We need more people visiting the city.
197 E Nov 14 2022 07:14 AM Non-hosted short term rentals should not be permitted in areas with residential zoning. They are commercial businesses that severely damage residential neighborhoods 198 O Nov 13 2022 06:09 PM We need to stop allowing permits for additional short term rental properties and increase the fines or revocation of licenses for noise issues. We already have too many on my street and on the next street over! 199 P Nov 13 2022 12:00 PM The ordinance is too restrictive overall. It infringes on property owner rights. It restricts or prohibits responsible owners from operating a STR appropriately without being a nuisance or detriment to the neighborhood or area in which it's located. There is a huge need for STRs that hotels simply can't satisfy. This positively contributes to the tourism industry in Sonoma County and generates substantial revenue to the community through purchases made at restaurants, breweries, wineries and retailers/stores as well as generating significant tax revenue for the City and County. 32 33
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
200 E Nov 13 2022 11:58 AM None of the policy is working. Short-term rentals are businesses operating in residential areas. This is at a minimum a zoning contradiction. Allowing a business to enter a residential area without so much as a review from the residential property owners, is reprehensible and an undeniable act of disregard for individual citizens. The permitting of short term vacation rentals without explicit regulations by which the STR property owners must abide is negligence on behalf of the city and county.
Vastly increased protections for the local residents are required. This includes a policy that directs how the STRbusiness owners interact with the local residents - the STRbusiness owners are no longer neighbors and need to be held to different standards than traditional neighbors. For example, I have been repeatedly harassed by the STR-Owner next door to me who claims that I am "unfriendly" and "un-neighborly" for making sure my rights aren't violated by their business. STR-Owners are getting away with violations because the City cannot prove the violations happened. STR-Owners should have increased property taxes, increased fees for garbage collection and other utilities, be subject to a clause that protects local renters from losing their lease to support a conversion to a STR (e.g. a 1-year mandatory vacancy after rental occupancy), and a legal responsibility to ensure their business doesn't encroach on the residents of the neighborhood. Finally, while the 1,000 feet between STRs limits the number of STRs per neighborhood, it also infringes on the usage rights of other property owners, creating an undue privilege for a few property owners.
201 E Nov 12 2022 03:55 PM Our neighborhood has three STRs in a neighborhood of only ~20 houses. The guests are loud, park everywhere, and invite other guests to visit them at the STR taking up street parking and parking in front of homes other than the STR. Their guests then have the nerve to complain about full time residents having backyard gatherings that are done by 10 pm.
It’s ridiculous and I’d prefer they weren’t allowed at all and that none be grandfathered in for previous permits. 202 O Nov 12 2022 01:38 PM I'm glad there is an effort being made to control this big problem. My concern is that an ordinance or law means nothing if it is unenforced. The city presently lacks the resources necessary to monitor and enforce current or future STR rules.
203 X Nov 12 2022 07:36 AM Question 14 should have had the choice to remain the same. I think 1 year is an adequate waiting time but i chose increases as remain the same wasnt an option.
204 O Nov 11 2022 02:04 PM The number of properties should be kept to a minimum to avoid empty houses 205 E Nov 11 2022 09:40 AM Limiting the permit for short-term rentals to 30 days a year or something comparable will ensure that rental units stay on the market because no landlord can make a living of a unit that is only rented out for 'one' month a year - however, the penalty would have to be much higher to outweigh the benefit from renting out beyond allowed limitation if the city wants to ensure that short-term rentals do not take away housing opportunity. 206 C Nov 10 2022 11:48 PM These restrictions are lame
207 C Nov 10 2022 11:47 PM In this time of economic uncertainty, short-term rentals provide much needed income for people to stay solvent. Many people have seen other income, including salary go down. Housing supply is being impacted by mortgage rates, not short-term rentals. Please be thoughtful about how you setup the regulations. 208 O
Nov 10 2022 11:04 PM Review the Short-Term Rental Ordinance YEARLY for possible amending, based on previous year history of use/complaints/violations.
209 C Nov 10 2022 09:51 PM I believe that there should be no restrictions or limits on anything when it comes to any options that help give or keep a roof over someone's head.
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
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255
210 O Nov 10 2022 09:02 PM I think given the housing crisis it should be more lucrative to rent full-time to someone than do short term rentals. The best way to do this is with number of days restrictions. That way you don't limit the number of short term rentals in the city but you make it so people have to decide what makes the most sense for them. A family renting the unit in the back most of the time but having it available for friends to stay there might choose to go the short term rental route. But a landlord won't turn over all their properties into short term rentals. 211 O Nov 10 2022 08:53 PM Too many nonpermitted units are operating without penalty. 212 O Nov 10 2022 08:07 PM We have far to many short term rentals that are owned by corporate interests 213 O Nov 10 2022 07:34 PM I think any problems lie when the person does not live within an hour of their non-hosted rental. Because then they are not members of the community. Having a “manager” manage it does not seem to be doing the job 214 E Nov 10 2022 06:32 PM My landlord had 5 rooms for rent- 3 permanent and two short term. Short term rentals did not follow any house rules, made extra noise and parties. Upset us long term renters. Looser guidelines. 215 E Nov 10 2022 06:09 PM There is no reason someone who does not live in the close vicinity should be allowed to disturb the peace of an entire neighborhood, often hundreds of people, with no regard for peace and quiet. That's really just dumping on other people for profit, and is truly contrary to commonly accepted concepts of "neighborhood". 216 E Nov 10 2022 05:56 PM No non hosted short term rentals in any residential area. 217 O Nov 10 2022 05:45 PM Owners should be permanent Santa Rosa residents. No outside owners or companies buying our properties for short term rentals!
218 C Nov 10 2022 05:44 PM Homeowners are endowed with the rights to self determine the best & highest use for their investment, equity, realty, etc. By and large short term rental hosts are responsible, tax paying, law abiding citizens who provide a service (unlike a hotel) in that there is only ONE INDIVIDUAL family hosted at a time. By and large these individual families, whom we host are responsible, tax paying, law abiding citizens who come to our beautiful city visiting family, working and yes visit our parks, oceans, wineries and local businesses. Guest issues are rare, and irresponsible homeowners should be cited and permits revoked for repeat offenses. But to blanket restrictions, pander to the hotel lobby and limit investor potential in Santa Rosa is shortsighted at best and at worst accede economy and wealth to neighboring cities who have friendlier policy and fewer draconian conservative restrictions - inviting investments/jobs into their communities vs ours. 219 E Nov 10 2022 05:22 PM We have plenty of hotels and motels in Sonoma County. Every single home used as an AirBNB is one kess home available to people who actually live and work here. We know people in neighborhoods who have several short-term rentals, like theee or four houses. It's all about the money, and that mindset usuallyends badly for others. 220 O Nov 10 2022 04:50 PM I suggest to limit non-hosted permits per person, as opposed to the 1000 foot radius, caps or any other limitations.
221 O
Nov 10 2022 04:49 PM Hosted listings don't seem to cause any issues. Same for non-hosted if people rent their personal home out when they are out of town, for example. But people who own several homes solely for the purpose of using them for vacation rentals seems unfair.
222 C Nov 10 2022 04:19 PM I have hosted for 8 years without a single short term tenant issue. All guests have been respectful of my property and out neighbors. Short terms rentals help property owners defray cost of ownership while making use of second homes that would otherwise sit empty much of the year. I believe in having clear rules which are enforced in order to ensure that our community is protected.
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
223 O Nov 10 2022 01:48 PM Our non-hosted rental property is in uncorporated rural Santa Rosa. I think it is easier to keep neighbors happy in a rural setting. We have fines and or penalties for disturbances that are deducted from damage deposit if neighbors are inconvenienced or house rules are not followed. I find when the guest knows up front it will cost them to be inconsiderate to the neighbors it works best.
224 O Nov 10 2022 11:44 AM It is unfair to limit homeowner who may desperately need to make their home into an STR just because there is already an STR next door. This is unlawful and could cause a family to go through a financial disaster. By enforcing laws to make sure hosts are responsible and respecting their neighborhoods is essential. Bad hosts should be removed permanently. There is no excuse to be a bad host or to jeopardize a neighborhood's safety or character. 225 C Nov 10 2022 11:09 AM The current ordinance came out too harsh without the the adequate input of the property owner hosts who really have vested interests to keep the property in good order and in good relations with neighbors all around. The 1000 ft. separation rule to operate is unreasonable, arbitrary, without just cause. 226 C Nov 10 2022 10:09 AM most airbnbs are not a problem. neighbors who harrass guests and make exaggerated complaints should be punished. Hosts do not want parties and try to avoid this. It is not the norm but the exception. 227 O Nov 10 2022 09:10 AM Short term rentals should be allowed to operate unless they are causing a nuisance or noise issues for the neighbors. The vast majority of short term rental operators run orderly, well managed, quiet, low-impact rental properties that do not negatively impact the neighborhood. Short term rentals bring lucrative tourist dollars to neighborhoods and provide an important tax base for the city/county. Unless a property is causing problems, let it be! No need for more regulation: just enforce the existing laws which are much stricter than the need to be as is! 228 X Nov 10 2022 07:49 AM I'm not very clear on the implications of the said policy. I answered my questions based on what I assumed but need more information and look forward to a meeting to explain pros and cons. Thank you 229 C Nov 10 2022 07:06 AM Well managed Vacation rentals help bring tourism to the city without damaging the neighbors and should not be penalized with excessive regulation such as limits to number of rental days in a year 230 C Nov 10 2022 07:05 AM I like the TOT payment system. I like the requirement to have local property management which creates jobs in the area. The local tourism economy needs $$ spent by tourists as many hotels in the area are unaffordable to middle class families
231 O Nov 10 2022 06:45 AM It’s hard enough to afford to live in California. Don’t take peoples means of income on the homes they’ll probably never be able to pay off. The rules are strict as they are. 232 X Nov 10 2022 02:25 AM Recommendations for hosted STR’s that are not in operation for the year to have a discounted or non operating permit renewal fee. There may be life events that occur that results in not being able to rent a room out of the home that entire year, and we wouldn’t want to go through the entire process of a new permit application and fee, if we didn’t renew for one year. Having more information available to permit holders, sharing emails and communication about the ordinance updates and for participation, For example, I received this survey from Airbnb, in email, not the city of Santa Rosa, which should be something we receive from the city providing the survey.
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
233 O Nov 09 2022 11:02 PM Too many STRs in a small area or neighborhood can ruin the character of the neighborhood, especially if they are "party houses." Residents don't want the latter nearby. Too many STRs can also reduce property values if potential buyers are aware there are a number of them in the neighborhood. People like friendly neighborhoods where their children can play outside and they can meet other neighbors. Corporations should not be permitted to purchase homes, especially stately homes in historic neighborhoods, and turn them into STRs. We have a small STR nearby that rents single rooms, and they park so many cars on our block that the street cleaner can never clean our street. It's like a "hot sheet hotel" with people and cars coming and going every other day. It's an advantage for homeowners to be able to have a hosted STR on their property, as long as it's not a nuisance to others. We have a small cottage behind our home in a completely walled in courtyard. We (in our early 80s) have relied on the extra income to put a new roof on our nearly 100 year old home and help put our grandson whose parents are deceased through college. Without the extra STR income, we could not have accomplished either of those. Our wonderful guests have visited from all across the globe and spend time and money in the county. In recent years, many of our guests have come from within the state for a "quick getaway" or to attend a wedding or a wine event. Our cottage sleeps two max. Our guests are quiet and respectful as they should be.
234 C Nov 09 2022 10:29 PM Short Term Rentals are valuable to our local businesses in Santa Rosa. Shopping Dinning as well as maintaining the properties in good condition. Revenue is a win,win for the entire community. 235 X
Nov 09 2022 09:45 PM the process for obtaining guest parking permits in 1 hour zones (I live 2 doors from the Veterans Building) needs improvement. Currently, I am able to request only 6 nights of guest parking for a rolling month...that's not enough. 236 O Nov 09 2022 09:17 PM THE OWNERS OF THE STR are not the problem it is the people that rent them that create problems -- if the renter causes a problem or disobeys a rule they should be charged with a penalty of breaking the rules 237 C Nov 09 2022 08:57 PM Short-term rentals should be unrestricted. The recent Ordinance should be repealed. 238 O Nov 09 2022 08:41 PM I feel that most of the hosts are responsible and want what is best for their homes, neighbors and neighborhoods and utilize all methods possible to ensure that guests follow the rules. We want to bring more tourism to Santa Rosa to share the beauty, patronize local businesses and show visitors, first hand, what it's like to experience Santa Rosa like a local.
239 C Nov 09 2022 06:05 PM Keep the properties that are well manage where they took care of property grass trim, clean no loud noise no party after hours. I live next door to my neighbors who do Airbnb but she manages very well. Her place alway look nice vs my drug attic neighbor before. If they can keep their place always clean like her I don’t have a problem 240 E Nov 09 2022 06:04 PM Short term rentals of room in a place where the owner resides is reasonable use of rooms where an owner may not want a permanent tenant. Short term rentals for non owner occupied properties shouldn't exist here. FYI: There is a housing crisis, particularly in the single family home market. 241 C Nov 09 2022 05:49 PM Short term rentals can be a great asset to the city when managed properly. A few negligent owners should not ruin it for everyone else.
242 O Nov 09 2022 05:38 PM I have a successful and enjoyable unit attached to our house that is private and well away from neighbors.
I almost always get quiet guests and have not had a problem with noise or complaints. But I am sensitive to the "Homes, not Hotels" sign in front of many houses. The non-hosted rentals seem to get more out of hand at ties so I sympathize. Over all I think it's great for SR tourism, as I always have a booklet of recommendations and spots to visit. People come from all over the US and abroad to visit our area. I am a promoter of that, but want my fellow neighbors to be happy. 32 33
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
276
277
278
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280
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283
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243 C Nov 09 2022 05:19 PM The City collection of taxes is exuberant. The City promotes tourism yet wishes to limit or restrict where tourist can stay. Seems like the City Council need to get their priorities sorted. 244 X Nov 09 2022 05:08 PM curfews, noise and parking should apply equally to all residents 245 O Nov 09 2022 05:08 PM Is the fee charged this year of about 1500$ to be charged every year? That is 1/4 of my income per quarter or more. Not a fair amount. It should be a sliding scale depending on income. I have only a small room in my home with a single bed.
246 P Nov 09 2022 04:57 PM It's non of the city's business what homeowners decide to do with their property. We are already paying too much property taxes.
247 C Nov 09 2022 04:47 PM The city should focus on safety and providing care to people in need. Ever increasing regulations on tax paying families that provide access to country living/experiences in a sharing economy is not appreciated 248 P Nov 09 2022 04:44 PM I am not involved in short term rentals however there are constitutional protections for property rights. It is not ok for the city to tell people how to use their property. The only exception is for homes that have a history of disturbances. I have one such property in my neighborhood and there are typically families with small kids staying the weekend. The narrative of wild party house is the exception not the rule.
249 C Nov 09 2022 04:36 PM I think the non-hosted should have guideline on how they supervise guests. Possibly, they need a large deposit as a way to discourage any big parties to take place. Remove guest immediately if they disturb neighbors. 250 E Nov 09 2022 04:28 PM I have hosted one 2-person unit in my backyard for many years with no problems & no neighbor complaints. The new permit cost is not fair; I already pay 9% and 3% tot & bia taxes. People shd not be allowed to buy homes only to rent them as strs. Non-hosted str shd not be allowed. Party houses shd not be allowed. Hosts with multiple strs shd not be allowed.
251 O Nov 09 2022 04:19 PM I think the permit is to high. It should be lower 252 C Nov 09 2022 04:14 PM I don't support an extensive regulation. It seems that a permit with some noise and parking rules would be sufficient to handle the bad actors. My neighbor is doing a great job at being responsive, and we haven't had issues. That's more than I can say for my neighbors who don't rent their houses. 253 O Nov 09 2022 01:29 PM The paperwork and process involved is prohibitive already, Increasing that and bringing harsher penalties would definitely effect tax income and owner rights.
254 N Nov 09 2022 10:28 AM Don't penalize responsible STVR owners for the misdeeds of a few non responsible owners. The rules and penalties are sufficient as currently stated.
255 P Nov 09 2022 10:10 AM I don't rent a house, but I don't see any reason for this ordinance. Property owners have always had the right to rent out their house. If there is noise or parking issues, we have other laws that address these problems. Property rights should be protected.
256 X Nov 09 2022 09:35 AM We believe it is unfair to fine an owner if a problem hasn’t been rectified in 30-45 minutes when it might be unsafe for them to so while awaiting City Police to arrive. 257 O Nov 08 2022 04:19 PM My friends and family all use short term rentals for business and getaways. This is bec it is cost effective and allows for a more comfortable stay. Hotels cost too much. Without str, we would not take spend the same money in the area.
Maybe look at more guest restrictions… guests that do not follow rules tend to be the biggest issue and worry for a str. 258 O Nov 08 2022 03:56 PM I think there should be a limit to new non-hosted permits per person, as opposed to the 1000 foot radius, caps or any other limitations.
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
292
293
294
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296
297
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259 C Nov 08 2022 02:01 PM The limit of 2 persons per bedroom should be increased to 3 persons, or another method of limiting the number of guests should be used. Maybe depending on the type of housing or number of beds provided. Also, requiring one parking spot per bedroom is not practical. A 4 bedroom home doesn’t typically have 4 spots available, and 4 cars for 8 people is not usually the case. Most are families traveling in one car, and sometimes another group in a second car. Thank you 260 C Nov 08 2022 11:21 AM A non hosted short term rental is a great benefit to our community as long as it is managed correctly. Bad actors must be removed. This includes dwellings with issues AND rental managers that do no ensure their guests are continually following the rules. No matter the density the poorly managed properties will continue to be an issue. 261 O Nov 08 2022 09:53 AM The enforcement policy needs to be clarified. 262 O Nov 08 2022 09:51 AM Permit wait time is too long. Fee is too high. Disorganization of this process is embarrassing for the City of SR.
263 X Nov 08 2022 08:15 AM None
264 X Nov 08 2022 07:45 AM Gathering feedback is so important. Happy to see the council doing that. 265 E Nov 07 2022 02:00 PM Less short term rentals!!
266 O Nov 07 2022 12:37 PM If a host uses Airban and offers a monthly discount, Airbnb applies the monthly discount at 28 days. In this case the current definition of STR is 30 days so a host is still obligated to pay the fees of 12% to TOT and BIA which does not seem far. Additionally, the city does not allow AirBNB to collect the TOT and BIA so this puts STR hosts at a disadvantage to hotels where the fees are added to the hotel bill and collected at the time of payment. As a host I have to increase the price of the room night to offset the fees which makes my room night appear higher. Visitors are accustomed to paying additional taxes and fees on a hotel room but their view is still that the room rate is the lower amount without the fees. I have hosted a STR for over two years without a complaint from any of my neighbors as we very conscious in ensuring our guests do not disturb the neighbors. I am concerned that at some point we are held to a stricter standard than our neighbors with regards to their own parties. I certainly hope the enforcement of the complaints is fair and offers the host a chance to contest the complaint. 267 C Nov 07 2022 11:08 AM I live right next to 2 short-term rental houses, right in the same streets as all of these anti short-term rental people. Let me tell you, they are lying - so much fake drama about the disruptions they cause. There was one time in so many years that there was a traffic backup from a lot of cars stopping in the street. I have a lot more issues with my full time neighbors than these two houses. These anit people just want to tell people what they can do in their own homes. Its sick. 268 C Nov 07 2022 10:57 AM I do not think the city should be spending so much time and money on this ordinance. Short-term rental issues seem like a manufactured problem of a few rich people with too much time and influence. It's unbelievable how they have distracted the city officers from important Santa Rosa issues like homelessness! 269 C Nov 07 2022 10:44 AM I worked at short-term rental homes during covid when I could not work other places. I still work there now. They are kind people who work really hard to maintain their homes and host guests. 270 C Nov 07 2022 10:44 AM I suggest to limit new non-hosted permits per person, as opposed to the 1000 foot radius, caps or any other limitations.
271 C Nov 07 2022 10:32 AM My business is supported by short-term rental guests and other visitors. This ordinance is the opposite of investing in our downtown, our economy, or our future.
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
305
306
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272 C Nov 07 2022 09:41 AM The distance limit for NON-HOSTED permits should take into consideration the density of the housing in that neighborhood. The greater the density of a given area the smaller the distance between permitted rentals. A set number of feet radius works well in some areas and poorly in others. I would prefer something that isn't "one size fits all". 273 P Nov 06 2022 02:08 PM I think regulations like these erode property rights for all of us. I disapprove of this law, or any further laws.
274 C Nov 06 2022 02:04 PM Thank you for your time and efforts, but this type of regulation is not what we want. Our city needs to be focused on improving our schools, reducing homelessness, and stopping the big increase in violent crime. Let these homes pay taxes for more funding, and please let our city council focus on these problems that impact all Santa Rosans. 275 C Nov 06 2022 01:58 PM My neighbor has a short-term rental. There have not been any problems. Another neighbor family even stayed there when there was an emergency in their house. I see no reason to take his right to rent his house away. 276 C Nov 06 2022 01:52 PM A lot of businesses in Santa Rosa are going to suffer or completely disappear without the visitors brought by these homes. The City Council promised they would work on improving our downtown for businesses like mine. This is the opposite! Stop this foolishness!
277 C Nov 06 2022 08:42 AM My small business depends on tourism. We already lose enough to Sonoma and Healdsburg - now you want to drive even more visitors away from Santa Rosa? You may see a lot of businesses like mine be driven out as well. 278 P Nov 06 2022 08:38 AM I don't rent my house, but I'm so tired of this special interest nonsense. Stop taking away our rights. 279 X Nov 06 2022 08:31 AM Stop working on writing regulation after regulation for a few houses!! Our streets are not safe! You should be working on the homeless problem, the crime problem. Robberies and shootings are happening all the time. 280 C Nov 06 2022 08:23 AM I do not support a bunch of extra regulations. There are already laws that govern quiet hours, parking, etc. 281 C Nov 06 2022 02:25 AM The current regulations are too intrusive and hinder free expression and creativity in providing a valuable service and opportunity for home owners and travelers (guests). 282 O Nov 05 2022 05:45 PM It appears the major issue is non hosted where we are hosted. We also have opened up our airbnb to Santa Rosa and Paradise fire victims. Rentals offer a great flexibility during high rental times (graduations, holidays, festivals) and during emergencies (fires, floods, earthquakes, etc)
283 C Nov 05 2022 05:37 PM I would like the option to rent my house out if I need to, but still be able to use it to come back home.
This law prevents people like me from being able to start doing this in the future. 284 P Nov 05 2022 05:30 PM People should have the right to rent their house out however they want to. Its their house. If we have noise or party problems, there should be laws that apply to everyone. My neighbor's kids play music outside ALL THE TIME and their friends park all over the street. We should all be willing to follow the same rules and have the same punishments. Otherwise, we're just segregating a population of "others" so we can take away all of their rights. 285 C Nov 05 2022 04:07 PM Short term rentals bring more tourist. There are not enough hotels in our area. 286 N Nov 05 2022 03:54 PM Apply no restrictions but monitor the regulations. 287 X Nov 05 2022 03:18 PM I recall that the original ordinance had a third penalty of $1500. When did it double to $3000? Did I miss a meeting?
288 O Nov 05 2022 08:40 AM A lot of my work is at these houses. What am I going to do if suddenly these are shut down? Is the pain of those pushing to shut them down as much as all of us who would lose our jobs? 32 33
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
322
323
324
325
326
327
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329
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333
289 C Nov 05 2022 08:29 AM I own a business in Santa Rosa. My business depends on the visitors brought by here by short-term rentals. I don't know who's pushing against this, but they obviously don't have the future of Santa Rosa in mind. 290 N Nov 05 2022 08:20 AM People who have been renting their house should be allowed to keep doing it without limited days or penalties. Maybe education if there is an issue or mediation between neighbors. Mediation services would be nice between neighbors in general.
291 N Nov 05 2022 08:13 AM I do not support the city working on this issue further. We have many more important problems! The time and money that you're spending on this for little tiffs between neighbors is ridiculous. 292 O Nov 04 2022 04:33 PM The city should differentiate between home sharing and investment property short term rentals. Home sharing is when you share your own home on a short term rental basis during your absence. You may need to work in another city for 2 or 3 months and in that time you should be able to rent your property short term to cover high costs like property tax, fire insurance etc. Costs are very high in California. This is different from owning multiple investment properties which are not homes but purely used for short term rentals in a commercial sense. 293 O Nov 04 2022 04:08 PM The City of Santa Rosa must differentiate a home sharing rental from an investment property rental. One thing is renting your only own property during your absence vs. buying homes as an investment for the purpose of renting, including non-hosted short-term. A citizen who lives in the city may have a need to move for a couple of weeks or months for work purposes. Renting their own home for a short-term may be crucial for them to cover the high costs of taxes, fire insurances and mortgages.
294 E Nov 04 2022 01:05 PM The people with money / property / power are not going to be deterred by small fines ... only struggling people like myself will be impacted.
295 C Nov 03 2022 11:58 AM Our business benefits from having tourists visit who are staying in "the neighborhood" and are excited to explore. For our area, there hasn't been many adverse impacts aside from housing availability. 296 E Nov 03 2022 11:05 AM Short term rentals are bad because they take housing away from locals. It should be harder to get a permit or banned all together.
