Letter: Weiss Needs to Fact-Check (Again)

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Once again, George Weiss is blasting out un-factual information. This time, in a mass email to existing condo owners and permanent renters with a subject titled: “Stop the loss of rental housing in Laguna Beach” … an email designed to fear-monger. His was an email about an amendment to the City’s short term rental ordinance (vacation-type) that the City has submitted to the Coastal Commission. Could it be that Mr. Weiss is particularly interested in this issue because he has been cited as renting to short-term renters without a permit to do so, in an R-1 zone? Is that why he also said in his email, “Home sharing is the better option which requires the owner to be on site during rental stays.” Is that the kind of un-permitted short-term renting Mr. Weiss has done?

Note the following factual key points:

The proposed Local Coastal Permit amendment to be considered by the Coastal Commission now is a substantial improvement over the existing Short Term Rental regulations from the perspective of preserving the City’s long-term housing and supporting the desires of the majority of our residents who have had issues with short-term renters.

The LCP amendment places restrictions on how many units can be converted to Short Term Lodging (STL)—in the mixed use and commercial districts. The cap would be set at 20% of current housing units with a maximum of 300 units (including the 117 that were already permitted prior to this LCP amendment and grandfathered).

This process has been a negotiation with the Coastal Commission (they have historically been pro-STL) and achieves a balance of promoting coastal access while preserving the housing stock. It is important to recognize that the decision on the program is not entirely up to the City.

Doesn’t Mr. Weiss know that the City is eager to begin a process where we permit Alternative Dwelling Units (ADUs) to be created? These ADUs will create an affordable rental housing option for long term renters which will be a tremendous help for younger residents and seniors … a strategy that the state wants our cities to embrace.

Let’s stick to the facts folks.

Elizabeth Pearson, former Laguna Beach mayor and councilmember

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