charge far less than our current fee.
San Francisco is only $450 for two years. Why start over every year, this is more work for City staff than is necessary.
2. Daytime guests-Hours and Limits
Daytime Hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10 p.m. should be aligned with the City ordinance. Limit the total number of daytime guests to 16 people for all Short-Term Rentals. This allows for people to have meals together, such as 8 couples for a lunch, or 4 couples plus their children. All noise, nuisance, parking and safety regulations must be observed.
The current ordinance makes illegal a hosted rental of one bedroom having another couple over for lunch.
3. Parking Requirements
Short-term rentals should be allowed to contract for off-street spaces to meet the occupancy/ parking requirement for their permit.
4. Events that follow occupancy, noise, and safety rules Gatherings should be allowed that meet occupancy and parking limits, noise levels and other related criteria. No law should be created that prohibits the right of the people to peacefully assemble.
5. Host
The Urgency Ordinance states the owner must be present during hosted short-term stays. The practical problem here is sometimes an owner may need to leave on an emergency, have an impromptu business trip come up etc. that makes it impossible to follow the ordinance without cancelling guests at the last minute. Why not make it owner or immediate, such as spouse, sibling, or adult child? This gets around the legal problem that could occur. In unhosted situations, there is no requirement to have someone present, so this minor change makes it easy for all to comply.
Allowing an immediate family member of the owner to host a Short- Term Rental also creates stable and affordable housing situations for them. Adult children, retiring parents, and siblings are examples.
6. Renters AND Owners
Many other jurisdictions give the same rights to owners and renters (with the landlord's permission) for hosted short-term rentals. This is a more egalitarian approach, allowing people at all income levels to participate, not just those of us lucky enough to own property.
Imagine a single mom renter whose kid goes off to college. She needs the room available when they are home, but can host people at other times, so she can pay her child's college expenses. This is also true for seniors who sometimes want their grandchildren to visit.
7. 1000’ Radius between vacation rentals
We believe a better way to regulate the number of non-hosted rentals is to limit the number of permits one owner can be issued, which is a position favored, by the majority of SCCH hosts who responded to our July 2021, Survey
. If the allowed issued is a
reasonable number, zoning restrictions, 1000' radius limit or cap on overall number of non-hosted short-term rentals will not be necessary.
This would be fair to Santa Rosa homeowners, since every resident would maintain the same rights, and limits.
Please let us know how we can best facilitate a dialog with you on these issues. We are happy to gather our members for an input session. We look forward to helping in any way we can.
Sincerely,
The Sonoma County Coalition of Hosts
From: Meads, Shari
To: Cleary, Eileen
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] Re: HOA Language
Date: Monday, July 25, 2022 4:56:11 PM
Shari Meads (she/her) | Senior Planner
Planning & Economic Development |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Tel. (707) 543-4665 | Fax (707) 543-3269 |
[email protected]
Due to increased demand, limited resources, and time constraints, delays are expected in the City's permit processing. The Planning Division anticipates returning to standard processing and response times by Fall 2022. Thank you for your patience and understanding as City operations are reestablished following the coronavirus pandemic.
From: Jose Arturo Ibarra <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2022 2:57 PM
To: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Subject:
Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: HOA Language
You are so kind Shari and I am looking forward to the August 09 City Council meeting. Our Community is very glad the subject of HOA is in place and we look forward to the future inclusion.
-----
Best regards,
Jose Arturo Ibarra
On Wed, Jul 20, 2022 at 1:13 PM Meads, Shari <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Jose,
The proposed urgency ordinance to be considered by the City Council is very limited in scope (sets a maximum of 215 non-hosted short-term rental permits issued citywide and clarifies that the enforcement penalties apply to permit holders and operators in good standing). Additionally a resolution to approve an annual renewal fee (equal to that of an over-the-counter temporary use permit) will be considered.
The HOA conversation will be part of the larger conversation which will begin after the August 9 City Council action. I haven’t forgotten, I promise!
Hope that you are doing well.
Shari Meads (she/her) | Senior Planner
Planning & Economic Development |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Tel. (707) 543-4665 | Fax (707) 543-3269 |
[email protected]
Due to increased demand, limited resources, and time constraints, delays are expected in the City's permit processing. The Planning Division anticipates returning to standard processing and response times by Fall 2022. Thank you for your patience and understanding as City operations are reestablished following the coronavirus pandemic.
From: Jose Arturo Ibarra <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2022 1:08 PM
To: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: HOA Language
Friendly reminder.....
-----
Best regards,
Jose Arturo Ibarra
On Thu, Jul 14, 2022 at 12:38 PM Jose Arturo Ibarra <[email protected]> wrote:
Greetings Shari,
So glad to be hearing from you again. Wanted to ask you for an update on the HOA language addition to the STR Ordinance. Since you have had so many changes in staff, I figured I would not ask you until now and especially before the next big meeting with the City Council.
Look forward to hearing from you.
-----
Best regards,
Jose Arturo Ibarra
From: Meads, Shari
To: Cleary, Eileen
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] Non-hosted short term rentals
Date: Monday, July 25, 2022 3:02:45 PM
Shari Meads (she/her) | Senior Planner
Planning & Economic Development |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Tel. (707) 543-4665 | Fax (707) 543-3269 |
[email protected]
Due to increased demand, limited resources, and time constraints, delays are expected in the City's permit processing. The Planning Division anticipates returning to standard processing and response times by Fall 2022.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as City operations are reestablished following the coronavirus pandemic.
-----Original Message-----
From: Wesley, Shannon <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, July 22, 2022 3:43 PM
To: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] Non-hosted short term rentals
FYI - see citizen email below.
Shannon Wesley | Senior Administrative Assistant City Manager’s Office |100 Santa Rosa Avenue| Santa Rosa, CA 95405 Tel. (707) 543-3011 | Fax (707) 543-3030 |[email protected] City of Santa Rosa records, including emails, are subject to the California Public Records Act. Unless exemptions apply, emails sent to City staff or Council members, any attachments, and any replies, are subject to disclosure upon request, and neither the sender nor any recipients should have any expectation of privacy regarding the contents of such communications.
-----Original Message-----
From: Russel Dieter <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2022 4:03 PM
To: _CityCouncilListPublic <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Non-hosted short term rentals
I wish that non-hosted short term rentals would be forbidden in Santa Rosa’s residential areas. It detracts from neighborhood community and depletes housing stock.
Judy Dieter
Sent from my iPhone