297 C Nov 02 2022 09:23 PM Short term rental brings taxes to the city, tourism and it boosts property values. There should be no restriction. We should just issue guidelines and penalties for repeat offenders 298 C Nov 02 2022 05:56 PM Don't restrict short term rentals but work to get non responsive operators out of the business. 299 C Nov 02 2022 02:30 PM *Downtown single-family dwellings & multi-family units should be allowed closer to each other. * Penalties should depend on the violation. One size does not fit all. The penalty for not listing your TOT number should not be the same as if your STR had a noisy, wild party that the police had to break up. * New non-hosted permits could be limited per person, rather than the current 1000 foot radius, caps or any other limitations. 300 E Nov 02 2022 02:10 PM There are so many people in Santa Rosa and the larger Bay Area that are unhoused while houses sit empty, waiting for short-term rental bookings. Along with rent control, strict just-cause eviction policies, and an evaluation of how many private residential properties are owned by private businesses, we absolutely need to cut down on allowing short-term rentals in order to help people get into housing. I hope that when creating these ordinances, the City is leading with compassion for our community members who have no choice but to sleep on the streets. 32 33
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
334
335
336
337
338
339
301 C Nov 02 2022 02:05 PM Irresponsible (and in many cases amateur) STR operators often cause the kinds of problems that generate the most public concern. Parties, noise, failure to follow established laws and regulations. But responsible, professional operators seldom cause these kinds of problems, and if such problems arise, professional operators tend to address them effectively and expeditiously. Responsible operators also generally welcome responsible regulation of STRs. I would advocate for balanced regulation aimed at curtailing the potential negative side-effects of poor/irresponsible STR operation, while recognizing the positive impact these offerings can have on our community. Sustained consumer demand for STRs demonstrates that travelers and other consumers really do love the STR option. Families in particular want and need lodging options other than hotels.
Responsible travelers often bring meaningful contributions to local communities. Certainly they spend money and drive economic activity locally. But they also bring a unique element of vibrancy and interchange to our culture. The fundamental question we should be asking when we think of regulating STRs is, do we want visitors to Santa Rosa, or not? If yes, STRs will always be a critical part of the range of lodging options we can offer. Think of STRs as a highly desired and necessary part of a whole, which is our tourism industry. Personally, I was born in Santa Rosa, and grew up there until the age of 17 when I left to attend college. I harbor a deep love and respect for the community. I also return to visit family and friends often. Hotels are not a good option for me, because I now have my own family of five (including my wife and our 3 small children). I know first-hand how important and valuable it is to have the option to stay in an STR. As a traveler, we get to have a unique experience and feel more connected to the local community, which engenders in us a greater sense of respect and interest as compared to staying in a hotel. Anecdotally, I have heard countless stories like mine from other families who rely on STRs when they travel. This is the core element we cater to in the STR I own and operate. And I have spoken to many other STR operators in the area who share my views here. In summary, trying to limit the number or proximity of STRs is less helpful than curtailing and eliminating the irresponsibly managed STRs that create the problems local residents are most upset about. We should not regulate as a hasty reaction to vague but vocal discomfort with the concept of STRs among some of our residents (which frankly can veer into xenophobia or insularity). Instead, we should craft
302 C Nov 02 2022 01:56 PM The density restrictions are simply too simple of an approach. I think there can be a more thoughtful way to approach limitations versus the blunt instrument of the 1000 foot requirement. Maybe consider a per capita ratio or % of homes rather than penalize people who happen to be somewhat close to an existing STR and therefore are locked out of the STR market permanently.
303 C Nov 02 2022 12:44 PM Downtown Santa Rosa can be a ghost town and revenue for service industry is dropping. Why would you limit these businesses from generating more revenue and jobs? Short term renters in Santa Rosa go out and spend money and pay taxes both a good thing for the city.
304 C Nov 02 2022 12:38 PM #9 & #11 There should be no limit to how close STRs are together. #13 There should be varying degrees of consequences. Not all Violations are equal. #14 It depends on the type of violations how long the wait period is. Not all violations are created equal. Why was the survey not sent to STRs via email for opinion. The city has our email addresses. Do you not want our opinion. How is the survey distributed?
305 O Nov 02 2022 12:37 PM #13 -- one size doesn't fit all. Violations like noisy parties, police called, need to be treated more serioulsy as opposed to incorrect paper work
306 C Nov 02 2022 11:18 AM Markets react and change quickly. If there's a stronger market for longterm rentals, then owners will adjust. Legislation that limits markets never works and you can look all over. In fact, most people that operate non-hosted STR properties would not pivot to long term leases if STR's are outlawed, as they generally aren't financially forced to. Therefore, your laws just limit tourism, and thus result in a more limited economy. 32 33
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
307 C Nov 02 2022 09:58 AM Why do they want to control the STR in the first place? People should be allowed to rent their properties at their own convenience making sure basic rules are followed to respect full time residents. 308 O Nov 02 2022 09:16 AM There is a big distinction between a Hosted and a Non-Hosted short term rentals. Most Hosted rentals are residents renting part of their home to help with living expenses and Non-Hosted rentals are usually used as a business.
Corporations are purchasing homes with several investors and turning these homes into vacation or party homes. Many times the Non-Hosted rentals are not properties owned by Santa Rosa residents but by outside investors. The city should be putting restrictions on these corporations and preventing them from turning our neighborhoods into business operations. These problems that have developed in the last 2-3 yrs are problems developed by NON-HOSTED rentals, like noice and parking. These problems are rare with Hosted rentals. The city should be helping the Hosted rentals, these are Santa Rosa residents, paying property taxes and needing an extra income to survive in their own community. Do not bulk Hosted rental with Non-Hosted rentals. These are very different.
309 C Nov 02 2022 07:54 AM If you have to be more restrictive on short-term rentals, limiting new non-hosted permits per person seems like it would be better for the community than 1000 foot radius, caps or other limitations. 310 E Nov 02 2022 07:46 AM I am against non-hosted STR’s and strongly believe the problems associated with them caused all the problems which created a need for this ordinances. Hosted STRs should not be group in this ordinance with the non-hosted. Also, owners who have not yet started paying TOT taxes to the City should be shut down and not issued permits. Problems with hosted rentals and nonpayment of TOT taxes is what started all of this. Get rid of them and your job managing what’s left will be easy. 311 C Nov 01 2022 11:19 PM Most rentals NEVER get a complaint. I have been operating for over a decade with no complaints, yet we are constantly vilified and under attack with more taxes, more operating requirements and restrictions. There are only a few rentals that cause the majority of the issues. Deal with those and allow the rest of us to operate in pace. We offer a valuable service to the community. If you were traveling with you family, parents, children and have the option, not to separate into tiny hotel rooms, but get a nice house were you can all visit, relax, enjoy a nice meals together and not worry when the baby cries at nite, that you are disturbing other guests at a hotel, you would want that option. This service is popular because people really want it and as long as you can provide parking, not allow parties and maintain a well run property people should be allow to rent. It is the only reason we can stay in our home and afford our mortgage. If we lost our permit we would have lost our home years ago. Please stop coming up with new restrictions and fees every other month. Some of us are barley hanging on and I don't think you understand that when you increase taxes that is on top of the fees we pay for house keeping, Air BnB or VRBO who take a big chunk, Internet, Cable, utilities, etc. We get a little left over to help pay the mortgage and you want to raise taxes and take what little we are getting why? To spend more on tourism? Doesn't that help the restaurants and wineries? Tax them, it won't help us. When our taxes when up like 3 or 4 percent a few years ago we didn't get more bookings from it and now 2 more percent just a few years later. It's outrages, your just taking our money and not providing us any service other than to offer more restrictions and threaten to shut us down.
312 C Nov 01 2022 09:31 PM Enforcement and response to noise complaints is really the key to making a short term rental ordinance work. Being overly restrictive with the number of permits allowed. 1000 foot buffers and ownership types is not beneficial or smart policy.
313 C Nov 01 2022 09:14 PM Bad operates need to be removed. Owners should not have more than 2 short term rentals. 314 P Nov 01 2022 09:04 PM Short term renting is a property right! Stop telling folks what to do with their homes! This is Sonoma! 32 33
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
315 O Nov 01 2022 08:37 PM Everything at the moment seems to be working well. I think to avoid over crowding neighborhoods with STRs, keeping them at a distance is a good idea. In regards to multi-home STRs, I think if there are permanent residents also living in the building, a distance should be further considered because it's too close and can be a major inconvenience. I think that if you do decide to allow STRs in close proximity to permanent residents, maybe the fines should be higher for those specifically to ensure STR operators take it seriously. I think that that there should be a cap at the amount of homes one can operate as a STR.
Often times investors come and buy up property that will never go back on market, taking away from people who may need full time rental or even buy property. Those people may care less and will not screen their renters as closely as others who are more closely vested and care. As an owner of a STR, I vet my guests more closely, asking to view their LinkedIn profiles and request non-families to sign contracts acknowledging house rules. I care about my neighbors and want to make sure they're not inconvenienced. I stay in communication with my neighbor to make sure they're not disrupted. We have a lot of kids in the neighborhood and I make it clear to my guests that they need to be mindful. There was some questions in this questionnaire that I thought were unfair, such as is 198 permits enough, not enough, the right amount, etc. That number seems arbitrary to me. I think that understanding how many homes there are in Santa Rosa, and taking distances into consideration, and then taking the percentage you want to be allowed to be a STR is the best way to identify the right amount of permits to be issued. And then we people lose them because they have been fined to many times, the next person on the wait list goes, and those who lost their permit get back in line. Downtown looks to be more highly populated, so having closer proximity STRs may be more disruptive.
Not sure, don't have enough data on this. However, what I will leave you with is make decisions based on data. Also encourage STR operators to vet their guests further and to speak with their neighbors. Also, consider fining guests heavily who break the rules noted in the ordinance. I tell my guests about those rules and sometimes, you just get back apples no matter how hard you try to ensure there is no disruption. Thanks for listening! 316 C Nov 01 2022 07:55 PM Less restrictions on primary residence short term rentals while we travel. It is beautiful to share the Sonoma farm life with vacation rental folks! Stop treating us like we only care about money! We care about Sonoma and sharing it with others too!
317 C Nov 01 2022 07:34 PM Please do not introduce too many regulation. Enjoy the revenue that it brings to county and appreciate how beneficial it is to travelers, host and county.
318 X Nov 01 2022 07:21 PM They should post a bond in advance to offset any enforcement costs 319 O Nov 01 2022 07:11 PM Prevention of problems and enforcement is key. Noise meters, parking limits, occupancy limits and no addtional day time guests will help.
320 C Nov 01 2022 06:38 PM It isn't fair to some long time homeowners that they aren't allowed to rent their home on a short term basis because of the 1000 ft rule.
321 X Nov 01 2022 04:45 PM I would like to understand how much the city actually makes on STR'S after all expenses for enforcement, permit and other required employees and all other cost. 322 E Nov 01 2022 04:25 PM Due to the housing shortage and increasing numbers of unhoused people short term rentals should be reduced.
323 X Nov 01 2022 04:09 PM Everything should be citywide. When you make exceptions, it creates enforcement problems and lends itself to creating disparities.
324 C
Nov 01 2022 11:02 AM Its not fair that I would not be able to rent my house because someone else in the neighborhood is renting theirs. There shouldn't be a limit on the number of houses or how close they are. There should only be rules to keep the peace. 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
325 P Nov 01 2022 09:21 AM Don't take away my property rights 326 P Oct 31 2022 06:06 PM My neighbor asked me to fill this out for him. They aren't causing a problem. I haven't seen any problems in or neighborhood. I think they should be left alone to do what they want to do with their house. 327 C Oct 31 2022 05:58 PM This is gross mismanagement of city resources. To put so much time and effort into this cause by a small group of NIMBYs is not what we elected you to do
328 O Oct 31 2022 05:00 PM The whole system needs improvement starting with the City abiding by its own ordinance. For instance, permit granting currently does not seem to abide by the 1000ft separation, as I know of cases where permits for non-hosted STR have been granted!
329 O Oct 31 2022 02:17 PM 20% of my income is from short term rentals. What would you do if 20% of your income just disappeared? They are already here and embedded in our lives. Ripping them away will hurt so many people. 330 C Oct 31 2022 02:11 PM As a resident and tax payer, I do NOT want my city spending its time and money on this stupid issue.
There is no problem beyond a few rich NIMBYs. Stop catering to special interest and actually help us. Like dealing with the homeless issues. Helping our small businesses (who, by the way, are helped by the business that visitors bring!!) 331 C Oct 31 2022 02:04 PM Its good that there is a registration process and permitting. I don't think we need prevent new people from renting their house or limit how many can do it. There are only 198 right now? That is a very small number of a city of our size.
We could use the visitors they bring.
332 E Oct 31 2022 01:58 PM those that allow "events" or parties in short-term rentals are disruptive to neighborhoods (noise, street parking, strangers in neighborhood..)
333 E Oct 31 2022 11:39 AM An Improvement would be to not allow short term rentals in residential neighborhoods at all. 334 C Oct 31 2022 06:58 AM Too much nanny-stating in this city. Needs to stop. 335 C Oct 30 2022 10:29 PM I think I’d there are only 198 snowed in the city, the wealth needs to be shared. I.e maybe if you’ve gotten to run a short term vacation rental for a free years, not it’s gonna be someone else’s turn. It’s not fair that the first folks who applied in 2021 get to keep the status. I have s regular rental on my property but have thought about having a vacation rental. I think your survey was poorly designed. It should have had more places to add what you think under several questions. Also there’s not enough back ground info to share accurately and honestly about how far apart these places should be. I mean what are the issues and concerns other than a lack of general housing for people who need an actual home. 336 C Oct 29 2022 09:21 PM The City should concentrate more on loosening their guidelines for building permits, reduce their charges for such permits and reduce the time these permits take to be issue instead of penalizing entrepreneurs. These measures only portray a more social government penalizing their residents with their restrictions instead of the City implementing a more open and welcome building permit policies.
337 P Oct 29 2022 08:51 PM The majority of us do not consent to giving up our property rights 338 O Oct 29 2022 08:31 PM It seems like the hosted ones do better 339 X Oct 29 2022 08:15 PM I’m not really sure about the equity of the current policy. 340 E Oct 29 2022 07:25 PM I realize this is a very difficult thing to manage. And I don’t want to step on personal property freedoms.
But, Airbnbs are removing so many single family homes from the market and only stand to benefit the wealthy - both the owner and the guests and are pushing out lots of valuable residents. As you can see I’m not a fan, and don’t think homes should be turned into businesses at the expense of the neighbors and community, so only a few can profit. 32 33
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
341 C Oct 29 2022 05:40 PM Hello, I think this regulation is short-sighted. A lot more people are living and working from different places - they will go where there are nice furnished homes to stay in. This is an important part of the future. Removing these options will exclude us from the future. It will make us seem backwards to those on the outside and will further ostracize our own youth and workers/professionals who are still trying to see themselves as Santa Rosans. 342 X Oct 29 2022 05:33 PM I heard about why you're doing this and I think its crazy that you would side with hotels over our fellow residents but I guess thats politics. I'm glad the election is next week!!!!! 343 E Oct 29 2022 02:03 PM Originally a "short term rental" was a home owner living in the home and renting a room and maybe providing breakfast-- a real B&B. If should not have changed. 344 C Oct 29 2022 01:29 PM The city needs to focus on the homeles problem and GROWING our economy - not tearing it down with regulations like this.
345 C Oct 29 2022 01:22 PM Anyone should be able to come to Santa Rosa and rent. Anyone should be able to rent their property. The "30 day" limit seems like you're trying to arbitrarily take away rights. If there are noise problems, why shouldn't the rules and the consequences apply to everyone the same?
346 O Oct 29 2022 01:17 PM Less restrictions for visiting nurses. 347 E Oct 29 2022 11:55 AM Truly my only concern is regarding the availability of housing in the city. I don't care about noise, and I understand that santa rosa is a tourist destination. However, that's what we have hotels and resorts for. The city already has a housing shortage and every short term rental in the city is one less home that people who live and work here can live in. 348 P Oct 29 2022 11:50 AM I can't believe you're letting hotels take away property rights from Santa Rosa citizens. 349 O Oct 29 2022 11:34 AM I'm glad these questions are being addressed before serious problems develop. 350 O Oct 29 2022 10:02 AM This law has mad my quality of life markedly better. Please keep it at its current strength or stronger 351 C Oct 29 2022 08:14 AM Far too restrictive on short term rentals 352 E Oct 28 2022 11:15 PM The notification postcards that the City sends out to alert other homeowners of a rental are received after the event. I believe there are many in permitted single family house rentals in the City that are adversely affecting neighborhoods. I don’t like living among hotels, seeing strangers in my neighborhood, or realizing some homes are not occupied full time. When there are events, all of the parking in front of my house & on adjacent streets are occupied by what looks like a fleet of white SUV’s. The City is destroying neighborhoods with these rentals—eliminate them! 353 X Oct 28 2022 10:18 PM I would have liked to there to have been a link to non-biased info available related to the subject before completing the survey since i don't know much about the ordinance as a whole. The rentals in my area haven't been a bother to me, but I know that may not hold true for every santa rosa resident. 354 X Oct 28 2022 08:32 PM Not clear the need for distancing between rentals - so don't know if I made informed choices on those options
355 X Oct 28 2022 06:41 PM All depends on the person who is called and his/her response and follow through 356 C Oct 28 2022 06:10 PM If an individual, trust or company owns multiple STR’s their could be a ratio put in place for LTR.
Something like a 4:1 ratio for equal rental types. Something that would allow folks to operate their business, while accounting for the rental needs of actual permanent Sonoma County residents. 357 C Oct 28 2022 05:14 PM Las rentas de corto plazo son muy benefiarias para la ciudad porque atrae un a mejor estadia para los turistas. Beneficia a los viñedos, restaurantes, comercio, hospedajes y a muchas personas que trabajan en estas casas de rentas.. 32 33
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
358 O Oct 28 2022 05:01 PM Small businesses are dependent on visitors to Santa Rosa. We need them! Please allow visitor rentals - at least the ones that already exist. We don't have enough visitors to make revenue without them. I thought you were for building a better downtown!
359 E Oct 28 2022 04:59 PM The amount of money per night should be regulated or a factor in the regulation. For example a single family home that is not-hosted should have a per monthly cap on how much they can charge so that does not exceed the amount of money for market rate rent on a similar dwelling. The goal would be to reduce the incentive to list the dwelling as a vacation rental rather than a long term rental for a local resident. 360 E
Oct 28 2022 04:11 PM City council needs to further restrict short term rentals. These STRs are taking houses off the markets from families who need them.
361 E Oct 28 2022 03:32 PM Please DO NOT allow these commercial hotels to be allowed in our residential neighborhoods. NO SHORT TERM RENTALS!
362 E Oct 28 2022 02:19 PM Short term rental units should be required to house homeless people free of charge for at least one half of the time they do rentals. This would solve most of the homeless problems in Santa Rosa. 363 C Oct 28 2022 12:59 PM U will never solve the rental crisis by not supporting the owners!! No one wants to rent cuz the tenets have too many rights. It’s not worth it to the owners
364 X Oct 28 2022 12:06 PM I would have chosen "No change in length of waiting period." after a permit is revoked, but it was not a choice option.
365 P Oct 28 2022 12:00 PM Many of us in Santa Rosa are pro property rights. There is not a need to take this right away. 366 E Oct 28 2022 10:59 AM Living 3 houses away from a short term rental is not working. The gate is often left open, and there is a pool in the back, Often the garbage cans do not get removed from the street. Noise is often an issue. Make the rules and regulations tough. It is a cash cow for the owner. The neighborhoods suffer. And in a multi-dwelling facility, it will be disastrous.
Places will be bought up just to rent them out.
367 O Oct 28 2022 10:32 AM Short term rentals ought to be hosted. Then we have local people owning property in Santa Rosa instead of non-local people
368 X Oct 28 2022 10:09 AM question 14 lacked a option to leave the ordinance unchanged. 369 E Oct 28 2022 10:06 AM People in my neighborhood seem to occasionally rent their second homes to family and friends who then have parties. I don't know if there is any way to regulate these "off the books" rentals, but it would be great if there were. 370 C Oct 28 2022 09:42 AM Short-term rentals are great! Especially in emergencies, fires (where leniency on timeframes should be considered when emergencies/disasters occur), etc. It's a terrific way for a revenue upstream for Santa Rosa and the homeowner whose circumstances permit this type of hosting. Would love to see a bit of an increase in allowed rentals due to the rapid housing development in the area. Appropriate balance in the number of acceptable short-term rentals is good! Making sure traffic studies and neighborhood impact adjustments are factored in. Being balanced on restrictions or fines for those hosts/non-hosts whose guests are severely affecting the well-being of permanent residents nearby, or in multi-family dwellings. (i.e. you are a professional worker; however your neighbor is renting to different persons who are on vacation for a week..different every week..and stay up all hours/are not courteous of neighbors' well-being or professional lives). Even harder to take if you live in a multi-person unit.
Would also place restrictions/fines on hosts whose dwellings receive a number of annoyance calls/complaints. 32 33
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
371 O Oct 28 2022 09:38 AM There should be a maximum on the number of non-hosted short term rentals in residential areas. I live in the Montecito Heights area, and the number of permits that have been granted has changed two of the streets including the one we live on. We have increased traffic from commercial vans and cars, along with more traffic from those renting the properties. In addition, there is increased construction, maintenance and deliveries, all having a negative impact on the quiet, rural atmosphere we have experienced for the last 30+ years. This area is Urban Fire zone and should not have people who don't understand evacuation routes, fire regulations, etc. Please put the current residents of Santa Rosa before those who chose to visit our beautiful city. You need to think carefully about why many people are moving out of the area...don't backfill with a short term solution. 372 E Oct 28 2022 09:12 AM Generally I am not in support of short term rentals. My responses to separation between rentals, and hosted and non-hosted rentals are not as important as my overall feeling that short term rentals prevent families from having affordable housing
373 C Oct 28 2022 08:55 AM The business from these visitors is how I feed my family. Without them, a whole lot of people are going to be hurt beyond just the owners
374 O Oct 28 2022 08:36 AM The rule of separation distance is discriminatory for a condo owner who needs the rental income in order to keep their home. If a separation distance must be applied, it needs to be decreased in condo situation as it precludes any owner from getting short term rental income even if for a short period of time. An improvement may be to allow short term rentals for only 4 months of any year and reduce permit fees to make this feasible for a condo situation where the owner lives on premises at least 8 or nine months of the year. Responsible short term rental owners should not be punished for the bad behavior of the few! 375 E Oct 28 2022 08:13 AM There are too many non hosted short term rentals in my area. How do we reverse this? 376 X Oct 28 2022 07:35 AM We own three small rental homes in Santa Rosa and think it is more important to provide housing than vacation rentals. One problem though is that we charge under market rent which can lead to problems with the IRS. What steps can the City take to protect landlords from the IRS when charging below market rent. 377 O Oct 28 2022 06:07 AM #14 should include a response that the waiting time remain the same, which is what I would vote for. I also suggest short term rentals not be allowed near schools. There is a short term rental ~ 1 block from us, which is 1.5 blocks from Matanzas Elementary School. Non-local drivers may not realize the school is there and drive less carefully. 378 O Oct 28 2022 03:04 AM The fines should be incremental depending on the number of extra partiers in the house. 379 C Oct 28 2022 12:39 AM Decent short term rentals are an essential part of the tourist, revenue making activity benefitting the City by bringing and welcoming tourists into SR. Don’t kill the golden goose. Our guests have all been very respective of the neighbours and the property and eat out 75% of their stay, buy tourist activities (such as the wine train) and buy souvenirs etc. most of our guests do not like hotels as they want to be individuals and experience home properties of SR 380 N Oct 28 2022 12:13 AM No changes
381 E Oct 27 2022 11:28 PM I would like this to stop completely. Its a hotel atmosphere that I want no part of. 382 C Oct 27 2022 11:14 PM Too many rules, restrictions , fees and taxes. I’ve had to stop my short term rentals. Too bad. Over the years I’ve had so many tourists from around the world, literally. Not only for visiting wineries and beer makers but world class harvest fair, concerts, tons of sporting events, even educational events for kids from around the world. Sonoma county is a world class destination site…take this shit seriously!
383 P Oct 27 2022 10:03 PM There are many reasonable short term rentals. The people own the property give them the freedom to use their property. Don't take away home owner rights
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
384 O Oct 27 2022 09:57 PM The last question didn t allow to vote to allow non use for one year, my preference. I think the main issue with short term rentals has more to do with how concerned and responsible an owner is, in terms of respecting the neighbors and fitting in. the controls might have less to do with the number of feet and more to do with what restrictions the owner places on the renter. The same kind of issues exist where I live. All owners need to be registered with app and fee and emergency contact number that the police will call in a heartbeat if there is an issue. There is a "hot line" for neighbors to report any issues. I think owners may be more concerned about the neighbors enjoyment of their homes vs maybe the lack of concern a business may have, though I have no experience to back that up.
385 E Oct 27 2022 09:51 PM Applicants must bring their entire building up to whatever the latest code requirements would be if they were building such a hotel or rental unit today if they are non-resident owners. 386 O Oct 27 2022 09:03 PM Rental units, both long and short term should be limited to ONE car per bedroom. Our neighborhood has a long term rental with SIX cars at one 3 bedroom house. They usurp all the parking spots for neighboring houses. We neighbors are VERY UNHAPPY about this situation.
387 C
Oct 27 2022 09:01 PM Far too restrictive across the board. All restrictions should be removed. Stop pandering to the crotchety old folks!
