Editor,
I am a homeowner and full-time resident of Laguna Beach, and am commenting on short-term rentals in our town. I would like to preface my opinion by stating that I have never rented out my home, and have no future plans to do so.
Regardless, I was very disturbed at the prospect of the city infringing on the property rights of residents. Bans on short term rentals have been enacted in other tourist destinations under the guise of noise complaints from a vocal minority, but in reality these changes are usually driven by the hotel lobby to disenfranchise local property owners and eliminate competition. Also, any lessening of the stresses created by short term rentals cannot mitigate the deleterious effect on property values created by diminishing the utility of private property and depriving the local economy of the tourists that would prefer this lodging option (i.e. families).
I read that current permit holders are forced to pay an egregious 10% tax on revenue, and go through a complicated approval process involving notices mailed to neighbors. If you really want to address the problem, remove the tax and approval process, and simplify the process of receiving a permit by only having a one-time fee for processing. Then address the gross offenders of noise complaints specifically, rather than punishing all residents.
I urge the City Council to be respectful of the property rights of the citizens, and not kowtow to the monopolistic wishes of the hotel lobby or grossly overreact to noise complaints. Please be creative, and let’s not ignore the benefits of the “sharing economy,” by blindly resisting new ways of doing things. In my three years as a Laguna Beach resident, I’ve quickly realized “noise” is a typical Lagunan’s kryptonite and “change” is faint-inducing, but I firmly believe there’s a solution worthy of our creative town.
Jared Perrin, Laguna Beach
