City Council Meeting: Short-Term Rentals

After several community meetings, the Long Beach City Council on Tuesday, December 4th, will review options for regulating short-term rentals, including those promoted with online home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb and HomeAway. Three options are being considered, though city staff is recommending Option 2 which deals with short-term rentals in two types of units — primary residences, where the host lives at least nine months of the year, and non-primary residences.

If you are interested in voicing an opinion to your elected officials, you can attend the Tuesday’s Council meeting (5:00 p.m. start), comment on the city’s Legistar site, or email/call your council person. Councilwoman Suzie Price’s office can be reached at [email protected] or (562) 570-6300.

For more information, the following links explore the options and the process:

City Council Agenda and e-comment link
Link to STR Agenda Item
Link to Report on Possible Policies
Long Beach Development Services Short Term Rental Ordinance website

From Councilwoman Suzie Price (12/02/2018):

Item #18:  Shelter and Addiction Bed Audit and Incentive Feasibility

Link to Agenda Item

I am bringing this item to the City Councilin order to improve how we address homelessness and addiction in Long Beach.

One of the most difficult parts of addressing homelessness is the availability of shelter beds that serve to help get those in need off the streets. If we as a city are to improve our ability to provide shelter for those in need we must be able to know exactly how many beds there are in the City that are available for Long Beach residents struggling with homelessness. In addition to the number of city operated, privately operated, and non-profit operated beds in the City for sheltering the homeless, it is also important for the City to have specific data on how many rehabilitation, medical detox, and sobriety beds there are, because addiction continues to be a major issue for our current homeless population.

The lack of certainty, and likely small number of beds available in the City causes our law enforcement officers to be less able to enforce ordinance violations, therefore an audit should be conducted of number; and types of beds for those experiencing homelessness and/or in need of treatment. Additionally this item asks for the City to evaluate the feasibility of developing incentives for private and non-profit groups to establish addiction related rehabilitation and detox beds in Long Beach with the expectation that priority would be given to those in need of these services who have been referred to them by the Long Beach Police Department or other Long Beach City entity.

Item #21: Short Term Rentals

Link to Agenda Item

The topic of Short Term Rentals has been a discussion for quite some time in Long Beach. Now after several Citywide community meetings to gather input, as well as my own community meeting focused on this topic, it is coming before the City Council to discuss. Based on the Citywide meetings conducted by City staff they are recommending the adoption of Option 2 (included in the link below).

The recent rise of the sharing economy, particularly the significant growth in short-term rentals using online platforms, such as Airbnb and HomeAway, enable individuals to rent out real property, not traditionally part of the temporary lodging marketplace, for 30 days or less. As a result, STRs have grown in the number of properties available and the frequency with which they are rented. This trend has contributed to local concerns regarding quality of life, noise, safety, housing affordability, parking, and enforcement.

I look forward to this discussion with my colleagues as we work together to craft a policy that takes into account the input (both pros and cons) that residents throughout the City have provided.

Link to Recent Report on Possible Policies

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