388 E Oct 27 2022 08:39 PM I do not believe the business of short term rentals should be allowed in residential areas. They are incompatible, and I know this from my experience.
389 E Oct 27 2022 08:21 PM Until Rental Prices are in line with what a typical person can afford, rentals should be protected for residents, not for tourists.
390 C Oct 27 2022 08:03 PM Non-hosted rentals bring income to the area not just from tourists but families visiting relatives, people needing short term housing as they wait to move into a new home, or are having their home remodeled or fixed. Not everyone is a stranger to be feared and banned. Don't make it harder than it already is. 391 P Oct 27 2022 07:41 PM Let people do what they want with their property 392 E Oct 27 2022 07:37 PM Short term rental by non-hosted owners should not be allowed under any circumstances. 393 E Oct 27 2022 07:35 PM No short term rentals in residential neighborhoods 394 O Oct 27 2022 07:32 PM Restrictions should be thoughtful ly considered & strictly observed in residential neighberhoods. 395 E Oct 27 2022 07:27 PM Wealthy people are buying up rural homes to make profit at the neighborhoods expense. 396 E Oct 27 2022 07:26 PM No non-hosted STR’s (hotels). When did you go to hotel that didn’t have staff? 397 E Oct 27 2022 06:59 PM Limit short term rentals as much as possible. 398 E Oct 27 2022 06:51 PM Short term rentals take away from the already crunched available housing. They should be severely limited. 399 O Oct 27 2022 06:49 PM Real estate Investment groups should not be allowed to own/operate STRs in Sonoma county 400 E Oct 27 2022 06:39 PM I am not a fan of short term rental at all .. I don’t feel it fair to the whole neighborhood to deal with people coming and going all the time neighborhoods are for home owners who pay a lot to live here only … 401 C Oct 27 2022 06:26 PM I do not support the city spending all of this time and money on this issue. Work on homelessness. Work on our murder rate. Work on the economy.
402 E Oct 27 2022 06:23 PM Short term rentals has made the housing crisis worse. I previously lived near Monte Rio and my immediate neighborhood was at least 35 -40% short term rentals. Outrageous considering the housing crisis. 403 E Oct 27 2022 06:20 PM Landlording should not be a business. One house per family & we can solve many of our housing problems.
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A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
404 E Oct 27 2022 06:18 PM With the housing shortage, lack of affordable housing and so many homeless, all short term rentals and second homes should be illegal, and at minimum discouraged by prohibitive property taxes and permit fees to subsidize affordable housing.
405 E Oct 27 2022 06:15 PM No short term rentals in residential areas - negatively impacts neighborhood. Oct 27 2022 06:09 PM Violations should be made public.
406 O Oct 27 2022 06:07 PM We appreciated hearing that existing ordinances are being enforced (via Nixle). Resident owners and renters deserve peaceful enjoyment of their homes NOT subject to the interruptions of various and sundry groups and their ?!#? behaviors, motives, etc. for the purposes of profit for home-rental business owners. 407 E Oct 27 2022 06:06 PM Only hotels or motels should be short term rentals 408 P Oct 27 2022 06:04 PM We are losing our property rights. This is a very slippery slope and I am against any restrictions. If anyone, long-term resident or short term tenant violate laws or ordinances, police need to enforce them…. Period! 409 O
Oct 27 2022 06:03 PM I answered the above questions as if I were doing the rentals. I want the option to do this if necessary to be able to stay in my home as I get older. Too many restrictions may leave no options. I would answer differently if we are talking about companies doing multiple rentals rather than individual homeowners renting rooms in their own home. I would have answered unsure for several of the 1000 feet questions since I don’t really understand what is meant by that. Thanks. 410 E Oct 27 2022 06:02 PM I am 100% against of non-hosted short-term rental in residential area. We have nothing but very negative experiences. The reason we don’t live in the commercial area near hotels is to have a quiet life and because of the short-term rentals, our residential neighborhood became a commercial zone. Thank you very much. 411 E Oct 27 2022 05:55 PM No party house rentals ever. 412 O Oct 27 2022 05:55 PM More needs to be considered about parking either through restrictions or requiring permits for city revenue and water usage needs to be addressed.
413 E Oct 27 2022 05:52 PM While I’m happy that the current ordinance places restrictions on non-hosted STR’s in residentially zoned areas, I would prefer that non-hosted STR’s be restricted to commercially zoned areas. 414 O Oct 27 2022 05:51 PM there are too many incidents of out-of-control parties and neighborhood disturbances with short term rentals. This needs to be reigned in with strict city-wide rules and big fines for those that ignore those laws. 415 E Oct 27 2022 05:48 PM Short term rentals are important for a hospitality economy. We should encourage many of them to flip to rental units for residents of the community. Hopefully increasing supply and lowering rental costs City wide. 416 E Oct 27 2022 05:48 PM No short term rentals
417 C Oct 27 2022 04:31 PM My neighbors are not hurting anybody. Maybe stop attacking them. 418 E Oct 27 2022 03:16 PM Non hosted are the problem. A public nuisance abatement program would apply to all residents. 419 O Oct 27 2022 12:46 PM It needs to be enforced. As an example, I have witnessed years of 1703 Vallejo being operated as a short term rental/ transient flop house (regardless of what the occupant may say) catering to multiple drug users, criminals and indigent occupants with no recourse or action taken by the City. It is a constant source of noise, disturbance, high foot and vehicle traffic at all hours similar to what you'd find at a low end motel, not to mention the clientele. This all happening unregulated in an otherwise normal residential neighborhood. If the City is unable to regulate something as well known and documented as this, I am unsure they would be able to regulate an additional ~198 units Citywide. Please deal with existing problems before you open up to more. 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
420 C Oct 27 2022 08:12 AM To prevent a rush of new homes being bought to be str, maybe a stipulation that you need to have owned the home for x at of time or inherited it. People using these as second homes should be allowed to earn income on their second home when not using it. It also helps limit empty houses being broken into. 421 X Oct 26 2022 09:37 AM Consider publishing the list of all permit holders 422 C Oct 26 2022 08:39 AM Stop spending so much of our budget on this!!! You're catering to a couple of rich people who want to tell everyone in their neighborhood what they can and can't do. And you're ignoring all of our big problems like homelessness, murder rate, income inequality. I saw how much you're spending and going to spend on this - its stupid. Just stop. 423 X Oct 26 2022 08:15 AM How is the average citizen supposed to spend the time to think through the implications of these policy decisions? The questions asked here are complicated policy that should be crafted by professional city planners. What should be asked is the impact to people’s lives (i.e. how many times have you been personally harmed by a short term rental) and the outcome people want to see. Then it’s the city planners jobs to craft policy that will meet that, baring in mind all of the second and third order effects of different policies.
424 E Oct 25 2022 11:05 AM I don't see what there is to prevent non-hosted rentals from calling themselves hosted rentals and operating without any restrictions. How can that be verified? Seems like a loophole. There is a housing crisis and Sonoma County is a tourist destination. STRs should be banned in Santa Rosa. 425 C
Oct 25 2022 03:54 AM If there is a problem, (domestic violence, noise, parking, large parties, etc.) the person who caused it should be the one responsible, not the property owner. STR owners should be treated the same as property owners who choose to rent out any single family home.
426 C Oct 24 2022 08:16 PM You should not have your hands in the pockets of individual owners who only have the one property. We already paid taxes to our cities and state. Or seniors should be exempt from paying your occupancies fees. 427 O Oct 24 2022 07:08 PM Enforcement of violations should be increased. 428 O Oct 24 2022 05:06 PM The City has struggled for a year with enforcement of the current ordinance. Some questions regarding ideas for making enforcement more effective should have been included. 429 O Oct 24 2022 03:23 PM the concern is that ownership by large corporations rather than individuals is driving the lack of oversight.
How do we continue to allow small single property owners to continue and restrict the corporations. 430 E Oct 24 2022 01:49 PM Not a fan of short term rental in residential neighborhoods period. 431 O Oct 24 2022 07:58 AM I have had to contact the code enforcement office on numerous occasions. They are VERY slow to respond to complaints. It is VERY frustrating to have these operators of STR's in residential areas, as they are here to PARTY, and have no respect for residents wanting to sleep at 9pm. Too many people, too many cars, and no respect from the operators. 432 E Oct 24 2022 07:43 AM I object to non-hosted short term rentals in residential areas, as it decreases the stock of housing for families. Hosted or non-hosted in areas zoned for commercial use is OK. 433 C Oct 24 2022 12:04 AM I don't support a lot of government interference here. A limit on the number of short-term rentals does make sense. Additional limits seem like overreach.
434 O Oct 23 2022 09:17 PM There is no ordinance on how many fulltime rentals in a neighborhood. I feel the short-term renter should be held accountable for misbehavior.
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A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
435 C Oct 23 2022 08:35 PM To address concerns, there should be limits as to what short term rental clients DO, not the amount or location of the properties. Those people are tourists, visiting relatives, business people, etc, who are bringing money to the region.
And short term rentals don't have much of an effect on housing stock because if they didn't exist, there just would be more demand for hotels to be built. Once built, hotels are less easily converted into longterm housing than short term rentals are. 436 C Oct 23 2022 07:57 PM There should be more transparency in the ordinance about what a "verified" violation means; the complainants should not be allowed to remain anonymous and should be required to detail and document their complaints. Any limits on the number of non-hosted rentals someone can own should focus on trying to limit entities/corporations, not people.
The ordinance needs to balance the private property rights of the people who own the STRs and wish to use them in a way that can provide them income and personal fulfillment. The city should be mindful when enforcing violation complaints that a lot of the time these complaints are racist dog whistles because the neighbors are seeing people who "don't belong" in their neighborhood. The city should be mindful that the majority of STRs and complaints about STRs are in high income, high opportunity areas and that people who live in neighborhoods without a lot of STRs also have complaints about houses nearby with drug activity, parties and disturbances, etc., and treat those residents the same as the people who live near STRs. 437 E Oct 23 2022 04:36 PM Short term rental companies and those property owners should find a way to better control who they rent to. Residential neighborhoods should not become party houses. The system is not working 438 O Oct 23 2022 02:34 PM The rental in our neighborhood is a sublet. All short term rentals should only be with the owners of the property, NOT the Sublettors.
439 E Oct 23 2022 10:46 AM Basically this idea is a disaster to neighborhoods as well as the availability of housing. Here are plenty of hotels and legitimate B and Bs to accommodate visitors. 440 P Oct 23 2022 07:50 AM Individuals should have a right to do short term rentals, it’s their property. Neighbors should suck it up.
Big business making money on short term rentals should have more restrictions. The little guy often gets stepped on while trying to make a living because of the restrictions you put on everything! 441 O Oct 23 2022 12:58 AM Considering the lack of affordable long-term rentals, and housing in general in Santa Rosa, short-term rentals should be heavily monitored and restricted. Owners of short-term rentals should be required to pay a homelessness fee to offset their contribution to the housing crisis we currently face in our city. 442 E Oct 22 2022 07:13 PM Unhosted short term rentals should NOT be allowed in Residential areas they are businesses and threaten the safety of our neighborhoods.
443 O Oct 22 2022 05:51 PM Non hosted units should be required to go through a property management service if the owners are not living in the SR city limits.
444 E Oct 22 2022 03:59 PM Short term rentals are making the rental market and the housing market much more difficult and are taking away our peaceful neighborhoods.
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A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
445 E Oct 22 2022 02:42 PM We have a short term rental in our 5 house cut-de-sac. It has been incredibly disruptive to a small space.
We have asked the owners to please do tree work on their property, as there are many overgrown trees which are a fire hazard and they have so far refused to address the neighborhood concern. While some tenants have been fine, others are rude, disruptive and ignore the fact that this is a working neighborhood, where folks have to get up early to go to work. They are on vacation and don't care about their noise. We can no longer enjoy our deck on the weekend mornings, as the folks next door are in the pool (there is drought on!) and making nonie. We have lost the long cherished privacy and quietude of our neighborhood I think that the STR need to be moved out of long established neighborhoods and into city center or city limits. 446 E Oct 22 2022 02:37 PM People need housing. All offers should be safe and complete as to necessities and affordable. Every aspect of life these days should not involve making the most profit rather-helping others in hard times. 447 E Oct 22 2022 01:19 PM People are coming into neighborhoods with no regard to families and hosting wild parties with music playing all night long. They are inconsiderate neighbors 448 N Oct 22 2022 12:44 PM Sounds pretty good for what it covers…I like the upper limit… 449 E
Oct 22 2022 10:01 AM With the housing crisis in Santa Rosa, short term rentals should be actively discouraged by city officials and regulations. Housing opportunities should prioritize residents not tourists. 450 X Oct 22 2022 06:05 AM n/a
451 E Oct 21 2022 10:21 PM Short-term Rentals should be discouraged until there is adequate, reasonably priced housing for the people who actually live and work in Santa Rosa. As renters, we are being priced out of our own community. Short-term rentals, especially those owned by outside entities, are a significant contributing factor to our current housing crisis. 452 E Oct 21 2022 09:04 PM I read in the papers about the lack of housing available. I think Short-Term rentals is a big part of that problem. Stop building more housing. Have more restrictions on short-term rentals to help solve the housing problem. 453 E Oct 21 2022 06:06 PM Against the whole concept.
454 P Oct 21 2022 05:45 PM I own a house in Santa Rosa and I'd like to someday build onto my large house an in-law or a stand alone ADU in my backyard that's closer than 1,000 feet. It's my house and property, and I should have the right to do so responsibly. I think the reality is we need more housing and even if it's short term, it will also inevitably be used for extended family or during wildfire events for family or friends.
455 E Oct 21 2022 05:34 PM applicants should be required to state that the short term property is not restricted by CC&Rs. 456 N Oct 21 2022 05:25 PM There should be off street parking requirements for short term rentals. 457 X Oct 21 2022 05:19 PM Question 14 did not offer the choice of remain the same. That would be my choice. 458 X Oct 21 2022 04:04 PM None at this time
459 O Oct 21 2022 03:43 PM Tha approval permit process needs a relook. Someone in my hood is petaling a non-hosted rental that all the neighbors have notified the city about. Non permitted and def less than 1,000 feet. No one from the city has responded.
Terrible.
460 N
Oct 21 2022 02:55 PM Suggestion to require sound meters (like Minut brand) to be required in all short term rentals. As an Airbnb host, I appreciate the work that your team is putting in with reasonable rules and regulations. 461 X Oct 21 2022 02:52 PM no comment
462 E Oct 21 2022 02:24 PM These short term rentals are the bane of neighborhoods. I hate them! 463 O Oct 21 2022 02:22 PM Another thing that should be addressed is potential for fire being started in a residential area by accoutrements that may be provided for guests, for example, a fire pit outside 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
464 O Oct 21 2022 01:05 PM Whichever parameters are finalized, without substantial enforcement mechanisms and commensurate resources, they will be futile.
465 E Oct 21 2022 12:49 PM We have an affordable housing crisis here and county wide. It seems counter productive to have short term rentals at this point until we can provide a sufficient number of affordable housing units for residents and workers already here. 466 O Oct 21 2022 12:46 PM As a person who used a short-term rental while repairs were being done on my home I appreciate that they are allowed. But I know from previous experience in West Hollywood, which didn't allow then, that vigilance is needed to monitor for violations. This is because owners are very good at masking the true location of the AirBnB, VRBO or other listing. 467 O Oct 21 2022 12:00 PM 198 seems a very small number considering the population of our town. Perhaps you should consider allowing a certain number per square mile or per voting district. I do think there should be limits as I would not want to be surrounded by rentals in my own home, but I also hope to someday own a long or short term rental and don’t want that to not even be an option in the future. Rules on partying, noise levels, etc seem fair. I live in a pretty nice neighborhood but have (fellow home owner, not short term rental) neighbors with barky dogs, a woman who seems mentally unstable and yells, and a neighbor with twice weekly band practice. Noise happens. I think some people have become NIMBYs and complain too much about the short term rentals. However, it is valid to not want to be a homeowner surrounded only by short term rentals. There is a balance that I think the city could reach for their rules regarding short term rentals. 468 O Oct 21 2022 11:20 AM In my opinion and experience there is not enough oversite with non-hosted STR's... Noise, litter, and locations are impacted. Owners of these STR's ignore fines as they can make up the amounts paid by amounts received.. 469 E Oct 21 2022 11:05 AM I live in apartments near downtown [REDACTED]. Half of the apartments “look” Like someone lives there but no one lives there full time. Maybe 3- 2-4 days a week. This raises the cost for my apartment- because it looks like someone lives there but they don’t. This is a problem when a big investment firm owns the property- not locally owned or operated. Non hosted empty apartments, and houses artificially increase the cost of living in Santa Rosa. 470 C Oct 21 2022 10:54 AM Visitors bring dollars into the city, why not encourage them and the people that want to host them? 471 N Oct 21 2022 10:54 AM I've not personally heard of any problems in Santa Rosa with short-term rentals. Don't know the problem we're trying to solve.
472 E Oct 21 2022 09:53 AM Remove or loosen requirements in the downtown station plan boundaries . Severely limit in all other areas 473 O Oct 21 2022 09:52 AM Enforcement, who will handle? If it goes like the low cost housing, then there will be no oversight. 474 E Oct 21 2022 09:08 AM Short Term Rentals have ruined the housing market. Rent has risen out of control, and it is getting untenable for the working class to live here! My rent alone has risen 360$ since November last year! My disabled partner and I are going to be priced out of the area!
475 O Oct 21 2022 09:07 AM The required Monetary amount for the required permit should be based on the square footage of the short term rental space and the Revenue collected yearly. A host renting one room should not have to pay the same permit amount as someone renting a whole house. It should also be based on Revenue collected by the hosts. One room might rent for $100 a night, where as a whole house could rent out for $500 a night. Hosted permits should cost less for the permit than non hosted permits. 476 X Oct 21 2022 08:57 AM For question 14, there was no option to say that one year was sufficient after revocation to reapply. That's what I would have chosen.
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A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
477 E Oct 21 2022 08:46 AM More scrutiny of Neighborhood HOA’s and CC&R’s before allowing short-term rentals 478 O Oct 21 2022 08:38 AM Continue to have the support from Police Department Staff when calling to report a possible violation that one is witnessing, We purchase our home after retiring from the city of Santa Rosa long before the home across the street became a “short term rental “ and there has been a few uncomfortable events that has occurred since it became in operation, it would have been nice to know what the new owner intended to do with the house it’s a Non-hosted rental at this time. Please continue to keep us informed and working together these can be a good thing for Everyone. thank You… 479 E Oct 21 2022 08:29 AM Short term rentals have contributed to housing shortages in a variety of states with tourist populations.
Consider researching the impact of what those communities have experienced AND LEARN FROM IT. 480 O Oct 21 2022 08:29 AM Number allowed.
481 O Oct 21 2022 08:14 AM We have a neighbor operating an unlicensed non-hosted Short-term rental without securing a permit.
Neighborhoods must have a quick way to report such violations! 482 E Oct 21 2022 08:14 AM The number of these “hotels” in the Alta vista area are cruel and restrictive to normal living. 483 E Oct 21 2022 08:12 AM I think that vacation rentals should not be able to host more than 6 people. Smaller units make for better vacation rentals.
484 N Oct 21 2022 08:02 AM LLC should not be allowed to offer short term rentals. It is impossible to identify who is responsible if something does not go well with the rental unit.
485 E Oct 21 2022 07:36 AM I am not in favor of any short term .. air bb of any kind in the county of Sonoma … for us who have worked hard to buy a home and maintain it we should not have a home in our neighborhood that is used for anything else other then the owners living in it Period…….
486 E Oct 21 2022 07:11 AM Short term rentals hurt housing affordability 487 E Oct 21 2022 07:10 AM Eliminate short term rentals completely 488 E Oct 21 2022 07:03 AM There shouldn't be any non hosted short term rentals. It is a waste of resources in an area where there is not sufficient housing to begin with. The city does not have the resources to enforce this ordinance anyway. It takes weeks to months to get a response from a complaint so why set yourselves up to fail and further alienate the citizens you are suppose dto be working for.
489 O Oct 21 2022 05:50 AM Special conditions should apply in circumstances where felony crime or violence occurs at a short-term rental. Second offense should result in permanent revoking of permit. 490 E Oct 21 2022 05:47 AM Short Term Rentals have a major impact on available long term rentals for residents of Sonoma Co., due to their high value return. Consequently you have investors who make more, but further exacerbate the critical housing shortage fir residents.
491 E Oct 21 2022 05:46 AM The intent should be to allow residents to make money with their primary homes without incentivizing the purchase of new homes for the purpose of turning them into exclusive short-term rentals. 492 X Oct 21 2022 04:57 AM It is a little difficult to respond to these questions without more facts about what has been working and what hasn't in the city with respect to short-term rentals. 493 O Oct 21 2022 02:49 AM I think the permit fee for hosted rental should be calculated based on the number of rooms rented or square footage rented. Also It cannot be the same fee as non hosted rentals. I am only renting one room and not often enough to make enough profit to justify paying such a high permit fee with the TOT Combined. 494 X Oct 21 2022 01:39 AM .
495 E Oct 20 2022 11:54 PM No non hosted rentals. Owner needs to be there and take responsibility 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
496 E Oct 20 2022 11:41 PM The noise, parking, and disturbances from several short-term rentals in my neighborhood has been increasing. It's frustrating that after losing my home in the Tubbs fire, a sense of external upheaval exists again. I’m now forced to endure the whims of weekend "hotel" guests as temporary neighbors. Thousands of us were unable to rebuild, but committed to staying in Santa Rosa. We purchased homes, cleared trees, participated in fire safety practices and sought to foster the sense of community that is a touchstone of "... the city designed for living." The recent increase of short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods is alarming and counter productive to the very incentive to buy housing and contribute to County and City taxes.
Guests drawn to wine country and Santa Rosa have a breadth of accommodations to select from other than residential properties and certainly my back yard. Walking in the early evening heat last month, I was witness to dozens of party goers loudly gathered on the balcony of a Short-Term Rental house on my block. I could see many guests were smoking, just feet away from dried landscaping debris and overhead oak tree limbs. They were on holiday, without history or perspective, enjoying themselves as would any tourist. There has to be a balance between subsidizing City budgets, encouraging tourism, and respecting homeowners who have selected to live in a strictly residential neighborhood free of commercial ventures on their doorstep. It's ironic given the profusion of City regulations regarding everything from required permits for homeowner sidewalk repairs, to the minutia of fencing specificity, that this acute current issue has slipped through the cracks. I appreciate that this survey seeks information and feedback, because this seems an escalating problem. I've lived, worked and volunteered in the City of Santa Rosa for a long time, and served of many boards and commissions. We are better than this, and we have the skills and personnel to figure out a more equitable solution regarding short-term rentals.. The answer lies somewhere between right of privacy and right of enterprise. But allowing zoned residential areas to devolve into essentially corporate and privately held commercialuse areas is not the answer. I see many yard signs which say: “ Homes not Hotels”. I am not affiliated 497 X Oct 20 2022 11:38 PM This survey is biased in favor of short-term rentals and can easily be proven statistically meaningless. 498 C Oct 20 2022 11:10 PM How will new single home owners apply to be non-host rentals? 499 C Oct 20 2022 11:07 PM I am not sure where the 198 limit came from but am assuming it is a % of total housing in Santa Rosa. It would be good to have a limit of 5-10% and then even have a limit by city area....I would be surprised if anyone would like their neighborhood to end up being primarily short term rental. We need to balance the # of available long term rentals, the density of short term rentals in any given area, the increase potential need for enforcement, etc. 500 E Oct 20 2022 10:49 PM I honestly don't think these should be allowed at all. Prior to Airbnb, we couldn't just turn our homes into hotels. Our city has many nice hotels to choose from and residential neighborhoods should be for the people who live and work here.
501 E Oct 20 2022 10:48 PM A home behind us on Byrne ct. that is now a short term rental does not have 1000 sq. feet separation. The city sent out notification of it, so how did the city permit this? Is anyone even verifying the distance? Doesn’t seem like it. There are to many of these now. We lose so much with short term partiers vs. home owners who contribute to their neighborhoods! Please Do MORE TO STOP THIS!
502 X Oct 20 2022 10:43 PM This depends what we want the downtown to feel and look like. These type of rentals should be looked at as a truly, "local". RRS,McD NWSR SWSR
503 X Oct 20 2022 10:27 PM You ask about different standards for downtown, as though we had a real living downtown with higher concentrations of housing. But there’s not much housing downtown. Build more well built high density housing downtown! 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
504 C Oct 20 2022 10:24 PM I think y’all have gone nuts blaming short term rentals for people’s bad behavior. If people violate the law (noise ordinances or whatever), they can and should be prosecuted. But it’s not the fault of short term rentals. I’ve stayed in numerous short term rentals all over the country and they are a valuable and desirable community resource that should be sought after and cultivated, not shunned or over regulated. What I know of the current regulations sounds way too restrictive. If my whole immediate family were to gather in a short term rental, they would exceed the occupancy limit. That’s ridiculous when it’s perfectly legal to have them all in my home. You’re ruining a valuable community resource because of a few bad actors whose behavior could easily by addressed in a more pertinent and appropriate way. 505 E Oct 20 2022 10:07 PM Short term rentals need to be more regulated, and the laws for them need to be more publicized. So many people don't realize permits are required, and that there are rules about number of guests, number of cars, noise curfews. And there really needs to be a limit on how many one can own. I know someone who owns maybe a dozen or more. I'm born and raised here, yet can afford to buy a house and are almost priced out of the rental, paying $3100/month. My family is looking to relocate out of state because of this.
