Current Law:
Fearing that town council members were going to expand nightly rentals into residential zones, 70% of voters approved a measure barring the council from acting on the issue.
“We became perhaps the first resort in California to take the power to transform family neighborhoods into commercial rental zones away from City Hall and put it in the hands of the voters,” said Lisa Isaacs, a resident and environmental activist.
Homeowners oppose the rentals because they want to protect the quality of life in their neighborhoods, which were zoned in the 1980s as buffers against vacation crowds. Many renters joined the majority because nightly rentals would reduce the stock of housing available for conventional, long-term leases.
Nightly rentals are permitted in Mammoth Lakes’ mixed commercial-residential zone, which covers roughly half the town’s four square miles. That zone includes hotels, motels and residential neighborhoods that are home to the only nine residences in town currently licensed to rent nightly.
Most short-term rentals occur illegally, either because they are in residential zones or are in the mixed-use zone but are not licensed.
Opponents turned to the ballot box after the five-member Town Council signaled that it would address the issue of nightly rentals.
The council also said it wanted to devise better ways to enforce zoning laws as part of an effort to crack down on homeowners who provide short-term rentals without licenses.
But many residents grew suspicious of the council’s intentions, believing the officials wanted to expand night rentals across the community.
“Short-term rentals stir opposition in Mammoth Lakes,” Los Angeles Times, October 18, 2015
Initiative:
Mammoth Lakes, Measure Z – October 6, 2015 Result Votes Percentage Yes 910 68.89% No 411 31.11%
Reports:
05/06/2015: Report on Proposed Voter Initiative Related to Altering Transient Rental Zoning in Residential Neighborhoods (Mammoth Lakes Town Council)
03/18/2015: Provide comment and direction on the voter initiative regarding transient rentals (Mammoth Lakes Town Council)
12/17/2014: Town Council Consideration of Single Family Transient Rental Work Program – Staff Report (Mammoth Lakes Town Council)
News:
10/18/2015: Short-term rentals stir opposition in Mammoth Lakes (Los Angeles Times)
09/16/2015: A look at Measure Z in Mammoth Lakes (Sierra Wave Media)