Adopted Positions

Motion

Refers to City Council file 14-1635-S2

Any proposed City ordinance allowing short term rentals in presently prohibited zones must include the following essential provisions:

• No rent stabilized units “RSO” shall be allowed to rent short term
• Only owner occupied primary residences shall be permitted to host for short term rentals, and only one unit shall be permitted per host.
• There shall be a cap of 60 nights per calendar year per host for short term rentals
• Prior to listing, hosts shall be responsible for verifying their properties comply with the Los Angeles Building and Safety code at their own expense and shall make all necessary repairs
• All hosts shall obtain a City permit and a permanent registration number. The condition of receiving a City permit and permanent registration number shall be the following: proof of primary residence plus liability insurance for this specific use including any rider that may be necessary for a non-conforming use on the property. Examples of proof of primary residence shall include utility bill, drivers’ license and the like
• Upon filing for a short term rentals permit, hosts shall notify property owners within 500 ft.
• All hosts shall include their permanent City registration number on all advertised listings in all media
• All hosts shall register with the City Department of Finance and remit transient occupancy taxes “TOT” including any and all back taxes owed. Short term rental TOT receipts shall not go into general fund but shall be used to create a special enforcement/compliance unit specific to enforcing regulation of short term rentals. An example of this compliance unit is the LAHD inspection program for multifamily units
• Hosts shall be required to pay the City’s legal minimum wage, abide by hotel employee protections and register with the State Employment Development Department
• Hosts shall disclose such information as the City deems required for enforcement. Examples of this information shall include the type of rental whether one room or whole house, how many nights per year, how many guests and the like
• Hosts which refuse to register or disclose information necessary for enforcement shall be prohibited from operating in the City and face such penalties and fines as may be deemed appropriate by the City under the new ordinance
• Platforms shall only list City registered units and display registration number in each listing
• Platforms shall disclose information deemed necessary by the City for enforcement and for collection of back taxes and shall be held accountable, including fines and other penalties as may be deemed appropriate by the City, for any unregistered online listings appearing upon the platforms’ website
• The ordinance shall establish a right of appeal of the issuance of a short term rental permit
• The ordinance shall establish a private right of action by individuals in the community

Motion

Whereas, the City of Los Angeles has imposed land use conditions in Conditional Use Beverage (CUB) permits for decades to protect public health, safety and welfare by mitigating potential impacts due to the sale or service of alcohol, as recommended by the LAPD, Council Offices, neighborhood councils, community councils, and local residents; and

Whereas, the Department of City Planning suddenly reversed this decades-long practice in 2012, on the advice of the City Attorney’s Office, with no public notice, no public process, no public hearings, and no direction from the City Council, which is charged with policy-making authority; and

Whereas, Zoning Administrators now unilaterally and without notice use the Plan Approval Process to remove previously-imposed conditions designed to avoid or mitigate actual or potential land use impacts adverse to public health, safety and welfare; and

Whereas, municipalities throughout the State of California have and continue to impose land use conditions to mitigate adverse impacts that may otherwise arise from the sale or service of alcohol, including the Cities of Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Palmdale, Lancaster, Huntington Park, Montebello, Orange, San Bernardino, Pinole, Ventura, San Buenaventura, Santa Cruz, Hayward, Walnut Creek, Watsonville, and the County of Los Angeles, among others; and

Whereas, the City’s current practice undermines the ability of the City and local communities to protect against potential land use impacts that are adverse to public health, safety and welfare, including but not limited to potential nuisances, by restricting the imposition of conditions on, among other things, hours of sale of alcohol, happy hours, container sizes, types of alcohol sold, and other similar rules and regulations, despite the efficacy of such conditions in avoiding or mitigating potential adverse impacts arising from the sale or service of alcohol; and

Whereas, California courts have repeatedly affirmed that municipalities have broad police powers to impose land use conditions that protect against potentially adverse impacts on public health, safety and welfare arising from the sale or service of alcohol; and

Whereas, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) has not advised the City that the imposition of such land use conditions interferes with ABC’s enforcement of State law; and

Whereas, implementation of this new policy not only impairs the ability of the LAPD, Council Offices, and communities to protect public health, safety and welfare, but also interferes with the ability of CUB applicants to garner support for their projects by negotiating for the imposition of mutually agreed-upon conditions, as had been done for decades before the current practice was imposed, which forces communities to oppose projects they could otherwise support with proper conditions:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved that the [Insert Neighborhood or Community Council Name Here] calls upon the City Council to adopt a policy to:

(1.) Authorize the imposition of land use conditions that protect public health, safety and welfare by mitigating potential adverse impacts from the sale or service of alcohol, consistent with the practice of other jurisdictions statewide as well as the City’s decades-long practice prior to 2012;

(2.) Maintain and enforce previously-imposed CUB conditions on the sale or service of alcohol; and

(3.) Prohibit the removal of previously-imposed conditions outside the public processes mandated under the City Charter and Zoning Code.

Motion

WRAC requests the City Controller, The Housing Department and the City Council to audit all income restricted units built under SB 1818 and all RSO units and buildings that replace pre 1978 buildings.