506 O Oct 20 2022 10:06 PM There needs to be an ordinance about parties in short-term rentals. Parties should not be allowed, but the RENTERS should be held accountable.
507 X Oct 20 2022 10:00 PM For thirty two years we have lived across the street from a house, owned continuously by the same family, that has a day and night parade of changing “tenants” who stay anywhere from ten minutes to a night to a few months. There are ten to fifteen vehicles in and out twenty four hours a day - literally thousands of vehicles since we moved here. We have lost count of the number of people arrested (another felon just two weeks ago). The police and sheriff’s department are fully aware of the drug dealing. There is constant noise and constant garbage. We have talked to detectives, parole officers, the city attorney, and have written to city hall. But in thirty two years, the owners have NEVER been held to account for the constant disruption to our otherwise nice neighborhood. Why isn’t there an ordinance for neighborhood houses that aren’t registered but act as flop houses and felon magnets? Santa Rosa has utterly failed in making lawless home owners accountable. It is infuriating. 508 O Oct 20 2022 09:58 PM The City NEEDS to address UNPERMITTED short term rentals. Neighbor complaints have resulted in nothing from the City for over 25 years. We have one on our street: drugs; criminals; constant car repairs in the street; 10+ cars parked on the street for a 3br/2ba home; 20x visitors/day; loud music; Illegal pot growing in the back yard. SRPD frequently makes arrests there. We fear for our lives with the felons who visit and stay there. But nothing is done to stop the absentee owners from having their transient tenants ruin the neighborhood. All the neighbors agree it is worse than ANY permitted one. Please help us take back our neighborhood from this situation. We need to ensure The City can take decisive action in shutting this and other UNPERMITTED rentals down. Thank you!
509 O Oct 20 2022 09:55 PM There is a VRBO next door to my house in Rincon Valley and directly across the street from my house.
That is too close. I would like to see one of them closed. 510 O Oct 20 2022 09:50 PM Short-term rentals that are hosted should be completely outside of these requirements and permits. They should be treated as an entity that is only a positive and no permits or restrictions should apply. The nonhosted rentals are the ones that should be getting all of the attention, as is done in this survey. Let the hosted rentals be completely separate because they are not the problem and never have been.
511 E Oct 20 2022 09:45 PM The ordinance should not allow air b&b’s in established residential neighborhoods, like St. Francis in Rincon Valley, where they are so disruptive to our peaceful area. They should be limited to commercial or downtown districts only.
512 O Oct 20 2022 09:12 PM Better policing if there is a disturbance reported. 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
513 O Oct 20 2022 09:11 PM We would hope for more requirements related to screening potential renters. 514 X Oct 20 2022 09:09 PM No thoughts
515 E Oct 20 2022 09:09 PM Las compañías de Airb&b y otras aplicaciones no pagan impuestos a la ciudad y las viviendas de renta a corto plazo incrementan los precios de la renta y disminuyen el acceso a la vivienda de personas que vivimos en la ciudad, 516 E Oct 20 2022 09:05 PM Our neighborhood is being rebuilt post Tubbs fire and the houses are being rebuilt MUCH larger with MORE bedrooms and bathrooms but no increases in garages which appears to cater to STRs. The residential neighborhoods are becoming more commercial rather than residential. We are very upset and discouraged to see this! The only people who are pro- STR are the operators who are making a lot of money at the expense of the residents of what once were nice neighborhoods. Now these STRs are ruining our neighborhoods and degrading our quality of life. It’s a big problem yet our city leaders seem apprehensive to protect the people who live here and vote here. Very disappointing! 517 E Oct 20 2022 09:01 PM Should not be allowed in residential neighborhoods. It reduces an already short supply of primary housing.
It drives up housing prices by cash paying investors. It drives down house prices in immediate vicinity of STR by having to disclose to potential buyers. Who would knowingly buy a home next door to a party house? 518 E Oct 20 2022 08:56 PM If a neighborhood has CC&R’s that do not allow any short-term rentals, the City of Santa Rosa should respect those rules and not allow any short-term rentals in those neighborhoods. 519 C Oct 20 2022 08:55 PM I would say the gines are you high , Give them a probation time like 6 months & make sure all involved parties fully understand the rules. After six months with out any fines let them rent for short term. 520 O Oct 20 2022 08:54 PM It’s driving up the cost of housing for renters who live here. It’s also creating a loophole for landlords to avoid accessibility requirements for their rental properties that would be required if they were leasing. Only resident landlords (no LLC’s or businesses) should be allowed to have non-hosted short term rentals and no person should be allowed to own/operate more than one
521 C
Oct 20 2022 08:53 PM The current limit on rentals gives preference to those who applied for permits early and makes it difficult to new people who want to get a permit.
522 O Oct 20 2022 08:45 PM Short term rentals should be subject to rigorous standards due to their negative effects on the City’s neighborhoods. The one year waiting period to reapply after a revoked permit is sufficient; none of the proposed answers allowed for this result.
523 X Oct 20 2022 08:45 PM I believe that anyone who is having a problem accepting about term rentals should have to state whether they utilize them in other places or are short term rental owners elsewhere. To be transparent. 524 C Oct 20 2022 08:38 PM I think that the short term rentals should have a minimum age requirement of like 25 or 30 for the person renting the unit. To hopefully cut down on teenage parties.not to pick on kids but I know when I was a teen the more the merrier anywhere we were gathering.
525 E Oct 20 2022 08:35 PM We have had too many illegal parties. Let people rent a hotel to do that. 526 X Oct 20 2022 08:17 PM If the owner lives on the property, Look at the short term rentals that have been operating quietly, without Issues for many years whose owners live on sight. Now look at the short term rental where the owners do not even live in the count! Is there a trend between the two? If so what is that trend? I believe that this is a very good place to start:) 527 E Oct 20 2022 08:14 PM Short term rentals make the housing crisis worse. Please prioritize long term housing over vacation rentals. 528 N Oct 20 2022 08:10 PM Not aware of problems in my neighborhood. (JC) 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
529 E Oct 20 2022 07:57 PM Having vacation rentals in City limits brings problems into our community. They can rent a hotel if they want to come to Santa Rosa. Plus. It prompts Buyers to only buy homes from profit, which needs to be discouraged. 530 E Oct 20 2022 07:54 PM I lived next door to an unhosted short term rental for 3 years until it was sold. Problems were continuous and the owners DID NOT CARE. I want ALL unhosted short term rentals banned. If you want to own and run a hotel then you should live there.
531 E Oct 20 2022 07:49 PM Remove short term rentals from neighborhood communities. It has completely changed the housing market and quiet and peaceful lens of our communities.I live with one behind my house I own on the street behind miry street and I haven’t a good nights sleep since it opened. I work for the county helping the elderly population and I’m so tired it’s hard for me to support our most vulnerable members of our community. 532 E Oct 20 2022 07:45 PM I do not think short term rentals should be allowed in residential areas. It hurts the integrity of our neighborhood and let’s LOTS of strange people in and around our families. There should be a designated area for short term rentals not near regular residences. Also short term rental owners need to get PERMISSION from their neighbors first before they let a bunch of strange people running through our neighborhoods. 533 N Oct 20 2022 07:39 PM Official notification sent by the City to neighbors regarding nearby Short-Term Rental is helpful. 534 X Oct 20 2022 07:33 PM I MAY WANT TO REVISIT THIS SURVEY. 535 E
Oct 20 2022 07:30 PM I don't want to live near a short-term rental, and neither do any of my neighbors. There are inevitable noise, traffic, and crime problems with short-term rentals. Do our pandemic-scarred hotel and motel owners a favor, and ban short-term rentals altogether!
536 E Oct 20 2022 07:28 PM Short term equals more vehicles on the roads and I feel that is not helping traffic. 537 N Oct 20 2022 07:21 PM I have a non hosted house one block away. I have had no problems. The next door neighbor parks 2 cars in front most of the time
538 E Oct 20 2022 07:19 PM We bought in this neighborhood because it was very family oriented, not because it could become partycentral with often unruly guests and their many vehicles parked so we can no longer park in front of our own homes. 539 X Oct 20 2022 07:18 PM N/A
540 E Oct 20 2022 07:15 PM We have a homeowner next to us on a quiet court. Various renter have lived here, some requiring much involvement with with police. She does not care, and there were no consequences severe enough to change behavior much to the entire neighborhood’s dismay. She will be renting again shortly and we are all concerned. Irresponsible owners of rental properties have so much freedom in responsibility that it is not just short term - with no protection for tax paying owners in the area. I preface all of this with the very real possibility that she is getting ready to turn this into a short term rental, and based on past behavior, we will all have an untenable living situation. So please City of Santa Rosa, enact laws to protect us. 541 E Oct 20 2022 07:06 PM Short term rentals should not be allowed in suburban neighborhoods with working families and children.
It’s to disruptive and changes the character of a neighborhood. Oct 20 2022 07:05 PM No additional ideas 542 E Oct 20 2022 07:02 PM Short term rentals should not be permitted in residential communities where housing is occupied by owners and long-term tenants ( like 1 yr lease). Or where the distance between dwellings is under 100 feet. 543 E
Oct 20 2022 07:00 PM We live in an established residential area near 4th Street. There are already 2 short term rentals nearby, both of which accommodate large groups. Do not appreciate having a hotel-like setting in a residential area. 544 E Oct 20 2022 06:59 PM There should not be ay short term rentals; wither hosted or non hosted. We have a housing shortage; and all homes should be available for full time occupancy.
545 X Oct 20 2022 06:53 PM Why doesn’t #14 have a “Leave unchanged” answer. That’s how I would vote. 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
546 E Oct 20 2022 06:51 PM Short term rentals do not belong in neighborhoods… that is what hotels & motels are for! 547 E Oct 20 2022 06:47 PM I've been a renter in Santa Rosa for 11 years. I've experienced rents almost doubly in that time. If you want a thriving community the City should prioritize making rents affordable for its residents before accommodating transients. 548 C Oct 20 2022 06:46 PM Fines shouldn’t be levied if an owner/ host feels it is too dangerous to intervene in a guest problem and is waiting for the police arrive ( ie time for resolution of problem has elapsed). 549 X Oct 20 2022 06:45 PM I did not like the choices for #14. I think an option of "I think that waiting 1 year to reapply for a permit is adequate" should have been an option.
550 O Oct 20 2022 06:44 PM Include noise ordinance and renters must be over 21 years old 551 E Oct 20 2022 06:33 PM With our current housing shortage it is completely ridiculous that we are allowing any short term rentals in any housing in Sonoma county. Guests to the city need to stay in a hotel where it’s way more appropriate. If you don’t straighten this out you were going to ruin the city of Santa Rosa with short term rentals. I have a second home at the coast and it is a complete nightmare with the rentals that we have that are short term. People are obnoxious they’re responsible they have no respect for our own property. It is awful,
552 O Oct 20 2022 06:27 PM I didn't see any limit on the number of people staying at any one time. I know in the past it has been 10...I hope this number does not increase.
553 E Oct 20 2022 06:20 PM Short-term rentals have no place in residential neighborhoods. They destroy the fabric of our community.
Please ban them from our city.
554 E Oct 20 2022 06:15 PM I lived in Santa Rosa for over 50 years, the last two there was a non-hosted short-term rental next door, which very much upset the tranquility of the neighborhood. They should be not allowed. The guests are strangers, disrespectful of residents, some drunk, some abusive.
555 O Oct 20 2022 06:14 PM Should be restrictions on amount of alcoholic beverages allowed and use of non restricted drugs. 556 E Oct 20 2022 06:13 PM We live in a city that is experiencing a housing crisis that contributes to a homelessness crisis. There should be ZERO non-hosted vacation rentals within the city.
557 P Oct 20 2022 06:12 PM I believe a property owner should be allowed to profit from property ownership. We pay taxes for limited city services! Yes it needs to be under control, but government entities are the worst in managing economic resources! 558 X Oct 20 2022 06:09 PM I think the waiting period to obtain another permit after having had the rental permit revoked due to violation should remain as is, not increased or decreased. I cannot answer the next question as I don'y know what district I live in and cannot obtain an answer to my question re my district. 559 O
Oct 20 2022 06:08 PM I have been to two very large gatherings at short term rentals in residential neighborhoods. BOTH involved 30-40 people and were very loud and inconsiderate of the neighbors. I felt very badly for the people to the left and right of this rental. There should be fines levied on short term renters who violate their contracts and violate reasonable sound levels in residential neighborhoods. I would support the right to have a short term rental anywhere, but their needs to be some kind of enforcement!
560 E Oct 20 2022 06:03 PM Parking is out of control. Noise is always a problem. Guest don't live here, no ownership, loyalty, no personal reputation to loose. Drugs, alcohol, bad driving. 561 E Oct 20 2022 06:01 PM We don’t need more air bnbs. We need long term rentals and rent control. Corporations should have a limit on what they can own. I work in Santa Rosa.
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A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
562 E Oct 20 2022 06:00 PM There are not enough homes for families to buy or rent and if you do buy or rent near a short term rental your enjoyment of your time at home is diminished. And it just creates more disgruntled citizens in Santa Rosa. 563 O Oct 20 2022 06:00 PM City should make sure that its sound ordinance specifically applies to rentals and that the SRPD enforces it when complaints are made.
564 C Oct 20 2022 05:56 PM there is a housing shortage both residential and tourism. making it harder for homeowners to be flexible with a property that THEY OWN AND PAY TAXES ON this is not the answer for any shortages. Perhaps the city needs to review the complexity and high cost of getting permitted and actually creating new living spaces. 565 C Oct 20 2022 05:56 PM If the City is trying to limit the number of short-term rentals then why would you allow someone who can't follow the rules continue to rent. Limit number of homes by having rule abiding residence only allowed to rent out their house.
And don't discriminate against those that were not renting out their home in the past. 566 O Oct 20 2022 05:55 PM Glad you are addressing this significant issue. Whatever you do, make sure there is adequate enforcement! 567 C Oct 20 2022 05:51 PM Currently is too restrictive, specifically the # units allowed 568 C Oct 20 2022 05:41 PM The City is making thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. The STR promotes tourism, revenue and employs many people living in Santa Rosa. STR rules should be no different than LTR. Improvements can be made by holding “guest” responsible for violations, holding chronic and persistent complaints accountable and recognizing free enterprise as STR owners pay their property taxes and now pay 12% BIA/TOT taxes. Respect the property owners rights and recognize that there is not a major difference between STR guest & LTR tenants. STR properties often are in better shape and often have better curb appeal, helping to keep Santa Rosa beautiful. For a City that values tourism, one would think of the asset STR’a have in promoting tourism.
569 O Oct 20 2022 05:39 PM Mobile home residents should be allowed to offer HOSTED short-term rentals. This should not be prohibited by the park owner.
570 E Oct 20 2022 05:38 PM The distinction between hosted and non-hosted short-term rentals is very important. Non-hosted shortterm rentals should not be allowed.
571 E Oct 20 2022 05:36 PM These should be two separate businesses with much stricter rules for non hosted rentals since they cause the most problems.
572 C Oct 20 2022 05:36 PM I live in the hidden valley area of Santa Rosa and have 2 vacation rentals on my street. There are neighbors of mine that are very against vacation rentals and if they had not told me they existed on my street I would not know they are rentals. I feel that Santa Rosa is in a position to be an amazing hub of tourism that is currently is not achieving due to a non tourism friendly downtown, poorly maintained parks and roadways, and lack of acceptance of tourists in our city. I think the future of our city is embracing tourism and this is why I feel the rental program should be expanded. 573 E Oct 20 2022 05:29 PM In reality the negative consequences to family neighborhoods are never fully addressed. Fines will do little if acknowledged at all. Non-hosted short term rentals should not be allowed period in family neighborhoods. We have 4 on our street within two blocks of our high end neighborhood and it ruins the atmosphere of a safe family neighborhood. In addition to that, every STR owner hosted or not we know have been at one time or another a hub for illegal drug trafficking operations. Not something to be encouraged amongst homes full of small children. 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
574 O Oct 20 2022 05:26 PM I believe that short term rentals are beneficial to the tourism industry. I support language to limit the number of guests in a given property. Homeowners are penalized if a tenant breaks the regulations. There needs to be language, ie non refundable deposit, of a significant dollar amount, that would not be refunded if a tenant breaks the requirements outlined in the regulations. The tenant is the one breaking the law not the tenant. 575 P Oct 20 2022 05:24 PM Freedom and Liberty for All
576 N Oct 20 2022 05:19 PM This ordinance seems well thought-out. I would like to see it expand to second homes with multiple owners (like Pacaso).
577 X Oct 20 2022 05:18 PM Idk
578 N Oct 20 2022 05:16 PM We have plenty of housing being built so we should overall leave the ordinances the same or be less restrictive
579 O
Oct 20 2022 05:09 PM 1) Limit the total number of Short-Term Rentals being rented by the same person or same business. Vacasa has so many houses in Short Term rentals. Why does one company get to profit, drive up the short term rental prices, and remove houses from the housing market? Santa Rosa citizens need a healthy housing and rental market. Limit the number of rentals allowed for the same short term rental companies. 2) Make every Short Term Rental owner reapply every year. Allow those on the waiting list to get a chance to have a Short Term rental agreement. 580 E Oct 20 2022 05:06 PM Short-term rentals should operate under strict regulations that protect the residential character of the neighborhood.
581 E Oct 20 2022 05:05 PM We live in a SR neighborhood with a few short term rentals non hosted and we’re consistently phoning the host with problems - typically noise and large parties, it’s a drag because no one involved in the short term rental seems to care and if there are more short term rentals allowed in our city/ my neighborhood it will not improve the quality of the our city’s residents lives just the owner of the properties/short term rentals and management companies and all of their pocket books. We own the second home in Palm Springs and due to the leniency with short term rental and the mass amounts of short term rentals in PS many neighborhoods and the lives of locals / residents has been ruined. It became so bad that we sold our home there. Don’t ruin Sonoma County with Short term rentals! Thanks for listening and caring more about Sonoma County’s residents and neighborhoods then the bottom line.
582 N Oct 20 2022 05:04 PM Short term rentals help the economy but wreck the neighborhood. These guardrails seem pretty smart and specific.
583 N Oct 20 2022 05:04 PM My Hosted STR allows me to stay in my home. I am a senior citizen 584 N Oct 20 2022 05:04 PM I wish Glen Ellen would adopt your smart approach. Please expand this to all of Sonoma County. 585 E Oct 20 2022 05:02 PM They should not be allowed in neighborhoods. I’m sure the motels and hotels would benefit if we didn’t allow them and our housing shortage would be helped by more available housing. 586 X Oct 20 2022 04:59 PM Right at everything for everyone is thinking but it's work and luck for those who have the fortune of prosperousmess. The country and world are equal in opportunities and luck is floating above the more powerfulinus the dark sighted worlds multi answers are ! It is still livable for and in abounding channels and varieties is powerful too, affordable to LIVE FOR BY ETHIC AND IDEA TOO IRONICALLY !!!!!!!! ETHICS ARE ANSWERED IDEAS CARRY AN ANSWER THAT IS OPENED STILL TO IDEAS WITH OTHER ANDWERS AT THE SAME TIME....,PROMOTING FREE MIND.
ETHICS CANT CHANGE ON LY IDEAS CAN [REDCATED]
587 E Oct 20 2022 04:59 PM Need me more rentals and less air bnb 588 E
Oct 20 2022 04:58 PM I really don’t think we should have short term rentals. It does increase pricing in the area and limits housing supply. Even if the number is 200… that’s still 200 less homes when we are short housing 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
589 C Oct 20 2022 04:57 PM Many short term rental properties work without issue. The properties have buffer space and owners that are engaged. The owners ensure that the renters comply to all rules. The issue is not with short term rental properties but with owners not respecting the neighborhoods. Good rental owners are getting penalized for a few bad actors. Allowing short term rentals, with appropriate oversight (if a complaint is filed, that specific owner should be held accountable) would be a great revenue source for the city and county. We’re choking a great addition to our tourist location because we’re not dealing with the bad rental owners. I have lived here my entire life and would not support anything bad for our county. These recent control efforts around vacation rentals has gone way too far. I’m available for discussion and can give more context to my position. Thank you. [REDACTED]
590 C Oct 20 2022 04:56 PM Let the free market do its thing. Short term rentals are not what’s causing the housing shortage. All the red tape, time and cost of permitting/entitlements/impact fees are the problem!! 591 E Oct 20 2022 04:54 PM vacation, short-term hosted or non-hosted rentals should not be allowed in all neighborhoods to preserve the property values. These should be allowed to operate in certain areas of the city only. 592 O Oct 20 2022 04:53 PM Non hosted short term renters must adhere to parking and noise regulations that the city has. The renter must have the short term renter sign an agreement that they have read, understood and will abide by these regulations or they will be evicted promptly. I don’t remember if this is part of the short term rental ordinance now, but it should be. Noise, parties, drinking parking are all problematic behaviors that residential property owners want to eliminate. 593 O Oct 20 2022 04:52 PM Short term rentals with pools tend to be party houses & create more noise. Do not approve hourly rentals houses with pools.
594 E Oct 20 2022 04:51 PM There is no monitoring on short term rentals. It is up to the neighbors to do so. They disrupt the family oriented community of neighborhoods. Is Santa Rosa for families or are they for residential hotels and the all mighty dollar? 595 O Oct 20 2022 04:51 PM Enforcement needs to be a priority, especially in the evening and over weekends. The City website should include information about all code violations and the action taken. 596 O Oct 20 2022 04:49 PM The ordinances need to be enforced. Fines should be given. I think the city is not doing enough to enforce the ordinance and I do not think that corporations should be allowed to operate STR's. 597 O Oct 20 2022 04:49 PM I would look at a time limit on permits. It should need to be renewed . Grandfathering is undesirable.
Existing permit holders should abide by any new regulations. 598 O Oct 20 2022 04:49 PM All owners of property within 1000 ft of property applying for a short term permit should be notified BEFORE a permit is issued and should have input into the decision making process. 599 E Oct 20 2022 04:48 PM Undercuts homeowners property value of owner lived in residences because CC &Rs which cost high fees monthly to resident who tries to keep home well cared for will be unenforceable! 600 X Oct 20 2022 04:48 PM There isn’t really enough information for us to make these decisions. Also, there are no questions about hosted short term rentals. It seems like these rules should be different. 601 C Oct 20 2022 04:48 PM People need Income and adding all these barriers for income is wild - as long as noise restrictions and permits are valid - why so much …allow a process/rules but totally restricting and making such wild hoops when Income is needed to pay mortgages seems to be a need to consider
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A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
602 O Oct 20 2022 04:48 PM I have an STR/ non hosted on one side and an STR/hosted on the other side. I can not get quick feedback from the code enforcement office with the non/hosted property, and I have MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS. They do not follow the city ordinance rules. It is VERY frustrating to live between the two, and have such a difference in their behavior. Hosted property= no problems. Non-hosted property=problems every weekend. We need more immediate response to noise problems after quiet hours. Police do not respond anymore to my calls. They are too busy, and I understand that! They should not have to take care of STR properties that are here to make money and could care less about neighbors wanting to sleep!! 603 E
Oct 20 2022 04:48 PM Family neighborhoods are negatively impacted by continuous party activity all week. There is zero oversight on WHO rents. It is open for vandalism, criminal activity, and other activities that erode family neighborhoods. When the renter impacts the neighborhood negatively they are not accountable and simply leave after their rental period leaving the negative impact on the neighborhood.
604 O Oct 20 2022 04:45 PM There needs to be better enforcement of all the county permits! I emailed regarding a dangerous unpermitted property that was being illegally rented to me and got no response and nothing happened!! Not only was the property not permitted for a rental. The only fire exit was enclosed and the stairs were removed! 605 O Oct 20 2022 04:44 PM I have used vacational rentals in other cities and states. If rowdy, uncontrolled renters/rentals are a problem, that property should be taken off the market because the owner/operator did not due diligence in renting. 606 O Oct 20 2022 04:42 PM The short term rental by me violates the 1000 distance requirement AND advertises for more people than allowed. The city ShOULD enforce these rules.
607 O
Oct 20 2022 04:42 PM Hosted short term rentals should be subject to the same minimum distance rules, neighbors have no way to know if the neighbor running the rental is complying with hosted rules. Oct 20 2022 04:42 PM Fines should be pretty stiff, because for some with a lot of money, paying a fine it’s just the cost of doing business. It’s not a deterrent if it’s not steep enough. 608 E Oct 20 2022 04:41 PM Short term should be changed to full time rentals 609 X Oct 20 2022 04:40 PM PLease make more transparent the appeals process for complaints. 610 P Oct 20 2022 04:40 PM I do not think people who own real estate should be told what they can and can't do with it. Short term rentals allow additional income for people who need it in a place that is very expensive to live. Tourism is a major driver of our local economy, STOP KILLING IT.
611 E Oct 20 2022 04:39 PM I favor long term rentals availability and these short term money making businesses eventually hollow out the community.
