O2484City Council Meeting: May 12, 2015
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER ` qyq (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA ADDING CHAPTER 6.20 TO THE SANTA MONICA
MUNICIPAL CODE CLARIFYING PROHIBITIONS AGAINST VACATION RENTALS
AND IMPOSING REGULATIONS ON HOME SHARING
WHEREAS, the City consists of just eight square miles of coastal land which is
home to 90,000 residents, the job site of 300,000 workers, and a destination for as
many as 500,000 visitors on weekends and holidays; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica's primary housing goals include preserving its housing
stock and preserving the quality and character of its existing single and multi - family
residential neighborhoods. Santa Monica's prosperity has always been fueled by the
area's many attractive features including its cohesive and active residential
neighborhoods and the diverse population which resides therein. In order to continue to
flourish, the City must preserve its available housing stock and the character and charm
which result, in part, from cultural, ethnic, and economic diversity of its resident
population; and
WHEREAS, the City must also preserve its unique sense of community which
derives, in large part, from residents' active participation in civic affairs, including local
government, cultural events, and educational endeavors; and
1
WHEREAS, Santa Monica's natural beauty, its charming residential
communities, its vibrant commercial quarters and its world class visitor serving
amenities have drawn visitors from around the United States and around the world; and
WHEREAS, the City affords a diverse array of visitor - serving short term rentals,
including, hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, vacation rentals and home sharing, not all
of which are currently authorized by local law; and
WHEREAS, operations of vacation rentals, where residents rent -out entire units
to visitors and are not present during the visitors' stays are detrimental to the
community's welfare and are prohibited by local law, because occupants of such
vacation rentals, when not hosted, do not have any connections to the Santa Monica
community and to the residential neighborhoods in which they are visiting; and
WHEREAS, the presence of such visitors within the City's residential
neighborhoods can sometimes disrupt the quietude and residential character of the
neighborhoods and adversely impact the community; and
WHEREAS, judicial decisions have upheld local governments' authority to
prohibit vacation rentals; and
WHEREAS, with the recent advent of the so called "sharing economy," there is
growing acceptance of the longstanding practice of "home- sharing," whereby residents
host visitors in
their homes
for short
periods of stay,
for
compensation, while
the
resident host
remains
present
throughout
the
visitors' stay;
and
K
WHEREAS, long before the advent of the sharing economy, home - sharing
activities were already commonly undertaken throughout Santa Monica and throughout
the United States; and
WHEREAS, history has shown that home - sharing activities spread the good -will
of Santa Monica worldwide and have enhanced Santa Monica's image throughout the
world: and
WHEREAS, home - sharing does not create the same adverse impacts as
unsupervised vacation rentals because, among other things, the resident hosts are
present to introduce their guests to the City's neighborhoods and regulate their guests'
behavior; and
WHEREAS, history has shown that home - sharing activities are relatively very
small in number, when compared to the number of persons utilizing vacation rentals or
the City's hotels and motels; and
WHEREAS, while the City recognizes that home - sharing activities can be
conducted in harmony with surrounding uses, those activities must be regulated to
ensure that the small number of home - sharers stay in safe structures and do not
threaten or harm the public health or welfare; and
WHEREAS, any monetary compensation paid to the resident hosts for their
hospitality and hosting efforts rightfully belong to such hosts and existing law authorizes
the City to collect Transient Occupancy Taxes ( "TOTs ") for vacation rentals and home-
sharing activities; and
P
WHEREAS, existing law obligates both the hosts and rental agencies or hosting
platforms to collect and remit TOTS to the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 6.20 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby added
to read as follows:
Chapter 6.20 HOME SHARING AND VACATION RENTALS
6.20.010 Definitions
For purposes of this Chapter, the following words or phrases shall have the
following meanings:
(a) Home - Sharing. An activity whereby the residents host visitors in their
homes, for compensation, for periods of 30 consecutive days or less, while at least one
of the dwelling unit's primary residents lives on -site, in the dwelling unit, throughout the
visitors' stay.
