Current Status:
Voting with unusual unanimity, the Santa Barbara City Council made it emphatically clear Tuesday night it will not be legalizing the booming short-term vacation-rental market anytime soon. Instead, the council indicated it would initiate a wave of enforcement proceedings against home-hospitality entrepreneurs operating outside the confines of City Hall’s zoning codes.
Almost every councilmember expressed serious concern that City Hall had sent dangerously mixed messages by accepting taxes for business operations that were not legal. This year, for example, City Hall took in $1.2 million in transient occupancy taxes from vacation-rentals; the year before, it was $800,000. Next year, it is projected to be $1.6 million.
Councilmembers agreed that City Hall was partially responsible for encouraging an essentially illegal industry by accepting tax revenues from some in the business. Because of that, they argued, some amnesty period needed to be allowed for operators to either wind down their business ventures or try to get legal.
How long that will be remains to be seen. City planners will return to the council with a menu of more specific actions.
“Santa Barbara to Lower Boom on Vacation Rentals,” Santa Barbara Independent, June 25, 2015
Reports:
03/01/2016: Vacation Rental Enforcement Update – Staff Report (City of Santa Barbara)
02/17/2016: The Local Economic Impact of Short Term Rentals in Santa Barbara, CA (TXP, Inc.)
12/08/2015: Possible Short-Term Home Sharing Rental Ordinance – Staff Report (City of Santa Barbara)
10/08/2015: Planning Commission Short-Term Rental Report (City of Santa Barbara)
08/11/2015: Vacation Rental Enforcement And Home Sharing Rental Ordinance – Staff Report (City of Santa Barbara)
06/23/2015: Council Direction On Short-Term Vacation Rental Regulations – Staff Report (City of Santa Barbara)
News:
05/17/2016: Santa Barbara City Council Issues More Vacation Rental Subpoenas (Noozhawk)
03/03/2016: Santa Barbara Tourism Industry Under Fire by City Council Regulation (Huffington Post)
03/02/2016: In Fight Against Vacation Rentals, Santa Barbara Targets Illegal Dwelling Units (Noozhawk)
12/17/2015: The Great Vacation-Rental Debate (Santa Barbara Independent)
11/20/2015: Santa Barbara faces enforcement nightmare over short-term rentals (Pacific Coast Business Times)
11/10/2015: City of Santa Barbara Goes After Unlawful Vacation Renters (KEYT)
06/25/2015: Santa Barbara to Lower Boom on Vacation Rentals (Santa Barbara Independent)