612 E Oct 20 2022 04:38 PM None in residential areas
613 O Oct 20 2022 04:37 PM People who are hosted who travel occasionally should NOT be categorized as NON HOSTED..
HOSTED should not have to pay any fee to operate. People in the US have been operating boarding houses since the 1800s. Why should they need to pay a fee to a city to operate a boarding house which they live in and oversee? 614 C
Oct 20 2022 01:55 PM I think the city should seek for a win-win relationship with short-term rental hosts, and invite them to serve on sub-committees. They are generally good, long-term citizens of Santa Rosa and want to do the right thing. 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
648
649
650
651
652
653
615 E Oct 19 2022 09:40 AM Hello, Thank you for doing this survey. Thank you for you time and efforts. This is an important topic and you all have made some serious errors in your choices and thus harsh feedback is real and forthcoming. NO MORE SHORT TERM RENTALS. REVOKE MANY PERMITS OF THE CURRENT STR’s IN SANTA ROSA, CA. STOP LYING TO THE PUBLIC. THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY STR’s. GET BACK TO THE “198 CAP” AND DECREASE FROM THERE.
YOU WENT FAR BEYOND THE CAP. AND HOW MANY MORE ARE THERE THAT ATE NOT PERMITTED!? MANY HAVE AREAS ARE EXTREMELY IMPACTED BY STR’s. A BLATANT EXAMPLE IS… TWO NEWLY APPROVED (just in time to clear your pathetic reach to allow one to apply by late December 2021 to be cleared into the fold of the city’s unmanaged work-arounds to be given a permit to operate a business in a single family residential zoned neighborhood) on Tillmont Way in SR, now having 50% of the standing homes being a “hotel” and not for a permanent residence for one to live.
WE DO NOT SUPPORT THIS. MANY PROPERTY AND HOME OWNERS ARE JUSTIFIABLY UPSET. AND WHY IS THAT…? YOU ALL KNOW EXACTLY WHY. VASTLY REVISE ALL MATTERS IN REGARDS TO STR’s IN THE CITY OF SANTA ROSA, CA. And our family has been and continues to support all housing types, such as apartment units, and homes rented to long term tenants, with yearly contracts etc. 616 C Oct 17 2022 06:41 AM The Urgency Ordinance was horrible for the dozens of senior homeowners of hosted and "nonhosted" properties already in operation - essentially the City stole their livelihoods. Now this - a stilted and dubious questionnaire from which to make further defective policy. All the City can do is lie and distort information to try to make STRs look like some huge problem. The tactics used to make policy against STRs represents one of the lowest points for local government as they abuse everyone - a residents and guests - by not using facts to make policy. 617 C Oct 15 2022 04:57 PM For us personally, this is our career to provide short term rentals. We would have to declare bankruptcy if the restrictions were stricter than they are now. We have no problems keeping parties out of our STR. An idea is to use a device like Minut that would automatically alert the host and/or authorities where there are too many guests. 618 C Oct 14 2022 12:05 PM Short term rentals managed responsibly are a benefit to our community. They are also a right of the property owner that should not be taken away by government entities. The short-term rentals that are not manage well should be penalized through receiving monetary violations and revocation of their permit for chronic neglect. The owners of well managed short term rentals should not be penalized in any way for the minority of properties that are problems due to not being managed well. I myself own a vacation rental in Healdsburg and my neighbors like me and do not have any complaints over having a short- terms rental next to them because they never experience problems with the people I rent to because I screen them ahead of time, as all owners should. My neighbors even rent my house for their own families to stay in during the holidays and for family reunions each years. Persecuting well managed properties and their owners for the actions of not well managed properties and owners is not the right answer. And, well managed short term rentals are a benefit to our community over-all, not a detriment. 619 E Oct 14 2022 12:04 PM Non-hosted short term rentals should not be allowed. It's taking away housing stock from those that are trying to live here and further pushing rents up for those that are trying to survive. I have no issue with hosted short term rentals. 620 O Oct 14 2022 11:51 AM It is helpful to have basic rules for short term rental homes such as fire code, noise restriction, and limiting occupancy to 2 per bedroom. I think parking rules should be revised to allow only one off street parking per property. Doesn't make sense to count parking based on bedroom numbers. Law abiding good hosts of short term rentals shouldn't be punished by excessive restriction.
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A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
621 O Oct 13 2022 12:12 PM We have 50% of the homes on Tillmont Way as short term rental. It is terrible, noisy, and dangerous. We hate it because it has ruined our peaceful neighborhood. No one cares about the residents who live here. It's all about making a buck. We love where we live but now are considering moving. Not only do we have short term rentals, but we have a vacant lot on Kelsey Knolls that is a party spot where people park and drug/drink and throw their garbage and cigarettes everywhere. We have called the cops several times. We never see patrol cars up here. it's a shame. 622 O Oct 13 2022 10:13 AM Density should preempt distance! Currently 50% of the homes on Tillmont Way are STRs. This is unconscionable!
623 X Oct 13 2022 09:45 AM This ordinance was hastily put together and does not adequately address the property rights of homeowners.
624 O Oct 12 2022 06:18 PM I think that zero lot line housing should be restricted by the 1000 feet regulation, but for multi-family houses and other town houses should be allowed to pass this restriction, but the multi-unit home must either be both short term rental or both long term rental units. Then the 1000 foot rule would apply to the “double unit”. 625 X Oct 12 2022 04:27 PM No opinion should be an option 626 O Oct 12 2022 03:25 PM Enforce the rules!!!
627 C Oct 12 2022 10:31 AM I think there are too few permits allowed. Especially in tourist areas (downtown, railroad square). For all residential areas, I like the 1000 ft space requirement. I think when there are complaints that an investigation should be required and it should not just be considered the owner's fault. 628 X Oct 11 2022 09:02 PM Transparent rules regulations with our visiting guest. Good communication is the best! 629 E Oct 11 2022 08:45 PM The presence of a short term rental in our small cul-de-sac neighborhood has ruined the sense of community within our neighborhood. It has created a nuisance and an uneasiness that has me thinking daily about selling my house and moving away. We have had to call the police multiple times. Except, now that there is a known STR next-door to me, my home has probably been devalued significantly. We never know who is going to be in the house. Frequently, the guests staying in the house are rude or at the very least completely inconsiderate of our small neighborhood. Santa Rosa city code says very clearly that is illegal to have a hotel in a residential neighborhood. With the five-bedroom STR next-door to us, we have in essence a small boutique hotel that turns over every couple of days. The stress of this has ruined many,many days for me 630 C Oct 11 2022 07:53 PM As someone who’s income depends on tourism and visitors from other areas, I appreciate the increased tourism short term rentals bring. As a local home owner, I think some limits are reasonable. I hope the city carefully considers the revenue tourism brings to the wine industry, wedding industry and what tourism in general brings to our county, and how important that revenue is in providing employment to local citizens like me. 631 E Oct 11 2022 07:00 PM Need more housing so more strict is better 632 X Oct 11 2022 06:00 PM Staff is doing a great job!
633 C Oct 11 2022 04:21 PM Permit approval speed is painfully slow. Having gone under contract to purchase an STR home prior to the urgency ordinance I'm now covering an extra mortgage with no revenue to offset until my permit is approved. 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
634 O Oct 11 2022 01:32 PM There should be a difference between treatment of a mom and pop owner operators who live, work, and contribute to the local community and are doing this to remain living in this expensive region and corporate entities who are purchasing homes for the sole purpose of vacation rentals. This issue has become political versus practical with a small group of highly privileged people being very loud against str. Many of the people operating short term rentals are doing so to make ends meet. People purchasing vacant second and third homes also affects the quality of a neighborhood. With housing prices so high, younger working generation of 30 year olds are being priced out. Having flexibility of operating str allows younger people to afford to live here with some flexibility (ie traveling with family over summer and renting home out to pay bills for the whole year). 635 C Oct 11 2022 12:48 PM City ordinances should apply equally to all residents and/or their rental properties. Why complicate what applies to whom?
636 X Oct 11 2022 10:46 AM Airbnb and other companies should be required to collect hotel taxes so all the taxes will be paid and not be up to the owners of the properties so that SRCITY gets all the monies owed to it and that the owners do not have to pay like they do now.
637 N Oct 11 2022 10:00 AM The requirements for providing emergency information and having a phone at the property are working well. Posting the information in the house, sharing it in advance and digitally during the stay is excellent. 638 C Oct 11 2022 09:49 AM I think the permitting, fines and taxes are structured in a way that favors non-STR residents and the city. I do not think the ordinance has the best interest of STR owners in mind. 639 E Oct 11 2022 07:41 AM There should be more rentals available to help the house crisis. 640 O
Oct 11 2022 07:32 AM The hosted STR restrictions need to be rewritten. The fact that a hosted STR owner is not allowed to leave the property, even during a family emergency is ridiculous. I was instructed that if I need to leave town as a hosted STR, I would have to ask my guests to leave. PLEASE consider creating an advisory committee of STR owners so we can advise on proper ordinance that are realistic.
641 E Oct 10 2022 12:34 PM Short term rentals in our neighborhoods are really the 'nightmare scenario' for those of us living here.
Please limit as much as possible.
642 C Oct 10 2022 11:54 AM Because Santa Rosa has many HOAs that don't allow short term rentals the 1,000 foot concentration tool is overly restrictive. Typically 1-2% of single family dwellings in a city should be short term rentals to make sure you have rental inventory for travelling nurses, professionals moving here and emergency housing for those displaced after wildfires 643 O
Oct 09 2022 04:41 PM There should be no restrictions on homeowners who claim their property as a principal residence and claim their homeowner's tax exemption. Those who do not, should not be granted a whole house nonhosted short-term rental. The city should not approve short-term rental applications for corporate-entity applicants. 644 E Oct 09 2022 04:03 PM Short term rentals in residential neighborhoods should not be allowed. 645 C Oct 07 2022 06:10 PM Look at Redwood City’s approach: any homeowner may apply to receive a permit to STR their house or condo for up to 90 days per year. I like this approach: it will keep “professional STR” companies away and it fairly distributes a valuable commodity to all property owning citizens. Please consider something like this. 646 O Oct 07 2022 10:17 AM Code enforcement of Santa Rosa's current rules needs to be way better. Complaints should be taken seriously, and violations should be assessed swiftly after a through investigation and appeal process. Additionally, the City needs to do a better job of educating it's citizens AND short term rental owners of the regulations and how they apply. 647 O Oct 06 2022 04:07 PM I think the with the few tweaks that I have indicated, the current short-term Rental Ordinance is working well and is very fair.
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
648 E Oct 06 2022 11:17 AM non-hosted should not be allowed in our neighborhoods 649 E Oct 06 2022 11:11 AM non-hosted belong in commercial land 650 E Oct 06 2022 11:04 AM non-hosted STR should be assigned to Commercial Land 651 E Oct 05 2022 01:06 PM City needs to extend these laws to cover loopholes. many people are now renting out their homes for 31 days to bypass short term, but this is still a safety concern and nuisance in residential neighborhoods 652 X Oct 04 2022 08:03 AM I would like to see more oversight on if the Rentals are being utilized or not. Are they active businesses or simply an investment strategy where the property sits empty until the owner can resell the property for a profit. 653 E Oct 02 2022 09:44 AM Airbnb, Vrbo, etc...do not verify hosts. I have been scammed by some hosts. Hosts renting through Vrbo, Airbnb, etc know they can get away easily from any compliances. ...More regulations is better to hold them accountable. 654 O Oct 02 2022 04:53 AM The limits and distance is not as important as the owners responsibility to their neighbors. There should be more ordinances on the amount of people/cars/pets allowed as well as noise limits, especially in the evening. 655 E Oct 01 2022 01:03 PM There is almost nothing about the current ordinance that is working well. Everything needs improvement - from terms that significantly reduce the number of Non-Hosted rentals in residential neighborhoods to terms that can actually be effectively enforced.
656 E Oct 01 2022 12:19 PM Allow residents to upload videos for those that violate the rules on weekends when there is no enforcement. For properties in a home owner association, ask two questions: 1 - is the property located in a home owner association? If no, skip the next question. If yes, answer the next question. And if a property owner answers not in a homeowner association and the association finds out afterwards, can submit a letter and have the permit revoked. If in a homeowner association, does the property owner have written permission to operate a short term non-hosted rental? If yes, submit written proof. If no, put in a suspended file until written approval is given. 657 E Oct 01 2022 09:50 AM Harsher penalties for people who continue to allow short term rentals in HOA'S that do not allow them. 658 E Oct 01 2022 07:18 AM I live near a hosted and a non-host short-term rental. The non-hosted short-term rental turned over three times this week. There is a shortage of housing in Santa Rosa. Multifamily housing single-family housing should be just that housing and not hotels. If you make the rules to complicate it, there will be no enforcement. Enforcement to this point has been a joke. I bought in a residential area not intending to live next to a commercial enterprise. Peace and tranquility that should be expected in a residential neighborhood. Should not allow commercial enterprises next to homes. Only primary homeowners should be given permit to rent as a non-hosted short-term rental. Investors, realtors and anyone else trying to profit by running a non-conforming use business in a residential zone should not be allowed. 659 E Sep 27 2022 06:12 PM Unless there is a faster way to revoke a permit for someone who breaks the rules, no non-hosted shortterm rentals in residential zones.
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
660 E Sep 27 2022 01:40 PM non hosted STR'S should be in non residential neighborhoods. residential home stock should be for permanent residence or for long term rentals. STR'S further erodes housing stock and drives up prices in the community overall, but decreses house prices for those near the STR'S as it must be disclosed to new buyer. Efforts should be made by city to make Hotels or other lodging accommodations more attractive for developers near downtown amenities. Why should the burden of STR violations be on the neighborhood home owners? We should'nt have to be the police, but that is what happens as you cant count on the STR companies to police there own properties. The burden of reporting is on the neighbors. How does the city know if there have been violations? Do you expect the STR companies to report issues to the city, fat chance! Only recourse is to report violations to police to make its way into the public record. There should be an independent city run violation/complaint center to keep all STR's accountable. Especially all grandfathered units that are closer that the current 1000 yd limit. Please allow our neighborhoods to be just that a neighborhood. To build a place where city workers can live vs.commuting in from out of the area. To have neighborhoods affordable for our children to move back to their home town. Our population is graying and we need young people to come home and start families.
661 E Sep 27 2022 01:07 PM I live within 7 STR hosted and non hosted. 7 families should be living there instead of a constant flow of strangers. The turnover rate is multiple times in a week. Who is next door? I don't know? Non conforming use in a residential zone. Zoning laws were put in place for a reason.
662 E Sep 27 2022 12:58 PM To date their is little to no enforcement. The neighbors around these commercial enterprises are the enforcers. Non hosted STR should be limited to commercial areas. And at the very least be primary home owners. Outside investors have ruined the peace and tranquility of our neighborhoods. 663 P Sep 27 2022 11:29 AM Not associated with these rentals in any way; not a clue where one might be near me, have never used one.
City has no right to regulate what people do with their properties, aside from noise etc ordinances. You are just trying to solve your housing issues that many blame on these rentals, and might be depriving someone who cannot work a regular job of their income. Next you'll eminent domain 'seedy' properties to turn the land over to developers. The market and economy will dictate how many short-term units can operate at a profit.
664 O Sep 27 2022 11:12 AM Neighbor complaints in residential areas should have the highest regard and result in penalties to STR rental companies, resulting in a revoked permit. This survey is a good step for gathering information from citizens of the city. If police or fire dept is called because of renters not following quiet hours, causing a disturbance or endangering the neighborhood due to negligence, resulting in a call to police or fire dept. the renter should be financially liable. Investment corporations buying and managing homes for STR purposes should not be allowed a permit, there is no investment in the community or care for the community residences.
665 O Sep 27 2022 10:40 AM Hosted rentals should have fewer restrictions than non-hosted rentals. 666 P Sep 26 2022 11:39 PM Limiting this is kind of fascist. People should be able to do what they want to. God forbid people want to vacation in Santa Rosa, right? I mean really. Noone comes here anyway. Dont make it harder. Residents are not being displaced by this. There's tons of inventory being built right now all along SR Avenue, and Petaluma Hill Road, etc. The city needs more DIVERSITY in housing stock and in occupancy. .Reduce and remove the restrictions. Join the 21st Century. Short term rentals are a jolt of fresh energy. Just say Yes!
667 P
Sep 26 2022 08:53 PM Let people have freedom to do what they want with property they own. We have long term property rentals near our home that consistently have awful tenants. Why are slumlords of long term rentals not held to the same standards as short term renters. Be consistent and fair to all residential property owners. 668 C Sep 26 2022 06:05 PM I think the new rules should be lifted for a trial period of 1 year 669 E Sep 26 2022 03:56 PM Do not allow any short term rentals in residential neighborhoods. 32 33
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
670 E Sep 26 2022 03:19 PM please remember that this kind of rental housing can do great damage to the integrity of our neighborhoods and should be not only limited, but monitored very strictly. 671 X Sep 26 2022 02:36 PM your survey needs improving
672 C Sep 26 2022 02:23 PM The current 1,000 ft limits favors those who were here first, excluding new homebuyers the opportunity to participate. They may potentially be fabulous hosts, while the incumbent may be sloppy in managing the rental because of the lack of neighboring competition. The great hosts continue, and the lousy ones fade out; may the best host win - reflecting a better experience of our Sonoma County guests.
673 X Sep 26 2022 02:00 PM The last question didn't have a choice for leaving the reapplication at one year, which I support. 674 O Sep 26 2022 01:09 PM I used to manage a hosted short term rental property for 5 years. The one thing that we had to work out with neighbors was the parking. We were are the end of a cul-de-sac street. We did not have enough parking in the drive way for the renters because we had to have access to the 2 car garage. My point being that parking should be looked at very carefully. 675 X Sep 26 2022 10:46 AM option in survey for no opinion, or unsure 676 C Sep 26 2022 10:40 AM Lots of people have invested millions of dollars to supply short term housing for travelers, business people and traveling nurses and the like. Tourism brings tens of millions of dollars into Santa Rosa/Sonoma County...I have no idea what Santa Rosa "leaders" think they are doing screwing with a persons ability to do things with their private property. Deal with people who do not properly manage their rentals, on a case by case basis. If they rent to rowdy college kids, squeeze on them. You guys always do a "one size fits all" approach to governing. And it doesn't work! 677 E Sep 26 2022 10:39 AM My concern with short term rentals is that they displace long-term renters. If short term rentals were used for residents displaced by fire, I would welcome more lenient rules in that one instance. 678 C Sep 26 2022 10:32 AM Short term rentals are not a problem. Too much time on this small issue 679 O Sep 26 2022 10:16 AM Homes w/pools should be required to have larger lots or more distance between neighbors. 680 X Sep 26 2022 10:07 AM The last question did not give an answer option of leaving the requirement the same. That is what my answer is.
681 E Sep 26 2022 09:47 AM The City has found and will continue to find difficult, the enforcement of any Short-Term Rental Ordinance that relies on the discovery and response to disturbance instances from any individual Non-Hosted property. Non- Hosted Short-Term Rentals are not compatible with residential zoning in the City and need to be eliminated therefrom. Please move to adopt ordinance revisions that eliminate all Non-Hosted ShortTerm Rentals from residential zoning districts or at least require that they be operated only in an owner's primary residence. 682 E Sep 26 2022 09:45 AM It is crazy that you allow short term rentals at all. We have a severe housing shortage and rents are through the roof. Short term rentals are only making this worse. If someone owns multiple homes then they should be offering these at a reasonable rental price to long term renters instead. This is just pure greed and it's going to make Santa Rosa and the surrounding areas unlivable for people who should be able to make a great living otherwise. I myself and considering leaving the area if rents increase any more. I make good money even as a single mother, but if my rent goes any higher that will be it for me. Say good bye to your tax base if you don't get this under control.
683 E Sep 26 2022 09:40 AM There are way too many short term rentals in Santa Rosa and not enough housing for the rest of us. In addition there are barely any restrictions on short term rentals that are already in business. There is too much pressure for neighbors to police the non-hosted short term rentals. It is a nuisance and shouldn’t be allowed. 684 E Sep 26 2022 09:31 AM I would like to see all short term rentals within Residential areas omitted. They should only be allowed in commercial zoned areas of the city.
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A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
685 E Sep 26 2022 09:30 AM Short term rentals, especially non-hosted ones, diminish the standard of living in neighborhoods and price residents out of the market. Our home are already expensive and cost-prohibitive to many. Short term rental properties, which corporations are purchasing around the country are just making all of that worse. 686 O Sep 26 2022 09:21 AM If applicable, I think background checks for both owners of short term rentals AND paperwork to make sure the people who wish to rent are vetted in some manner. 687 E Sep 26 2022 08:27 AM A lot of issues arise because these are non- hosted rentals. You have investors buying up affordable homes & severely limiting the # of homes for residents. It changes the quality and ‘neighborhood’ feeling of the area. Not much personal investment when you are vacation renting a place. I have been a person who has rented both non- hosted & hosted places many times.
688 C Sep 26 2022 08:20 AM Very popular area and there is a need for short term rentals. Also gives property owners to make some income from there property.
689 X Sep 26 2022 08:16 AM Notification should be given to all within 1000 feet of its operation. 690 O Sep 26 2022 08:08 AM There is not enough enforcement of our EXISTING noise and other ordinances. Why are we not enforcing simple rules as well as limiting business? This should be a holistic approach on controls and require noise level controls with charges going to the individuals for the police or other enforcement dollars that are spent cleaning up after these vacation rental owners.
691 O Sep 26 2022 08:00 AM The big companies or groups such as Picasso should not be allowed and the police should help enforce this when a complaint is lodged. Many times there is no response. It was like during covid… you sent out people to look at violations and did not fine or support the ordinance. You still have parking tickets; but flagrantly violated common sence violations were overlooked.
692 X Sep 26 2022 07:56 AM None
693 E Sep 26 2022 07:52 AM I think my answers give you my opinion. Short-term rentals have a negative impact on neighborhoods and communities within Santa Rosa. Hotels are available.
694 E Sep 26 2022 07:41 AM There's not enough affordable housing for Santa Rose as it is - it would be best if there were no vacation rentals within the city.
695 C Sep 26 2022 07:34 AM We need to balance these short-term rentals with keeping neighborhood consistency and atmosphere. This should not be a corporate City for non-hosted short-term rentals. I believe a limit of three to five so that big corporations that don't really care about the area won't see it as an opportunity. 696 X Sep 26 2022 07:20 AM too many parties at these non hosted rentals 697 P Sep 26 2022 06:35 AM Government should keep their noses out of what an owner wants to do with their PRIVATE property in regards to renting it full or part time, or living in it part time or full time. Freedom! It’s what makes America great. 698 E Sep 26 2022 04:59 AM I think non hosted rentals should only operate in areas zoned for hotels 699 E Sep 25 2022 11:45 PM There should be a moratorium on short term rentals until the homeless problem is resolved. Focus should be spent on taking care of current city residents before concerning our self with short term renters. 700 E Sep 25 2022 10:24 PM I wonder about those tenants who were displaced due to the greed of these operators and how these places could be used for renters of long term type.
701 O Sep 25 2022 09:21 PM absentee Landlords must pay 5 times the rate of bed"tax as hotels 702 X Sep 25 2022 09:17 PM You questions need some work 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
703 E Sep 25 2022 06:17 PM Short term rentals are a death sentence for people who need housing. In a city with so many unhoused people, it is disgusting that they’re allowed at all.
704 E Sep 25 2022 05:57 PM Within the density of the City, Hosted Short-Term Rentals are acceptable for level of control and monitoring. Non-Hosted Short Term Rentals are Hotels and should meet zoning and code requirements. 705 E Sep 25 2022 04:50 PM Short term rentals mean less housing for residents. That is not okay. 706 X Sep 25 2022 04:13 PM None
707 E Sep 25 2022 03:38 PM My home value and quality of life will be drastically diminished with absentee landlords on adjoining properties... as I have already experienced. It makes me want to move away. (falling down trees and fences, heavy security doors and locks make it look like high crime areas, partiers with drug activity disturbing neighborhood safety and quiet, rodent infestations left for It makes me very troubled to see my life work trashed. I am aware that certain investors own dozens of such houses in the area and have turned residential neighborhoods into business areas they were never zoned for. Please don't do this..
Zone some areas where people know when they are buying what they are buying into, or grant permits only if the majority of homeowners in the area agree. My home is all I have and I have tried hard to maintain its appearance and value for my neighbors and my children. Others shouldn't be allowed to ruin it for their financial gain. Property "managers" all over already simply turn a blind eye to their impact on other people's homes. CC&R's become unenforceable... I have paid thousands in dues to managers over the years for this insurance and now its all for nothing. Why would anyone care going forward ? Try rent control to keep prices down. Make ownership possible.
708 O Sep 25 2022 02:37 PM Rents are obscene enough in Santa Rosa. You should also not allow corporations to own single home and condo rental properties.The only exception being a family collective that manages properties previously owned by the older generation, and there should be a cap on how many they may own. 709 C
Sep 25 2022 02:27 PM There have been more noise complaints citing roosters in Santa Rosa over the last two years than have been filed against short term rentals. Victoria Flemming is very obviously using this issue to incentivize people to vote for her. This is a manufactured conflict, where a few people - our leaders included - are encouraging hate. No effort has been made by our leaders to come to a compromise solution that is best for everyone. It's so incredibly sad. These are tactics we accuse the worst Tea Party leaders of employing - fanning hate to motivate votes - and here we are, allowing it in our own community. 710 O Sep 25 2022 01:12 PM Create stricter supervision inspections for non-host short term rentals owners to report inspections each week if rental is over 10-30 days. Too many incidents of renters trash the property and disturbing neighborhoods with big parties.
Not to mention vandalism and security issues.
711 E Sep 25 2022 12:57 PM prefer zero non hosted short term rentals 712 E Sep 25 2022 12:16 PM Short term rentals should only be allowed in areas already zoned for them-timeshares, hotels, motels, etc. residential areas are not set up to be short term rental areas and as such upsets the nature of a residential neighborhood. We have enough transient residential traffic from relatives "visiting" the neighborhoods (usually because of the natural disasters that force them to seek shelter with relatives or generations living in single family residences due to economics) that already congest our neighborhoods. If people want to come to wine country, let them stay in the appropriate allotted places, not in private residences...unless they are willing to be long term residents. 713 C Sep 25 2022 12:06 PM Just let the market decide and don’t make rules around short term rentals 32 33
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Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
714 E Sep 25 2022 12:05 PM People are using Non-hosted short term rentals as a business model to get rich infringing on cohesiveness and integrity of neighborhoods. In my opinion, all non-hosted short term rentals, and hosted short term rentals in downtown area should be required to obtain conditional use permits. Neighbors should be notified by mail that a non-hosted Airbnb or hosted airbnb downtown before the conditional use permit is issued. Before all permits are issued. Even in-house permits. As a 30 year renter in the city of Santa Rosa I have seen my options shrink and shrink and shrink and shrink. Our housing stock is limited and should not be used to feed the tourist/wine industry. This is where regular people live that supply the workforce to make our county and city.
715 O Sep 25 2022 11:35 AM We have successfully lived next to a hosted short-term rental for about a year - our home is probably 1000 feet away from the home. So far, this has worked fine for us; however, a neighbor on the other side of the rental has had some problems with late-night talking on outside decks, etc. An increase in short-term rentals, in my opinion, can change the nature of family neighborhood, increase parking issues, etc. (At the short term rental near us, there are often 4-5 cars in a driveway at night, or renters are using shared parking areas that now become unavailable for the permanent residents. 716 E Sep 25 2022 10:41 AM I think short-term rentals should be eliminated entirely, or owners should be limited to only one per county. Especially during a housing shortage. We need to focus on building communities, rather than making the rich richer. 717 E Sep 25 2022 10:32 AM Too many of them
718 O Sep 25 2022 09:20 AM Distance requirements don't really do anything. And limiting the number of permits doesn't either. You could have one really load party going on far away and it is an impact. It is all about enforcement. If someone has a short term rental permit, they should be held to a higher standard and the fees they pay should go toward the additional enforcement it requires. It is really that simple.
719 E Sep 25 2022 07:43 AM There are many hotels in the area to provide short term housing. Short term rentals reduce available residential housing that is already inadequate.
720 E Sep 25 2022 06:03 AM Non hosted rentals take housing away from potential full time renters. 721 X Sep 25 2022 04:58 AM Previous question did not have an option to leave at current one year 722 C Sep 25 2022 01:25 AM Really don’t understand the amount of time and resources the City is using to address STRs in the City.
The impacts of STR’s on the residents seems minor compared to the impacts of side shows - gun violence - drug over dose deaths. Not sure why operators in good standing without complaints are being targeted by what seems a witch hunt. 723 E Sep 24 2022 09:46 PM Why should any residential neighborhood be allowed to conduct commercial business out of their home 24 hours a day? Renting your home is a commercial enterprise so why is this okay? Did you think that there would be a hotel next to you when you bought your home? We didn't and have them on both sides of us. This is wrong. 724 O Sep 24 2022 08:53 PM Appeals system needs to be put in place prior to citations being administered 725 X Sep 24 2022 08:50 PM the whole city plan is f*****, you guys have made this the city designed for leaving, new young clueless leaders and planners, hands off the Chanate property, you clueless f*^#'s, yeah lets put 800 units and 2400 cars into a wildfire interface with no hope for evacuation, Chanate can't handle that load [east / west connections] (and fountain grove isn't working, and hwy 12 is a joke) .... Regarding Chanate property make it a park, open space, greenbelt.... your plan to fill in every lot and build up is lost on its hope to house the homeless and low income.. they wont be able to afford it, and keep that s*** out of my back yard.. NIMBY, damn right... sad sorry city planners are clueless Santa Rosa has lost its character, its charm, SMART rail isn't situated for all those high rises you're building, you're all ass backwards..... 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
726 O Sep 24 2022 07:42 PM The city must mandate professional management certification on all hosted and non hosted properties. For all operators and self managed cases. Professional management would solve all nuisances. Please contact me regarding professional management best practices. Respectfull y, [REDACTED]
727 E Sep 24 2022 04:34 PM The reason zoning exists is to separate incompatible uses. So why do we allow homeowners to turn their house into a commercial use (hotel)? I simply don’t think non-hosted short term rentals are compatible with SFR or MFR type zoning and don’t support any regulations that permit non-hosted short term rentals in neighborhoods where people live full time.
The current regulations should be eliminated and ST non hosted rentals in SFR and MFR zones should be not allowed. 728 O Sep 24 2022 04:06 PM I would be more lenient for hosted short- term rentals than non hosted rentals. With much more scrutiny if there are same owners on multiple non hosted rentals
729 O Sep 24 2022 02:42 PM The main issue is that these types of rentals can be a huge negative impact on neighbors sometimes and other times they are not a problem at all. While I support the objectives these laws are trying to address I would think a simpler approach could also be taken patterned after how the local animal control works. If a dog is barking and no one complains it's not a problem. If a dog is barking and 2 neighbors complain the animal control comes in to remedy the solution. I would think this 'party control' agency could easily be funded by fees on existing short term rentals. 730 O Sep 24 2022 02:22 PM Suspension or revocation for frequent disruptions by short term rental. Rules adjusted for percent vacancies. Too few rental vacancies, more restrictions on short term rentals. 731 C Sep 24 2022 01:38 PM I think that less restrictions are conducive the more employment, better care of housing in general, more income for the city from taxes, investment in property improvements and labor to do the improvements. Short term rentals also bring more visitors who spend their money in restaurants, shops, events, etc. Less restrictions means higher income to the city and its citizens.
732 E Sep 24 2022 01:26 PM Need more long term rentals for people in Santa Rosa 733 O Sep 24 2022 12:59 PM With the investment potential and the need for housing in Santa Rosa clashing there needs to be more oversight of the program and the regulations for abuse tightened and revoking the permit a possibility for abusing or "hiding" the fact that a person is renting short term and thumbing their nose at the ordinance by dealt with. 734 X Sep 24 2022 12:45 PM why didn't Q14 have a response to leave the waiting period as is? 735 O Sep 24 2022 12:37 PM This an area in which I minimum experience, however, it could be effective to limit the number of rentals in an area- similar to our voting zones. Too many in one area is a different kind of burden. 736 O Sep 24 2022 11:57 AM how to deal with noisy parties at short-term rentals in neighborhoods. that includes children playing in yards or backyard pools. there are times when the noise is like living next to a schoolyard or public playground or pool where one cannot have a quiet conversation with a person in their own yard. 737 E Sep 24 2022 11:47 AM Short term rentals of any kind decrease the quality of life for all neighbors, increasing the risk of crime, noise and other pollution, isolation of elders and other vulnerable people who lose neighbors, and generally destroying the social fabric of communities, making them social deserts.
738 X Sep 24 2022 11:44 AM Every home not owned, shortens the already shot supply of our rights to own the American dream. 739 E Sep 24 2022 11:26 AM Many of my friends have non hosted rentals next door to them and that is definitely on 1000 feet apart.
How do these neighbors get recourse. Some have complained many times and the penalties don't seem to apply. The rentals destroy the integrity of a neighborhood with noise, parking etc. Are they paying the Hotel Tax? 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
740 X Sep 24 2022 11:16 AM Svalley also has many short term rentals,and building too many more apts in rural areas as well,increasing traffic,populations to accomodate workers here,but live elsewhere. Unsustainable w drought,infrastructure, medical,primary education and food needs.
741 X Sep 24 2022 11:06 AM Thank you for the opportunity for input. 742 E Sep 24 2022 10:58 AM Santa Rosa should severely restrict short term rentals- our homeless crisis and cost of housing is directly linked to the limited supply. Houses should be owner occupied and only rented when owners are away. Housing is a basic human need. Making home rentals a business in this time of housing crisis is unethical. 743 E Sep 24 2022 10:54 AM I have lived in Santa Rosa for 35 years. The city no longer feels like a safe place to live. I don't know anything about current short-term rental laws, but our neighbor has been doing this for the last few years renting out a few rooms to whoever he can find to bring in extra income. I have two kids and now we never have any idea who is next door. There are a lot of shady people always coming and going. The homeless problem alone is staggering. It is unbelievable that the city can permit this happening. We don't need shortterm rentals getting out of control as well. 744 C Sep 24 2022 10:52 AM Too much regulation
745 O Sep 24 2022 10:52 AM There should be a limit to the number of Short-Term rentals in a Family neighborhood 746 O Sep 24 2022 10:48 AM Thank you for addressing this issue in a fair and reasonable way that gives neighborhood peace a priority over short-term rentals.
747 E Sep 24 2022 10:43 AM Resources to handle complaints immediately need to be put into place. Neighborhoods with HOAs that ban short term rentals should have those covenants respected. Rather than looking at homes as revenue cash cows, look at them as places for families to reside in peace. Please keep our city one that invites those who choose to live here, not a place that places tourist dollars first to the detriment of our citizens. 748 E Sep 24 2022 10:39 AM Hospitality/hotels as STR’s are defined, are not allowed in residential zoning. 749 E Sep 24 2022 10:35 AM Please don't make exceptions for downtown. Noise in Burbank Gardens has only increased over last 50 years. City ordinances should apply equally across Santa Rosa. 750 X Sep 24 2022 10:34 AM For #14 there was no "keep the one-year current rule" option, however I think one year sounds fair (if someone's short-term rental permit has been revoked). Short-term rentals should be clustered together where possible; a buffer between short-term rentals makes no sense at all and I am surprised to see that being considered as an option. 751 O Sep 24 2022 10:33 AM The emphasis should be to promote hosted rentals and limit non hosted rentals. With non hosted rentals, a contact person, like an apartment manager, should be available to respond immediately to issues and be able to go on site to resolve them.
752 E Sep 24 2022 10:31 AM I am against short term rentals 753 O Sep 24 2022 09:44 AM This is simple! Permit holders for short term rentals of any kind should be A) residents of the community who have lived here for 2 years or more ans who live in the home that is rented - no homes for profit only B) maximum number of nights rented per year C)limit number of guests per stay D) violations and permit revocation means you lose permit with no ability to reapply E) one rental per operator and no businesses can own a rental. PROTECT THE MOM AND POP OPERATORS !!! Are you here for the people of Santa rosa or are you here for profit … get it together 754 C Sep 24 2022 09:43 AM There should be no limits on short term rentals. People should be able to rent out there room or property for any amount of time, as long as they get the proper permits and pay the fees. This would be a good revenue generator for the city/county. Sep 24 2022 09:40 AM No comment Sep 24 2022 09:35 AM Short term non hosted rentals Should not be allowed in residential neighborhoods in the city limits.
32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
755 N Sep 24 2022 09:25 AM I understand that owners want the income from short-term rentals, but I also feel that short-term rentals have significantly limited the number of regular housing units to residents and what’s left has become prohibitively expensive. 756 O Sep 24 2022 09:05 AM I live in Kenwood not Santa Rosa. The short term rental along with the huge event permits that the wineries have… Have completely impacted our quality of life. Live bands often are not even in the building. The sheriff department flat out says we’re not coming we don’t have the manpower to enforce these non-criminal acts. Very sad for us. We rebuilt after the fire but on many weekends in June, July and August we will hear four bands simultaneously playing. 757 E Sep 24 2022 08:39 AM un-hosted short term rentals are commercial entities and need to only be allowed in Santa Rosa Commercial land. Just like Hotels.
758 E Sep 24 2022 08:35 AM As developments are required to create CC&Rs, the city must not encourage violation of CC&Rs as it presently does. You should have a permitting application and periodic review process that INCLUDES neighborhood feedback.
Current protocols are worse than unsatisfactory.
759 X Sep 24 2022 07:48 AM The last question should have a stay the same option. 760 C Sep 24 2022 07:47 AM Short term rentals support tourism and local businesses. Let’s increase our short term rentals. 761 E Sep 24 2022 07:40 AM Hosted short term only! Nonhosted short term is not good for city character, unfair to next door homeowners. Hotel are for that purpose. Stop this insanity. Give rightful homeowner right to privacy both visual and sound!!!! 762 O Sep 24 2022 07:38 AM Re: Question 14, once a STR permit is revoked, the waiting time to reapply for another STR permit should be increased to 10 years at the address the violation occurred and to include all current permits in the City owned by the offender/s.
763 O Sep 24 2022 07:29 AM Short term rental property owners should have their permit permanently revoked if the rental unit in question garners noise complaints that require SRPD response on two or more distinct occasions. Said noise complaints should carry a fine for the owner in question, of no less than $500 for a first offense, and $1000 for a second offense, doubled if on a working night or after the hour of 1 AM.
764 C Sep 24 2022 06:37 AM No special rules necessary. Same rules/laws that would apply to long term tenants, wether renters or homeowners.
765 O Sep 24 2022 06:14 AM There should be no limits on HOSTED STR. Separation distance for non-hosted is arbitrary and could be abused by someone who wants to keep STR out applying for a license even if he/she has no intention to operate a STR. 766 X Sep 24 2022 06:06 AM I think the pro and cons should be explored. I haven't heard any discussions about it. 767 N Sep 24 2022 06:00 AM Current one Seems to work ok 768 C Sep 24 2022 03:35 AM These questions are coming up because we have a housing shortage. Fix the housing shortage and ease up on vacation rentals and short term rentals.
769 O Sep 24 2022 01:51 AM People should not be permitted to operate more than one short-term rental. 770 X Sep 24 2022 01:15 AM homeless are mostly junkies. rehab or zero benefits. A general comment. Stop the homeless Inc. gravy train 771 E Sep 24 2022 12:32 AM Do not want short term rentals 772 O Sep 23 2022 11:57 PM If a permit has been revoked then i think the current wait time of one year is good - that was not an option for question 14. I don't understand how the 1000 foot limit can be applied to apartments, townhomes... since they are usually attached...I would have liked to have a section under each question where I could leave my feedback. 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
773 O Sep 23 2022 11:15 PM The permit fee is way too high. It is much higher than many surrounding cities. 774 X Sep 23 2022 10:45 PM There should be a searchable data base for short term rentals or a listing made available by the city so that neighbors are aware of short term rentals in their neighborhood. 775 X Sep 23 2022 10:42 PM I do not live in Santa Rosa but do live in the county —- Fulton 776 X Sep 23 2022 10:33 PM I recommend Santa Rosa review,, Healdsburg, Sonoma, Napa, and Petaluma’s for infrastructure 777 E Sep 23 2022 10:21 PM Non-hosted short term rentals should NOT be allowed AT ALL in the City of Santa Rosa. There's a nonhosted unit across the street from my house and I'm sick of the parties, the late night yelling, all the cars speeding through, and the garbage and recycling cans being left out all week attracting rats. The hosted short term rental across the lane behind my house doesn't have any of those problems. When the renters know the owner is on-site, they are much more respectful of the home AND the neighbors. PLEASE BAN ALL NON-HOSTED SHORT TERM RENTALS. 778 C Sep 23 2022 10:20 PM Simply, every home owner should have the opportunity for a small bite of the apple. We should all be able to participate (with limitations). Forget the 1000’ limit and replace it with a cap of 60 nights per homeowner. And exclude ALL corporations and investor groups — homeowner/residents only. 779 X Sep 23 2022 10:14 PM We hear the horror stories Social media attracting hordes. Thank you. 780 C
Sep 23 2022 10:12 PM Short term rentals work well as long as the renters realize that the same respectful behavior will be expected in their rental as in their own homes.
781 O Sep 23 2022 10:05 PM The changes only applying to recent non-hosted short-term rentals doesn’t being sufficient relief to neighbors who have been enduring the disruptions for long periods of time. Revisions to policy need to apply permits that were acquired 3-5 years ago. As a next door neighbor to an un-hosted STR with a swimming pool, our sleep and weekends have been adversely affected for years, and we want to have quiet nights and early mornings again. 782 E Sep 23 2022 10:04 PM Ban all short term rentals, we have more than an adequate hotel and motel commercial spaces. Short term rentals decrease the availability of rental spaces for those in need of shelter. 783 O Sep 23 2022 10:03 PM Adequate monitoring and response to complaints 784 P Sep 23 2022 09:46 PM People should be able to do with their properties as they wish. People need to make money is this ridiculous economy, And if they own a home / property they should be able to do it with it what they want! Time to move in to the now and stop living in the the past. My home is in Montecito Hieghts, my husband has owned it for over 15 years. Our neighbors are Beaty against it for zero reason other to resist change. The STR a few houses down are never a problem. I’m very happy to happy to have them in the neighborhood. This city needs to pay attention to everyone, not just the old rich liberals and the homeless that we actually just enable.
785 E Sep 23 2022 09:45 PM STVR do not provide homes for people to rent full time. There aren't enough homes or apartments to rent now. Havin lived next to one it's noisy (party's), late night noise, and you have people moving in and out all the time. Santa Rosa needs more full time rentals or for sale homes for people living and working here full time. 786 N Sep 23 2022 09:15 PM I live two houses away from a short-term rental and have never had issues. I have more concerns about noise from our full-time next door neighbor than I do about the short-term rental. 787 N Sep 23 2022 08:56 PM I support policies that increase the supply of affordable housing for low and middle income residents of Santa Rosa. Vacation rentals, in general, take housing stock out of the rental market and, therefore, should be limited in number. 788 O Sep 23 2022 08:49 PM I believe the strategy should be reasonable regulation of renter behavior AND strict penalties for owner/managers who fail to control their customers - In most cases "3 strikes YOU'RE out" I've never had a problem but have heard of people getting "rowdy" neighbors with too little consequences 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
789 X Sep 23 2022 08:46 PM Question 14 did not give the option to “Stay the same” seems biased? Not sure what to think but wanted you to notice.
790 E Sep 23 2022 08:37 PM No more STRs. Many people cannot afford to live here so we should not be turning housing into hotels.
Provide incentives for resorts and hotels with similar models- ie cottages with kitchens or larger more luxury resorts in/near Santa Rosa.
791 E Sep 23 2022 08:37 PM By having fewer, hotels will do better and neighborhoods can regain coherence. Also new housing will use too much water. Let’s back off during the drought
792 O Sep 23 2022 08:33 PM There is one on my block. Parties, noise level, strewn garbage, gates left open (and pool in back yard) are serious issues on our street now.
793 O Sep 23 2022 08:33 PM I’m on the fence. I believe that owners should be able to rent however they choose, but with such a huge shortage of rentals in the area limitations are understandable! People need homes that live and work here, not just vacation here.
It’s already out of control. The rent increases should be controlled. As a home owner, I see it’s clearly greed. Not a need for higher rents. So a balanced must be struck.
794 E Sep 23 2022 08:29 PM I will provide detailed comments before this is considered. In fact, my original comments before the urgency ordinance are still germane and I will resubmit them. Non hosted vacation rentals are often a blight on residential neighborhoods and should be severely limited.
795 C Sep 23 2022 08:25 PM We have considered using our home as a short term rental, focused on traveling nurses and out of town families with a relative in a hospital for an extended stay. We have put that plan on hold due to the need to remain full time in Santa Rosa for the time being. But would consider it in the future. 796 E Sep 23 2022 07:58 PM I think the problem with short term rentals isn’t in noise or nuisance issues, I think it is in how it impacts housing availability.
797 E Sep 23 2022 07:56 PM I feel these short term rentals drive up rents which is a hardship for people like me who struggle with good affordable housing. I also don’t like people coming in who are not connected to the community and showing disrespect to the people who live around them. I know for a fact this happens. Short term rentals are not good for our community. Thank you for the survey.
798 C Sep 23 2022 07:51 PM Tourism is great for our county leave short term rentals alone and let them operate with out all the Karen's throwing a fit for no reason except they can
799 C Sep 23 2022 07:51 PM There are too many contraints regarding rentals. Let's not turn into San Francisco with rent control for property owners. Owners are losing control over their own properties. 800 E Sep 23 2022 07:19 PM Zoning needs to be restrictive for these commercial endeavors 801 E Sep 23 2022 07:18 PM No short term rentals in populated residential neighborhoods. It changes the canvas and neighborhood feel. We can’t hear wilderness, it’s not peaceful all we hear is bottles dropping on cement, loud drunken conversations, loud music and noise, Noise, all hours of the day, week after week. 802 E Sep 23 2022 07:15 PM Short term rentals are a party location each day the tenants occupy. They have no commitment to a safe quality neighborhood. The party occurs, their rental ends and there’s no recourse. The next “party “ arrives a day later and the infringement on the neighborhood begins again. These reduce the quality of life for the tax payers, and the quality of the neighborhood
803 P Sep 23 2022 07:14 PM I think people should be able to rent out their property without the government butting in. They can apply for an inexpensive permit if necessary
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A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
804 E Sep 23 2022 07:00 PM You did not specify another category of rentals where people are renting out their primary dwelling. This applies to homeowners who are potentially trying to make ends meet by renting their primary residence on the weekends (for example). This is very different than the other options. These people are still part of their neighborhoods and invested in the community. They should have less restrictions. We did this for years until the increase restrictions took effect and would be happy to discuss the particulars if you have questions. [REDACTED] 805 O Sep 23 2022 06:55 PM Regarding properties held in an LLC or a Trust...there is nothing unusual about this, especially for a trust or small spousal or family LLC. There is a big difference between a spousal LLC and a 5o member LLC. Santa Rosa should limit the number of occupants to the number of overnight guests allowed and not allow gatherings in excess of the number of overnight guests allowed. Enforcement is very important. Short term rentals should not be allowed in multi-family units/apartment buildings. Short term rentals are not allowed in R2 and R3 zones in the unincorporated County. SR should do the same. Consider management certification in line with what the County does. 806 P Sep 23 2022 06:48 PM The owner of a property should be allowed to rent out their property shor or long term without interference from the city.
807 E Sep 23 2022 06:33 PM We need housing for RESIDENTS! There are other options for "short term" rentals. 808 O Sep 23 2022 06:30 PM Generally concerned with large homes purchased solely for the purpose of being short-term rentals. Much different from a short term rental on the same site as a home owner. i.e.a granny unit or apt over a garage, or rooms in a home, many are rented to traveling nurses who need them.
809 X Sep 23 2022 06:27 PM Respecting one's neighbors and neighborhood should be of the upmost importance, and consideration, regarding this matter.
810 C Sep 23 2022 06:26 PM Stop needless regulations.
811 E Sep 23 2022 06:13 PM Worry about effects of short term rentals have on fabric of community. More transient no commitment to the community etc.
812 C Sep 23 2022 06:12 PM Just monitor short term rentals! 813 O Sep 23 2022 06:11 PM Why is there a limit on distance between short-term rentals? Is there no limit on how close a short-term rental can be to long-term residents who may be subjected to riotous party spots? 814 N Sep 23 2022 06:10 PM Appreciate the ordinances have quieted our neighbor's late hour wild parties. They now quiet down by 10pm. It would also be appreciated if the immediate surrounding neighbors were offered the contact information of the host. 815 E Sep 23 2022 06:00 PM All short term rentals should be banned! 816 C Sep 23 2022 05:57 PM Short term rentals should be subject to a maximum occupancy limit and should be subject to a maximum noise limit. I have no problem with families who are quiet and respectful renting vacation properties, it is people who throw loud parties who should be controlled.
817 E Sep 23 2022 05:56 PM Non hosted short term rentals disrupt residential communities and remove units from available housing stock. They provide NO benefit to the community.
818 E Sep 23 2022 05:56 PM I have no idea how it is doing but I think large gatherings with noise and trash that disturb neighbors should not happen. I'm wondering if this applies to those who go o vacation and get house-sitters, paid or unpaid, to stay in their homes.
819 X Sep 23 2022 05:52 PM No thank you
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A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
820 C Sep 23 2022 05:46 PM The City should not have proximity limits and/or caps/density limits, and only limit the number of permits a person can be issued, and exclude corporations from owning vacation rentals. This will allow the average homeowner to purpose a home short-term, one never knows when some unexpected event in their life (i.e., loss of a job, care of a loved one, divorce or death of a spouse) and they find themselves needing to earn extra income—offering a home or room short-term could be the only way to make ends meet.
821 E Sep 23 2022 05:43 PM It seems these places become party centers, and the neighbors suffer. The owner does not seem to care.
Owners should be local and highly visible. Not some rental company. 822 P Sep 23 2022 05:42 PM The city has no business restricting people from doing what the want with property they own. City should focus on the homeless problem and cleaning up the city. Piss poor management on the city’s part 823 E Sep 23 2022 05:37 PM I don't want them anywhere near my home. 824 E Sep 23 2022 05:35 PM The higher the number of rentals in an area, the more likely to become run-down due to no pride/investment of ownership. STR are far worse for the quality of a neighborhood. 825 E Sep 23 2022 05:35 PM Sonoma County residents need more housing that supports their well-being and their ability to find a rental home near where they work, raise their children and contribute to the community. Please drastically reduce he number of allowed short-term rentals!
826 O Sep 23 2022 05:31 PM Enforcement, enforcement, enforcement! 827 C Sep 23 2022 05:29 PM Short term rentals are very important to the Santa Rosa area. They bring in money for business, they allow visitors coming to our city to see how life is here, and they are able to enjoy the beautiful and multiply types of recreation and sites that we have. In Europe this is the primary means of vacation -- bring a part of European tradition to our city. Allow visitors to enjoy our city instead of putting all the restrictions on residents, businesses and visitors! 828 E Sep 23 2022 05:28 PM We need housing for people to live in. Short term rentals directly affect the availability of much needed housing. That's what motels and hotels are there for. Build more of those for people to gain income from. 829 O Sep 23 2022 05:26 PM Currently there is inadequate enforcement and without it an ordinance is meaningless. 830 E Sep 23 2022 05:25 PM Housing in Santa Rosa should be for residents only. It's hard enough for families to get adequate housing and there's not enough affordable housing stock as it is. 831 C Sep 23 2022 05:25 PM A short list of what successful short-term rental owners have learned. For example, calling and connecting 4 times with renters over a three day weekend to ensure all is going well, and in the passing, all policies and rules being complied with.
832 E Sep 23 2022 05:23 PM The city can't argue that there isn't enough affordable housing if they allow any short term rentals - this turns houses into business assets.
833 X Sep 23 2022 05:22 PM We all need a safe place to sleep. 834 X Sep 23 2022 05:20 PM None
835 E Sep 23 2022 05:20 PM Given the housing shortage, fire danger, traffic problems, inadequate policing, response delays to complaints, and the difficulty in “guest supervision,” we need less short term rentals and a conscientious department to supervise. 836 O Sep 23 2022 05:20 PM Absentee ownership of badly needed housing should be closely monitored to guard against civic devaluation of neighborhoods.
837 E Sep 23 2022 05:19 PM unhosted short term rentals should not be allowed. Short term rentals require on site supervision to ensure good neighbor practices.
838 N Sep 23 2022 05:18 PM I think the rules now in place are basically on the right track. 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
839 E Sep 23 2022 05:17 PM Short term rentals should not be allowed in apartments or multi units. There is a housing shortage already we do not need apartments etc being rental out as a vacation type residence. 840 N Sep 23 2022 05:17 PM 1. There should be Noise level requirements (ie, hot tubs, bright lights, music) 2. There should be required separations between the rental back and side yards and bedroom walls and windows of adjacent property structures. 841 E Sep 23 2022 05:15 PM Get rid of them & take OUR city back! 842 E Sep 23 2022 05:14 PM It should be abolished altogether. Short-term rentals are a blight, a nuisance, and fail to foster community. 843 C Sep 23 2022 05:07 PM Short term rentals are popular and can be a good experience. If parking and noise complaints and fines (that we already have laws for) went to both the renters and owners, it would have more impact. In short, be less restrictive with the rental ordinance but more proactive about what matters to most people, noise and parking. 844 E Sep 23 2022 05:07 PM I strongly believe that the loss of available housing from short term rentals is something that should not be tolerated.
845 E Sep 23 2022 05:06 PM Parking is a major issue in our neighborhood. Short term rental gusts show up with multiple vehicles and block sidewalks and mailboxes. Parking should be more strictly enforced. Also there should be more focus on eliminating unpermitted rentals. There are 6 all within 1000 feet of my home in additional to tue permitted rentals. With the shortage of housing for residents We are in favor of eliminating short term rentals all together inside city limits. There are plenty of nice hotel rooms sitting empty that tourists can use.
846 E Sep 23 2022 05:05 PM WE HAVE A HOUSING CRISIS. You can't collect taxes to accommodate homelessness and in the same breath allow for the commercial use of residential housing! BUILD A HOTEL! 847 E Sep 23 2022 05:05 PM Very short term non hosted rentals among family neighborhoods exposes residents including children to unknown and possibly unsafe conditions.
848 C Sep 23 2022 05:03 PM Short term rentals encourage tourism and bolster our economy. 849 X Sep 23 2022 05:03 PM Not sure
850 E Sep 23 2022 05:01 PM My family lived for 60 years in Santa Rosa until last month when we sold the family house. Short term rentals are an anathema to communities and neighborhoods. They are means for individuals and/or corporations to generate income and wealth, and nothing more. They add nothing to the community. They should be fazed out so that median income individuals and families can afford to live in Santa Rosa. Housing is not privilege, it is a right, and one that short term rentals violate. The right to live in affordable housing is far more important than the right of landlords to do what they want with their property.
851 X Sep 23 2022 04:59 PM Question 14 was BAD, I wanted to check a leave it the same box. But there was Not an option for that.
Please fix your survey. Short term rentals are my favorite way to travel. Way better than hotels. So please do not LIMMIT their availability or make it hard on people to provide short term rentals. The market will adjust itself, if to many people have short term rentals it will drive the price down and they may themselves choose to switch to long term rental. Which I assume is the reason this survey even exists. Its probably about the rental market. But if you are going to rent out your home, you should be able to choose if you want long or short term renters. It shouldn't be up to someone else how you want to rent your home. 852 E Sep 23 2022 04:59 PM I am not in favor of short term housing of any kind. 853 E Sep 23 2022 04:58 PM The short term rental ordinance should be working towards eliminating short term rentals altogether as much as possible.
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A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
854 E Sep 23 2022 04:58 PM The proliferation of short term/vacation rentals like Air B&B and VRBO have changed the landscape of the city and are adding to the housing crisis. The hotel and motel industries suffer as well. We are losing great community members who can no longer afford to live in Santa Rosa. 855 O Sep 23 2022 04:56 PM Distance requirement is prohibited. Performance standards, annual fees/inspections, and fines should be enough to limit potential nuisance.
856 O Sep 23 2022 04:53 PM It appears that the enforcement of standards is inefficient. 857 E Sep 23 2022 04:53 PM 1. In support of our city-wide needs for housing, each time a non-hosted STR is vacated or revoked, it should not be reissued to subsequent owners or anywhere else in the City. Ultimately, this would result in there being no non- hosted STRs in Santa Rosa, and all of those homes will provide permanent housing. 2. STRs where the residents live full-time in the rental are considered "non-hosted" if they vacate the premises during a rental. This should be changed, with a caveat limiting the number of days of rental to something close to one month total; this could be tracked via taxes collected, etc. These homes still provide housing, and allow residents who need extra money the opportunity to rent their homes for short periods (Grand Fondo, Marathon, Harvest Fair, etc.). Also, these residents are accountable to neighbors for the actions of their temporary renters. 3. At a minimum, non-hosted STRs that are within 1000 feet and were granted permits because they applied early enough should never be renewed for that property if ownership changes, causing the other nearby STRs to fall into compliance with the 1000 foot separation.
858 E Sep 23 2022 04:52 PM I believe the short term rentals (Non-Hosted) are contributing greatly to our housing problems. 859 E Sep 23 2022 04:51 PM I believe short term rentals should be limited to commercially zoned areas of the city only. These are commercial activities that should stay in commercial zones. There is no place for them in residential areas. 860 N Sep 23 2022 04:48 PM I like limited short term rentals. I feel they bring some vibrancy to our neighborhood and clientele to restaurants and markets in the area. But too many can definitely ruin the solidity of the neighborhood as well. 861 X Sep 23 2022 04:47 PM No thanks
862 O Sep 23 2022 04:47 PM Considering there are about 200 permits, but we’ll over 1,000 short term listings in Santa Rosa on various platforms, I’d say whatever you’re doing with current ordinance provides absolutely no benefit to anyone except the money you’re collecting from the approximate 200 permittees.
863 C
Sep 23 2022 04:46 PM I know for certain that several homes in my subdivision are operated as short-term rentals. The owners take very good care of their properties, the rentals are cute, and the renters are most-often respectful. I think there should be unlimited short-term rentals because they are a win-win.
864 X Sep 23 2022 04:45 PM I feel like this survey was extremely vague and should have had more places to reply like this box. The last question should have had the option of "leave it the same" and did not. Most people unless they are in the industry are unaware of what's happening here with vacation rentals until they try to do something locally and can't because it's crowded with tourists; or their neighbors turn out to be annoying tourists changing weekly. I've also tried to take mini vacations locally and had places tell me they won't rent to me since I'm from same zip code! There should be control for locals to have protection for enjoying where we live; better prices on events / parking / other locations that are desirable for tourists should have locals rates as they do in Hawaii or Santa Cruz.
865 C Sep 23 2022 04:43 PM If you wish to encourage developers and individual property owners to enlarge and maintain Santa Rosa's residential capacity (to hold down rents and reduce homelessness) and to increase Santa Rosa's appeal to tourists, you should minimize the regulation of short-term non-hosted rentals. There are better ways to address whatever disturbances short-term renters cause their neighbors: knock on their doors or call the police. 32 33
A B C D E
Survey Respondent Comments
ID No. Category Date, Time & Text of Comment
899
900
901
902
903
866 N Sep 23 2022 04:42 PM The ordinance needs to cover noise levels, quiet times (after 10 pm), number of cars parked, parties, and maximum number of guests allowed.
867 X Sep 23 2022 04:42 PM SIck of people who do NOT live in Sonoma county ruining our way and culture of our county. 868 P Sep 23 2022 04:39 PM Too Much government oversight! 869 E Sep 23 2022 04:37 PM I don't want any in my neighborhood (Summerfield Road) 870 O Sep 23 2022 11:21 AM The City is doing a good job with what they have. They need more code enforcement officers who can respond to complaints. The police department needs to be more supportive when residents call about noise or parking whether it is a short-term rental or not.
From: Meads, Shari
To: Desperrier, Kirsten
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] Sort term rentals in Woodside Hills neighborhood, Santa Rosa Date: Friday, December 2, 2022 10:03:57 AM
Shari Meads (she/her) |
Senior Planner | Zoning Administrator
Planning & Economic Development |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3| Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Tel. (707) 543-4665 | Cell (707) 892-1802 | [email protected]
From:
Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, December 2, 2022 8:02 AM
To: David Mangurian <[email protected]>; Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]; Meads, Shari <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Sort term rentals in Woodside Hills neighborhood, Santa Rosa
Hi David,
Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate you taking the time to send your thoughts on the City’s current Short-Term Rental Ordinance.
I have copied Shari Meads, Senior Planner, who is working on the potential amendments to the current Ordinance.
She will include these comments with those
that have already been provided.
Please note that the current Short-Term Rental Ordinance does include quiet hours, between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m., and upon issuance of a Short-Term Rental Permit, the City sends a notice to property owners within 600 feet of the short-term rental that includes the local contact information for the rental (see Zoning Code Section 20-48.070, Operational Standards ). Also, I noticed that your
comment number 5 was not completed, did you want to send the remaining part of your comment?
Thank you,
Jessica
Jessica Jones
| Deputy Director - Planning
Planning and Economic Development Department |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Tel. (707) 543-3253 | Mobile (707) 292-0963 | [email protected]
bet
From: David Mangurian <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, December 1, 2022 4:50 PM
To: Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Sort term rentals in Woodside Hills neighborhood, Santa Rosa
As a resident of Woodside Hills, I feel that anyone who can afford to purchase a home in our quite expensive Woodside Hills neighborhood in Santa Rosa, where I live, has plenty of money and doesn’t really need extra money from even a few short term rentals per year.
If they choose to rent their
home for more than two or three weeks a year, it’s a business to them and not their principal residence. There need to be limits.
Following are a few:
1. Set a limit to the number of weeks an owner or owners can rent their home per year.
2. Require that short term rentals be limited to single families and their relatives and not to multiple families or multiple unrelated people at the same time.
3. Set noise limits (quiet hours) for the renters.
4. Require that short term renters provide the owners of the houses on either side of the property and across the street with the names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of the renters should neighbors have complaints if the renters do not respect these limits.
5. Provide Jose Arturo Ibarra with
Sincerely,
David Mangurian
2742 Treetops Way
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Tel:
707-890-0611
From: Jose Arturo Ibarra <[email protected]>
Date: Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 2:27 AM
To: David Mangurian <[email protected]>, Luz Mangurian <[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: STR chain email
Greetings,
We are being asked to participate in moving this letter to three other Santa Rosa residents that are willing to act on this important matter.
Thank you in advance for helping out.
-----
Best regards,
Jose Arturo Ibarra
Contact CELL #: 707.858.8040
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From:
David Long
Date: Tue, Nov 15, 2022 at 7:46 PM
Subject: STR Action Requested
We need your help to eliminate Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals in Santa Rosa from residential neighborhoods because they pose a real and serious threat to your future quality of life.
A Community Workshop facilitated by the City on November 14th was attended by about 125 people, with more than 90% being Owners of short-term rentals lobbying for removal of nearly every current regulation that governs their permitting and operation.
Over the next 6 weeks, City of Santa Rosa Planning staff will be developing amendments to the current short-term rental regulations, and our grassroots coalition needs a much stronger voice to ensure that these regulations are tightened rather than relaxed.
If you do not take action now, there is a very good chance that your home will soon be within 300 feet of a new Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental.
Here is what I am asking you to do.
1. Copy this entire email and send it separately to three (3) trusted friends, relatives or people who you believe will act.
2. Copy the italicized text below, paste it into an email and send to [email protected].
3. Repeat this process when I send you another email 5 to 7 days from now with a new italicized statement. We plan a total of 3 messaging rounds.
Dear City Planning Staff Member,
I advocate for the elimination Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals from all residential neighborhoods in Santa Rosa.
Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals are commercial transient lodging enterprises without an on-site proprietor or supervisor. They do not conform with and are not similar to any of the Land Uses allowed for residential neighborhoods in either the City’s Zoning Code or General Plan.
The County of Sonoma, and the City’s of Healdsburg, Rohnert Park and Sonoma have all adopted regulations that prohibit Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals in residential zones.
Rhetorically, why does Santa Rosa believe they should do something different? Every Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental represents an ongoing opportunity for a disturbance, or life safety situation to be caused by an endless rotation of persons unfamiliar to the property owner, City staff or neighborhood residents. Contrary to your current thinking, owner/host vetting of their transient occupants, remote monitoring and after-the-fact response by police or code enforcement are only marginally effective at curtailing bad behavior.
Sincerely,
Insert Your Name
Insert Your Address
--
David Long
707.322.8823
From: Meads, Shari
To: Desperrier, Kirsten
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] I am opposed to short term rentals in Woodside Hills, Santa Rosa/ Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2022 8:10:25 AM
Shari Meads (she/her) |
Senior Planner | Zoning Administrator
Planning & Economic Development |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3| Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Tel. (707) 543-4665 | Cell (707) 892-1802 | [email protected]
From:
Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2022 6:53 AM
To: David Mangurian <[email protected]>; Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Cc: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] I am opposed to short term rentals in Woodside Hills, Santa Rosa/
Hi David,
Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate you taking the time to send your thoughts on the City’s current Short-Term Rental Ordinance.
I have copied Shari Meads, Senior Planner, who is
working on the potential amendments to the current Ordinance.
She will include these
comments with those that have already been provided.
Thank you,
Jessica
Jessica Jones
| Deputy Director - Planning
Planning and Economic Development Department |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Tel. (707) 543-3253 | Mobile (707) 292-0963 | [email protected]
From:
David Mangurian <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, December 9, 2022 4:03 PM
To: Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] I am opposed to short term rentals in Woodside Hills, Santa Rosa/
Following was sent to residents of Woodside Hills, Santa Rosa, CA. I concur.
Anyone financially able to own a home in our Woodside Hills neighborhood does not need extra income from short term rentals (unless their objective in purchasing a home in Woodside Hills was to turn it into a business.
I do not think we need housing rental
businesses being run in Woodside Hills.
Hosted may be ok, but even that I don’t
think is necessary.
There are plenty of other areas in Santa Rosa that allow short term rentals.
David MANGURIAN
2742 Treetops Way,
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Dear City Planning Staff Member,
I advocate for the elimination Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals from all residential neighborhoods in Santa Rosa.
Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals are
commercial transient lodging enterprises
without an on-site
proprietor or supervisor. They do not conform with and are not similar to any of the Land Uses allowed for residential neighborhoods in either the City’s Zoning Code or General Plan.
The County of Sonoma, and the City’s of Healdsburg, Rohnert Park and Sonoma have all adopted regulations that
prohibit
Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals in residential zones.
Rhetorically, why does Santa Rosa believe they should do something different?
Every Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental represents an ongoing opportunity for a disturbance, or life safety situation to be caused by an endless rotation of persons unfamiliar to the property owner, City staff or neighborhood residents. Contrary to your current thinking, owner/host vetting of their transient occupants, remote monitoring and after-the-fact response by police or code enforcement are only marginally effective at curtailing bad behavior.
Sincerely,
Insert Your Name
Insert Your Address
From: Marie P <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2022 7:25 PM
To: Kirk, Lou <[email protected]>
Cc: Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Nov 14 Meeting
Thank you both.
Lou, I'll contact you Wednesday.
Jessica, three additions re the report out:
1. The woman that said the police won't respond anymore
2. My comment about getting neighbor input before a business in a neighborhood is allowed.
3. My comment about some U-STRs bring used as a party venue instead of people renting a conference room, restaurant or party venue.
Thank you again to everyone at the city that stayed late to do this meeting today! Marie
On Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 19:14 Kirk, Lou <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Marie,
Happy to discuss your concerns with you.
Sincerely,
~Lou
Lou Kirk (he/him/his) | Assistant Chief Building Official Planning & Economic Development |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Tel. (707) 543-3248 | Fax (707) 543-3219 | [email protected] We are hiring – join the team with a purpose and make an impact! We offer incredible opportunities, dynamic work and excellent benefits.
Come find your passion; visit SRCity.org/Jobs
From: Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2022 7:11 PM
To: Marie P <[email protected]>; Short Term Rentals <[email protected]> Cc: Kirk, Lou <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Nov 14 Meeting
Hi Marie! Thanks so much for participating tonight, and for following up with this e-mail. I really appreciated your and the rest of our groups comments. I know you mentioned some concerns you had about the lag time in response regarding violation complaints. I have copied Lou Kirk, Assistant Chief Building Official, who should be able to help you if you have a complaint that hasn’t been responded to yet.
Thanks so much,
Jessica
Jessica Jones | Deputy Director - Planning
Planning and Economic Development Department |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Tel. (707) 543-3253 | Mobile (707) 292-0963 | [email protected]
From: Marie P <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2022 6:37 PM
To: Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Nov 14 Meeting
Hi,
I will write more later, but right now I want to thank Jessica Jones for facilitating our group.
Thank you also for holding this meeting.
Marie Piazza
(On the meeting as 'Ken' - using my husband's computer!) From: Skanda Visvanathan
To: Meads, Shari
Cc: Short Term Rentals; Chnn; Skanda Visvanathan
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] 3rd Category of Short Term Rentals - Short Term Rental of own residence, permit for Santa Rosa citizens only
Date: Sunday, March 26, 2023 9:44:47 PM
Dear Shari,
thank you for this opportunity to add to our email from December 2022 regarding a non-hosted Rental Permit for our home in Santa Rosa. Given the urgency of our situation, I have decided to fly back from Brazil for the April 27 Planning Commission meeting as well as the June 6 City Council meeting regarding the STR ordinance. So, can you please keep us informed about the dates if something changes? I don’t want to be buying flight tickets for nothing.
Summary of our situation - we bought our home in Santa Rosa in August 2021 and have been living in it since September 2021. We picked Santa Rosa, since there were no permit requirements for Short Term rentals at the time of purchase.
After the purchase of our home, we immediately applied for the TOT number to pay potential taxes.
However, in November 2021, the STR ordinance for Santa Rosa was put in place and we were denied the right to apply for a non-hosted STR permit. We were not allowed to apply until December 3 rd by which
time already known operators had applied, hence excluding our property because of the 1000ft radius rule.
Some of these operators have 5 – 6 non-hosted STR permits which is not fair to us (real Santa Rosa residents). We, who need to do real HOME SHARING, don’t even have one permit for our main residence here in Santa Rosa!
Based on our retirement model (I am 65 years old, my wife is 56 years old) it is absolutely essential for us to do non-hosted short term renting of our own home during our absence (around 3 – 4 months per year) to cover the astronomical basic costs, i.e. Property Tax ~$1000 + Home Fire Insurance ~$1000 per month. Even though we don’t have a mortgage, we still have to pay the monthly sum of $2000 costs (excluding utilities!). So, it is critical for us to be able to do non-hosted Short Term Renting of our home.
Despite the suddenly imposed 1000ft rule, we completed the required documentation and made an appointment with the city to hand in our application (around late December 2021). Our intent was to at least go on record that we applied or to get on a waiting list. However, the officer attending to our case refused to accept our application
So, to this day, other than our emails to you, we officially do not exist as non-hosted STR permit applicants. There is no waiting list! If someone loses their permit, the 1000ft rule would cease and the next application in line should be able to get a permit. If there is no waiting list this can not even happen.
Being in our situation, we would like to see the following changes/additions to the STR ordinance, which correct some injustice and benefit many other Santa Rosa residents as well:
1. <!--[endif]-->Apart from hosted and non-hosted STR permits, the city should open up a hybrid category, i.e non-hosted STR permits for people who do home-sharing in their own residence for some months in the year only.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->
· <!--[endif]-->This will be solely for home owners who HAVE to do HOME SHARING during their absence, to be able to cover the astronomical base costs to keep their own home
<!--[if !supportLists]-->
· <!--[endif]-->It will also prevent potential non-Santa Rosa resident investors from obtaining even more non-hosted STR permits <!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Limit the rental time to a maximum of 6 months per year (so that it continues being a main residence)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Since it is the own home, people will be very careful as to whom the property will be rented to.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2. <!--[endif]-->Get rid of the 1000ft radius rule which is a violation of rights of residents like us
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3. <!--[endif]-->Raise the limit on the number of non-hosted STR permits to attend to the SR residents who live in the city - Currently the city has a limit of 198 permits. We are talking about a city which has over 67,000 households. In other words, the percentage of permits vs households is less than 0.3%. In any case, property owners have the right to use their property as they see fit, including renting it out on a short-term basis. This is America!
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4. <!--[endif]-->Reinforce the ordinance with a requirement for noise monitoring equipment for all categories
<!--[if !supportLists]-->5. <!--[endif]-->Set up a waiting list to give the opportunity for other residents who also have the rights to do non-hosted STR With all that said, I also have to once again add the following: Without being able to do non-hosted short term rentals of our own home during our absence, we cannot afford to live in Santa Rosa. We will be forced to sell our property and move elsewhere. That will be a pity because we both love this city and would love to contribute to its welfare by paying our personal and TOT and other mandatory taxes.
Once again, thanks very much for your help,
Chris and Skanda Visvanathan
+1 408 887 4338
On Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 02:42:46 PM PDT, Meads, Shari <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Chris and Skanda,
I’m including here a short-term rentals website update that was published today:
Short-Term Rental Ordinance Update Public Hearings
Recommendations for updates to the Short-Term Rental Ordinance, which will include proposed changes to provide clarification and technical updates following the City’s use of the ordinance since its adoption in October 2021, will be considered by the Planning Commission and City Council at public hearings in April and June 2023. The information provided will include the results of surveys and community outreach, as well as all community correspondence collected regarding the Short-Term Rental Ordinance. Below are the Public Hearing dates for the draft Short-Term Rental Ordinance update:
Planning Commission meeting – April 27, 2023, at or after 4:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers (100 Santa Rosa Avenue) or via Zoom (Zoom link provided in the meeting agenda the week prior to the meeting date
here)
City Council meeting – June 6, 2023, at or after 5:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers (100 Santa Rosa Avenue) or via Zoom (Zoom link provided in the meeting agenda the week prior to the meeting date
here)
With your permission I would like to provide your December 16, 2022 email (the contents of which I’ve copied below) to the Planning Commission and City Council as part of the review for this item. If you would like to send anything in addition – or instead of – please let me know.
Dear Shari,
thank you for your encouragement during the recent STR workshop (December 12th 2022) to reach out directly to you regarding our short term rental situation. Below is a short summary of our attempt to acquire a non hosted STR permit, as well as what we want to discuss with you. We also would like to set up a face to face meeting at your office in the next days when it is convenient.
First of all, we would like to thank you and the city for organizing and hosting the workshops which Chris and I have attended (Nov and Dec 2022). There is a lot of engagement from the city staff (I counted at least 10 people on both occasions), which we really appreciate. Thank you also for reassuring us that the workshops would be taken seriously by the city and initial recommendations and changes to the ordinance will be proposed in early 2023.
To summarize our situation, we bought our home in Santa Rosa in August 2021 and have been living in it since September 2021. We picked Santa Rosa, since there were no permit requirements for Short Term rentals at the time of purchase. We applied for the TOT number so that we could pay the due taxes to the city, but were however denied the right to apply for a non-hosted rental permit. We were not even allowed to apply until December 3
rd by which time already known operators had applied, hence excluding our property because of the 1000ft radius rule.
Despite that, we completed the required documentation, made an appointment with the city to hand in our application (around late December 2021), but the officer attending to our case refused to accept our application, with the 1000ft radius rule being cited as the reason.
We would like to discuss the following topics with you
1. We want to hand in our application for a non-hosted short term rental property. If you are going to reject it, we need an official rejection after review, so that it is registered that we applied. At least we would have a chance if some current operator in our 1000ft radius lost there permit. Pursuant to City Council ORD-2022-008 (attached), the City cannot accept a Short-Term Rental Permit application for a new non-hosted use. The City has not established a specific process or waitlist for folks who would like to apply for a future non-hosted short-term rental permit. This is something which will be determined over the next several months as potential ordinance amendments are considered by the Planning Commission and City Council. Please be sure to sign up on the short- term rentals website to receive future updates on this process.
2. There is no waiting list for the permit, i.e. how will the city know who has tried to apply and when we were turned away. The city states they are not accepting any applications. You already mentioned that bad operators would lose permits and would have to reapply as a new applicant.
This means the current allocation of 198 permits would open up, the 1000ft radius will expire automatically. So, how do you know who came first? See answer above.
3. The 1000ft radius rule (we know that we have also discussed this during the workshops, but we would like to reiterate as well as clarify)
4. There are operators holding multiple non hosted Short Term Rental permits (I heard that some have more than 5). This is not home sharing, which is the spirit of the STR hosting websites. The limitation rules (1000ft, 198 permits only etc.) and excessive concessions to known investors are not fair to SR residents who live in their homes, but need to do home sharing – hosted and un- hosted – to cover their astronomical costs of keeping their homes (high property taxes, high fire insurance etc.). One area of consideration for the potential ordinance amendments is whether to limit the number of short-term rental permits that can be owned by one entity. Thank you for indicating your support for this potential policy.
Could you please let us know when it would be convenient to meet, within the next days, preferably around the end of the week of December 19th.?
Once again, thanks very much,
Chris and Skanda Visvanathan
+1 408 887 4338
Safe travels to you!
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]
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.
From:
Skanda Visvanathan <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 4:49 PM
To: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Cc: Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>; Chnn <[email protected]>; Skanda Visvanathan <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] 3rd Category of Short Term Rentals - Short Term Rental of own residence, permit for Santa Rosa citizens only
Hi Shari,
we hope you are well. We are reaching out to you because we will be leaving for Brazil in 2 weeks from now and have a question.
I don't want to waste too many words in summarizing our Non-hosted Short Term Rental Permit situation again, as you are already aware of it. To put it in a nutshell again, we are not even on any waiting list and cannot even apply for a permit because of the 1000ft rule. Investors (some with more than 5 permits, according to our knowledge) have already been given permits, hence preventing us from applying because of the 1000ft rule.
It was very kind of you to propose advertising our home on websites supporting midterm rentals. However it hasn't worked out well. We managed to rent our home for a period of around 40 days during our upcoming absence, but at a very low price. It is nowhere near the amount we would get back on non- hosted STRs. It barely covers the costs for the time it is rented.
When we last met with you, we discussed having a separate category of permits, i.e. non-hosted short term rental of primary homes of Santa Rosa Residents for a part of the year. This is our home where we live for about 7-8 months a year. The rest of the time we have to spend with our aging relatives in Brazil.
It should be possible to rent our home on a short term basis i.e. to be able to cover our astronomical costs (~$1000 property tax and ~$1000 for fire and home insurances per month). This is real home sharing and not a pure short term rental property.
As we mentioned before, if we cannot rent our home on a Short Term Rental basis during the months we are absent, this model of living in Santa Rosa is not going to work for us on a longer term. We have to seriously consider putting our property up for sale before the end of the year and leaving Santa Rosa permanently.
Before we start discussions with our realtor, we would like to know from you, if progress has been made in opening up a 3rd category of Short Term Rentals, i.e. Short Term Rental of primary residence of Santa Rosa citizens.
Can you please update us on that? We remember you mentioning that the Planning Division was due to meet with the City Council to give an update on the final STR ordinance around this time (March 28, I think).
Can we have a short call or f2f meeting with you? We are available at any time.
Thanks very much.
Yours sincerely,
Chris and Skanda Visvanathan
408 887 4338
On Monday, January 30, 2023 at 02:18:25 PM PST, Skanda Visvanathan <
[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Shari,
thanks so much for this. We really appreciate your help. I see you sent this on a Sunday. Hope you had a nice weekend
Cheers
Skanda
On Sunday, January 29, 2023 at 05:51:28 PM PST, Meads, Shari <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Skanda!
Here is a website that might help with finding "mid-term" (aka 31 days or more) guests!
https://www.furnishedfinder.com/
Travel Nurse Housing - Search For Monthly Furnished
Rentals
Travel Nurse Stipend Calculator If you are a travel nurse trying to figure out how much furnished monthly properties cost for a travel assignment, this report will give you the average rents for an entire unit vs. a room in a particular city, and what amenities would be included so you can gauge your housing costs for your next assignment. www.furnishedfinder.com
Warmly,
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.
From: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2022 1:48 PM
To: Desperrier, Kirsten <[email protected]>
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] Non Hosted Short Term Rentals Issue 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.
From: Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2022 9:01 AM
To: Laura Salo <[email protected]>; Short Term Rentals <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Non Hosted Short Term Rentals Issue Hi Laura,
Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate you taking the time to send your thoughts on the City’s current Short-Term Rental Ordinance. I have copied Shari Meads, Senior Planner, who is working on the potential amendments to the current Ordinance. She will include these comments with those that have already been provided.
Thank you,
Jessica
Jessica Jones | Deputy Director - Planning
Planning and Economic Development Department |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Tel. (707) 543-3253 | Mobile (707) 292-0963 | [email protected] From: Laura Salo <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2022 2:03 PM
To: Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Non Hosted Short Term Rentals Issue Dear City Planning Staff Member,
I advocate for the elimination Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals from all residential neighborhoods in Santa Rosa.
Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals are commercial transient lodging enterprises without an on-site proprietor or supervisor. They do not conform with and are not similar to any of the Land Uses allowed for residential neighborhoods in either the City’s Zoning Code or General Plan.
The County of Sonoma, and the City’s of Healdsburg, Rohnert Park and Sonoma have all adopted regulations that prohibit Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals in residential zones. Rhetorically, why does Santa Rosa believe they should do something different? Every Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental represents an ongoing opportunity for a disturbance, or life safety situation to be caused by an endless rotation of persons unfamiliar to the property owner, City staff or neighborhood residents. Contrary to your current thinking, owner/host vetting of their transient occupants, remote monitoring and after-the-fact response by police or code enforcement are only marginally effective at curtailing bad behavior.
Sincerely,
Laura Salo
2425 Sunrise Pl., Santa Rosa 95409
From: Meads, Shari
To: Desperrier, Kirsten
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] Ordinance and zoning contradiction Date: Thursday, November 17, 2022 9:56:52 AM
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:
Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2022 9:44 AM
To: Dale Sessions <[email protected]>; Short Term Rentals <[email protected]> Cc: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Ordinance and zoning contradiction
Hi Dale,
Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate you taking the time to send your thoughts on the City’s current Short-Term Rental Ordinance.
I have copied Shari Meads, Senior Planner, who is working on the potential amendments to the current Ordinance.
She will include these comments with those
that have already been provided.
Thank you,
Jessica
Jessica Jones
| Deputy Director - Planning
Planning and Economic Development Department |100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3 | Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Tel. (707) 543-3253 | Mobile (707) 292-0963 | [email protected]
From: Dale Sessions <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2022 6:01 AM
To: Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Ordinance and zoning contradiction
City council: “with the 198 cap this should really solve a lot of the issues with STR’s and to put a stop to all the complaints.”
No, unfortunately it’s a lame bandaid on a bigger issue. We have a home behind me that sleeps 18 comfortably and sorry, that’s not a home it’s a hotel. This is not a mom & pop renting out a spare room. This is a business venture. He’s changed his occupant load based on the ordinance however who enforces this? Where’s the accountability? Why are the neighbors stuck with trying to gather evidence that the city attorney won’t acknowledge as evidence? How does the city expect code enforcement to show up weeks later to investigate complaints? These issues are not just my backyard, but this is city wide. Look at the survey that was done and this will help bring education up on what’s happened here in Santa Rosa.
It’s very simple - the city has agreed these are hospitality entities and require registration and paying TOT. Hospitality is only allowed in commercial districts. If the city expects to enforce the rules they need to change the zoning along with it.
Non-hosted is the biggest source of complaints. If you and your buddies rented a hotel/resort for a few days and paid $1500 a night and arrived at the hotel only to discover no one but you and your buddies are at the hotel. Are you going to sit down and read a 40 page property rules manual? Are you going to be on your best behavior? Realize what’s happening here are not families coming for a quiet weekend getaway. These are massive party houses.
Property rights - this topic has been beaten by the opposition. That means I should be able to have an ostrich farm in my backyard or an auto repair business operating out of my garage. Obviously this is ridiculous. So is the argument from the property rights angle from pro-STR’s. Look at the Santa Rosa residential zoning and you will see that hospitality/hotels are not allowed. With zoning contradicting the STR ordinance it is going to fail.
Why do so many communities put tough regulations on STR’s? This isn’t just a SR problem but one that’s plagued the entire country. The non-hosted STR’s destroy the quality and enjoyment of life for the residents. Santa Rosa strangely believes they can craft an ordinance that will prove otherwise where every community has failed.
It is shameful how the city is not recognizing how this is all a problem and trying to protect STR operators over the surrounding neighbors. Zoning, codes, rules, regulations are meant to protect us all.
--
Dale Sessions
2619 Fir Park Way
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Cell: 415.244.1283
From: Andrew Smith <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2022 10:11 AM
To: Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Short Rental Meeting last night
Shari,
Greetings. Good meeting by your group and the ability to divide everyone into smaller groups for discussion. Much appreciated.
Two questions that I did not ask last night due to the time constraint.
ONE: It was referenced in the discussion group on the illegal STRs now that there is a cap on the number of non-hosted STRs. One STR owner mentioned that they were able to track those not legal in Santa Rosa.
Without enforcement and no penalties for doing this, they will proliferate in our city and be outside the control of Santa Rosa.
What is Santa Rosa doing to track these illegal STRs? And what penalties can be issued to send a message that a property owner has to be legal to run a STR and caught?
TWO: The issue of a STR in a homeowner association (HOA) has been pushed to the HOA to decide if that STR should be allowed. I agree 100% that Santa Rosa can’t track all legal documents and restrictions on HOAs but here is an easy way to make sure the STR owner has the right to run a STR in that HOA.
Add the following two questions to the application form:
ONE: Is the property in a homeowner association? Yes or No. If no, ignore the next question. If yes, answer the next question.
TWO: Does the property owner has written permission from the homeowner association to run a STR? If yes, attach written document. If no, suspend application until they bring the written document.
If the applicant answers no to the first question and is in a HOA, the HOA has the right to contact Santa Rosa and ask that the permit be rescinded.
This does not put a burden on Santa Rosa to ask these two questions related to a homeowner association.
Thanks.
Andrew Smith
Santa Rosa
To: Daryel Dunston, Assistant City Manager
From: David Long, 2425 Sunrise Place, Santa Rosa 95409
Subject: Concepts and Reasoning for Amendments to the Short-Term Rental Ordinance Date: March 4, 2023
During the past 6 months, many concerned Santa Rosa residents, including me, have submitted credible information, ideas and resource references to City staff and Councilmembers that demonstrates why Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals should be prohibited in all residential zoning districts of Santa Rosa.
To date we have not received any form of communication from the City that refutes or rebuts that which we provided.
There are other individuals and groups who have provided you with reasons why the City should allow continued operation of Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals in residential zoning districts. To date, we have also heard nothing from the City that refutes or rebuts the claims of our opposition.
You have some measure of responsibility in deciding which side of this issue to support for the overall well-being of our community. Although the issue is a bit complex, your decision should be straight- forward if you set aside the opportunism and greed that has found its way into discussions. Following are fair assessments that cover both sides of the issue.
Those who wish to have Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals prohibited in residential zoning districts are supported by the following facts.
1. Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals are transient lodging enterprises devoid of on-site supervision for which the City collects operational taxes and fees. These traits classify them as a (commercial) use that is not consistent with either the City Zoning Code or General Plan for residential neighborhoods. Given the recent history of the Short-Term Rental issue, this commercial use is clearly not a “compatible accessory use.” The purposes of the City’s Zoning Code are to implement the goals and policies of the General Plan and to protect and promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of residents. By allowing Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals to operate in nearly every residential zoning district, the City has not stayed true to either of these purposes.
2. Every house that is a Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental means one less house is available for a full- time resident, and Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals command higher monthly equivalent rental prices than do rental houses for full-time renters. This combination and the law of supply and demand mean that Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals drive monthly rents higher AND exacerbate our already tenuous housing supply problems. Both have severe negative consequences for our community.
3. Two City-conducted surveys on Short-Term Rentals show that an overwhelming majority of Santa Rosa residents prefer to have the City prohibit Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals in residential zoning districts.
4. By their very nature, every Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental causes angst and disruption in residential neighborhoods. Angst and disruption are not caused only by active disturbances, but by the constant specter that something uncomfortable, unsafe or truly harmful will happen when the next unknown group of persons occupies the Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental.
Those that promote continued operation of Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals support their position with several claims, all of which are easily refuted or rebutted.
1. Some property owners rent their house for part of the year on a short-term basis because they need the extra income. Taking away this opportunity would be financially devastating for them.
Rebuttal: No one that is able to vacate their house for part of the year will be financially devastated when they lose the ability to operate it as a Short-Term Rental. They will simply need to make lifestyle choice adjustments. Most Non-Hosted Short-Term rentals are not part-of-the-year operations, but rather are full-year speculative investment enterprises leveraging traditional neighborhood character for personal profit, and are trying to blend with a few truly needy situations for sympathetic consideration.
2. Short-Term Rentals benefit house cleaners, gardeners, pool cleaners, and trades repair persons.
Rebuttal: Full-time residents use all these same services so there would be little effect on the service providers’ businesses when Non-Hosted Short-Term rentals are eliminated. While frequent turnover of Short-Term Rentals might theoretically produce more income opportunity for these professions, the occupancy rate and seasonal patterns of Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals is not high enough to outpace the consistent need for these professions by full-time residents. Additionally, visitors transitioning to more frequent use of hotels and inns will create new and more consistent income opportunities for these professions.
3. Short-Term renters patronize local restaurants, wineries, breweries and retail establishments and local tourism will suffer if Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals are further restricted.
Rebuttal: These businesses will not experience a loss of patronage when Non-Hosted Short- Term Rentals are eliminated. Visitors do not come to our area because Non-Hosted Short- Term Rentals are available – they come because there are many fun and interesting activities to do and will utilize hotels, inns and Hosted Short-Term Rentals when Non-Hosted Rentals are eliminated. Sonoma County tourism continues to experience robust recovery as COVID wanes even as limitations on Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals are becoming more prevalent. Losing 198 of them in Santa Rosa will go un-noticed by local businesses except that their employees will have an easier time finding suitable housing.
4. Private property owners have the right to do whatever they want with their house.
Rebuttal: Property rights do not entitle the owner to use their property in ways that infringe upon the rights of others, or to engage in activities that are not permitted by laws and ordinances. Cities in California have the right to establish ordinances and regulations that prohibit Short-Term Rentals under the power granted to them by Article XI, Section 7 of the State Constitution.
5. “Bad Actors” who consistently violate the Short-Term Rental Ordinance terms should be eliminated and “Good Actors” should be allowed to operate with fewer restrictions because they pose very few problems for the community.
Rebuttal: There is no distinction to be made between “Good Actors” and “Bad Actors” when it comes to owners, managers and hosts of Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals. Most may be well-intentioned, but they are all “Bad” because of one simple fact - neither the property owner, manager, host, police, City Code Enforcement, neighbor, nor on-line listing service – can adequately predict or control what happens at a Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental. Therefore, every one of them has a reasonable potential to produce bad, disruptive and unsafe behavior at any time. Good track records and 5-star ratings do not guarantee future good or bad behavior at property – they are nothing more than sales tools. No measure of reactive enforcement can control bad behavior at Non-Hosted Short-Term
Rentals. The only proven means of control is to implement active restrictions that severely limit the number of days the Rental property is allowed to operate.
6. If Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals are more severely restricted or eliminated, the City will suffer significant loss of revenue from taxes and fees that support General Fund needs.
Rebuttal: There are two false premises at work with this claim. First, most of the revenue lost when Non-Hosted Rentals are eliminated will be replaced with the additional taxes and fees paid by hotels and inns where visitors will now stay. Second, a large portion of the tax and fee revenue generated by Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental is being used to fund the planning, permitting and code enforcement staff costs being incurred by the City.
Eliminating Non-Hosted Short-Term rentals and adopting regulations that are simplified and easier to enforce can significantly reduce those funding needs.
There is one aspect of this issue that appears to be limiting the options that City staff will consider recommending as amendments to the current Short-Term Rental Ordinance. I understand that the City Attorney’s Office is advising against any changes to the Ordinance that would add restrictions to current Short-Term Rental permit holders due to the risk of the City being accused of regulatory taking.
However, recent case law and actions by other municipalities in rolling back previous permissions suggests that this advice is overly conservative.
Although regulatory take is a century-old issue for which there have been several precedent-setting cases, there is still a lot of gray area surrounding how best to determine when and to what degree “take” has occurred. As Short-Term Rental regulations cases entered this space, the “gray” certainly did not diminish. However, as more cases are heard, courts are siding far more often on the side of municipalities being given latitude to make changes to Short-Term Rental ordinances that remove previous permissions to operate them in residential areas to protect public welfare, without those changes constituting a take or even a partial take. The most recent example of this is the case of Nekrilov v. C
ity of Jersey City, and the subsequent appeal of the decision, both of which were decided in favor of the d
efendant.
While this is not to suggest that the City institute a complete ban on Non-Hosted STR in residential areas – something that should have been done in October 2021 - I believe that it does suggest that the City can take the following steps without crossing the line of regulatory take.
1. Prohibit future Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals in all residential zoning districts by removing such districts from the list in City Code Section 20-48.040 A.2. 2 . Allow Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals that were issued permits within the established cap of 198 to continue operating but allow rental of those properties for a maximum of 60 days per calendar year.
This would effectively correct the City’s negligence in crafting the Urgency Ordinance section that allows transient commercial lodging enterprises to operate in 6 of the 7 residential zoning districts, with only the Mobile Home Parks district being excluded.
enterprises
Dear City Planning Staff Member,
I advocate for the elimination of Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals from all residential neighborhoods in Santa Rosa.
Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals are commercial transient lodging enterprises without an on-site proprietor or supervisor. They do not conform with and are not similar to any of the Land Uses allowed for residential neighborhoods in either the City’s Zoning Code or General Plan.
The County of Sonoma, and the City’s of Healdsburg, Rohnert Park and Sonoma have all adopted regulations that prohibit Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals in residential zones. Why does Santa Rosa believe they should do something different?
Every Non-Hosted Short-Term Rental represents an ongoing opportunity for a disturbance, or life safety situation to be caused by an endless rotation of persons unfamiliar to the property owner, City staff or neighborhood residents. Contrary to your current thinking, owner/host vetting of their transient occupants, remote monitoring and after-the-fact response by police or code enforcement are only marginally effective at curtailing bad behavior.
Sincerely,
Karen & Stephen Strain
Santa Rosa, California
From: Stephen R Strain
Sent: Friday, November 25, 2022 12:15 PM
To: Short Term Rentals <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Non-Hosted Short-Term Rentals are commercial transient lodging From: Meads, Shari
To: Desperrier, Kirsten
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] Re: Vacation Rental Ordinance Suggestions Date: Monday, December 19, 2022 9:51:44 AM
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.
From: Sonia Taylor <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2022 12:12 PM
To:
Meads, Shari <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Vacation Rental Ordinance Suggestions Shari, I think you're the person to get this email, but if I'm wrong, send it on its merry way to whoever should get it...
Below are comments about Santa Rosa's existing vacation rental ordinance for your consideration.
GENERAL COMMENTS:
Generally I have no real problems with hosted short-term rentals, and a large problem with non hosted short-term rentals in all residential areas.
Non hosted short-term rentals are a commercial
use, and when they are in a residential neighborhood, in any concentration, they negatively affect that neighborhood and everyone who lives in it.
Further, we have issues with availability of
affordable housing, and permitting non hosted short-term rentals in residential areas drives the value of all housing higher because, of course, an owner can make much more money with short- term rental uses than they can with traditional rental uses.
Which exacerbates our housing crisis, all
for the financial benefit of a few individuals.
Honestly, I am sympathetic to those operating hosted rentals to help pay their mortgages, to support their retirement, etc. I'm not, however, very sympathetic to those who have enough money to buy a second home (or third, or fourth) that they then use as a cash cow by offering it as a short- term rental.
In last week's community meeting, one of the attendees in my break out room said that it was unfair that because of the cap on rentals/set back requirements this person couldn't even apply for a permit.
I agree that that seems unfair -- late comers to the "party" can't participate -- but the only way I can see to resolve that would be to terminate all existing permits and run a lottery for the number of permits allowed city-wide that meet setbacks.
I don't see that as feasible, and I would
very much oppose either expanding the number of short-term rental permits or reducing the setback, so unfortunately that's just going to be the way it is.
I also believe that Santa Rosa should limit the total number of short-term rentals not only as to the entire city, but also as a maximum number allowed in each City Council district, and by neighborhood and street.
There should never be an occasion where a street has more than one non-hosted vacation rental, and no neighborhood should bear the brunt of multiple non-hosted rentals. We've set an overall city wide limit, as well as the 1000 foot setback, but I still think it should be more specific.
Below are my specific comments/suggestions on the existing ordinance.
As always, please don't hesitate to ask if you have questions! Sonia
Sonia Taylor
707-579-8875
[email protected]
1. Section 20-48.030 D -- I believe that RV's, Airstreams and other (usually) mobile "living" units should be prohibited from being used for short-term rentals whether parked on a private lot (as in a driveway, or setback) or on a private or public street.
2. Section 20-48.030 G -- It may not be possible to deal with Pacaso and other similar fractional ownership schemes like that in this ordinance, but I think they need to be addressed.
At a minimum,
such fractional ownership arrangements should be taxed differently than owner occupied housing units or long term rental units, as should generally vacant second, third, etc. homes.
3. Section 20-48.040 -- I believe that there should be a limit of one short-term rental on a legal parcel.
4. Section 20-48.060 B/D -- A bedroom should be defined as a separate room with a door.
Additionally, if there are alternative sleeping arrangements, such as, for example, a futon in the living room for additional sleeping, each such alternative sleeping arrangement that can sleep two people should also require one off-street parking space (and they should be added up, so -- for example -- two single beds, not in a bedroom, equals one additional parking space required).
5. Section 20-48.060 D -- I am concerned about the parking requirements.
For a unit with the
maximum number of guests -- 10 -- and the maximum number of daytime guests -- 5 -- that could mean that 7 cars, or more, will need parking spaces (assuming 2 people/car). That's a lot of parking for one unit, particularly in a residential neighborhood, and I am very doubtful that most/any units can provide all of that parking off the street (with the exception of the ONE allowed on-street parking spot permitted to be counted by the short-term rental).
6. Section 20-48.070 B -- I believe that there are other important life and safety requirements for short-term rentals that should be required:
a.
There should be an explicit requirement for working smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers in every short-term rental.
For smoke
detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, there should be adequate numbers to protect all possible guests during the day time and at night -- not sure what is the best way to require that, but perhaps by square footage of the unit.
For fire extinguishers, I
believe there should be a minimum number required (I live in an 830 square foot house, and we have three, for instance), and the owner of the short-term rental should be required as part of the original application and any renewal application to provide evidence that the fire extinguishers are there, have been inspected and are current. b.
Owners of all short-term rentals should be required to have the largest trash can (for regular trash) available for their guests, and evidence of that should be required as part of any application/renewal application.
c.
Check in times for guests of short-terms rentals should be limited to 8 am to 6 pm.
Of course guests will come and go at other hours, but checking in is usually going to be noisy and therefore will be disruptive to neighbors.
d.
Outdoor lighting should be prohibited (other than a front porch light) after 9 pm.
All
outdoor lighting should be required to remain on the property.
Any/all security lighting
absolutely must not impact any of the neighbors.
e.
All short-term rentals should be required to either have or install the code current low flow toilets, as well as low flow shower heads and sink faucets.
People on vacation,
and paying for what is essentially a hotel, are not going to be interested in conserving water (which I understand), but as a condition of a short-term rental permit, the owner of the property should be required to do as much as possible to make it easy for the guests to use less water.
f.
Short-term rentals should not be allowed to have a working fireplace or wood stove.
Wood stoves should be required to be removed before use as a short-term rental, and fireplaces should be made inaccessible.
Fire is not only dangerous, but, additionally, it's
asking far too much for someone on vacation to know (let alone care) about Spare the Air days.
g.
Each sleeping area should be required to have two means of egress for evacuation purposes.
Windows are acceptable, as long as they open.
7 Section 20-48.070 B 4 --
I'm opposed to allowing guests to have any fire related uses at a short- term rental. I don't believe it's realistic to have the Fire Department inspect each of these types of uses in each proposed short-term rental, and even if they did, guests might not realize how easily fire can go wrong. At the very least, I believe that all fire related uses in short-term rentals should be banned in Santa Rosa's WUI zones, but honestly would prefer them just not to be allowed anywhere.
That includes barbecues and all fires used for cooking. It's just too much of a danger for the guests, the neighbors and the whole city.
8. Section 20-48.070 B 4 b/h -- Although this paragraph references "Wood fueled or other combustible solid fuel burning which may be permitted during periods outside of the declared wildfire season," there is NO requirement anywhere that I can find in this ordinance that LIMITS those types of fires to outside the declared wildfire season (that's the implication, but....).
This must
be stated explicitly. Further, paragraph h does prohibit open flames during Red Flag Warnings and Spare the Air days, but no one on vacation is likely to be paying any attention to this. Further, paragraph h appears to ALLOW open flames DURING Red Flag Warnings/Spare the Air days when used for cooking, and I believe that's unacceptable.
So during a Red Flag Warning, a short-term
rental guest could be cooking hot dogs/s'mores on an open fire? Just, no.
Of course, I'd still believe that all short-term rentals should never be allowed to have any fire of any sort for any reason.