(b) Hosting Platform. A marketplace in whatever form or format which
facilitates the Home - Sharing or Vacation Rental, through advertising, match - making or
any other means, using any medium of facilitation, and from which the operator of the
hosting platform derives revenues, including booking fees or advertising revenues, from
providing or maintaining the marketplace.
(c) Vacation Rental. Rental of any dwelling unit, in whole or in part, within the
City of Santa Monica, to any person(s) for exclusive transient use of 30 consecutive
days or less, whereby the unit is only approved for permanent residential occupancy
and not approved for transient occupancy or Home - Sharing as authorized by this
rd
Chapter. Rental of units within City approved hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts
shall not be considered Vacation Rental.
6.20.020 Home - Sharing Authorization
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this Code to the contrary, Home - Sharing
shall be authorized in the City, provided that the Home - Sharing host complies with each
of the following requirements:
(1) Obtains and maintains at all times a City Business License
authorizing Home - Sharing activity.
(2) Operates the Home - Sharing activity in compliance with all Business
License permit conditions, which may be imposed by the City to effectuate the purpose
of this Chapter.
(3) Collects and remits Transient Occupancy Tax ( "TOT'), in
coordination with any Hosting Platform if utilized, to the City and complies with all City
TOT requirements as set forth in Chapter 6.68 of this Code.
(4) Takes responsibility for and actively prevents any nuisance
activities that may take place as a result of Home - Sharing activities.
(5) Complies with all applicable laws, including all health, safety,
building, fire protection, and rent control laws.
(6) Complies with the regulations promulgated pursuant to this
Chapter.
(b) If any provision of this Chapter conflicts with any provision of the Zoning
Ordinance codified in Article IX of this Code, the terms of this Chapter shall prevail.
5
6.20.030 Prohibitions
(a) No person, including any Hosting Platform operator, shall undertake,
maintain, authorize, aid, facilitate or advertise any Home - Sharing activity that does not
comply with Section 6.20.020 of this Code or any Vacation Rental activity.
6.20.050 Hosting Platform Responsibilities
The operator / owner of any Hosting Platform shall:
(a) be responsible for collecting all applicable TOTs and remitting the same to
the City. The Hosting Platform shall be considered an agent of the host for purposes of
TOT collections and remittance responsibilities as set forth in Chapter 6.68 of this Code.
(b) disclose to the City on a regular basis each Home Sharing and Vacation
Rental listing located in the City, the names of the persons responsible for each such
listing, the address of each such listing, the length of stay for each such listing and the
price paid for each stay.
6.20.080 Regulations
The City Manager or his or her designee may promulgate regulations, which may
include but are not limited to permit conditions, reporting requirements, inspection
frequencies, enforcement procedures, advertising restrictions, disclosure requirements,
or insurance requirements, to implement the provisions of this Chapter. No person shall
fail to comply with any such regulation.
6.20.090 Fees
The City Council may establish and set by Resolution all fees and charges as
may be necessary to effectuate the purpose of this Chapter.
N
6.20.100 Enforcement.
(a) Any person violating any provision of this Chapter shall be guilty of an
infraction, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars, or
a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars,
or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding six months or by both
such fine and imprisonment.
(b) Any person convicted of violating any provision of this Chapter in a criminal
case or found to be in violation of this Chapter in a civil case brought by a law
enforcement agency shall be ordered to reimburse the City and other participating law
enforcement agencies their full investigative costs, pay all back TOTs, and remit all
illegally obtained rental revenue to the City so that it may be returned to the Home-
Sharing visitors or used to compensate victims of illegal short term rental activities.
(c) Any person who violates any provision of this Chapter shall be subject to
administrative fines and administrative penalties pursuant to Chapter 1.09 and Chapter
1.10 of this Code.
(d) Any interested person may seek an injunction or other relief to prevent or
remedy violations of this Chapter. The prevailing party in such an action shall be
entitled to recover reasonable costs and attorney's fees.
(e) The remedies provided in this Section are not exclusive, and nothing in this
Section shall preclude the use or application of any other remedies, penalties or
procedures established by law.
1'I
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the
official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
)Wildw i
MAR A JO S MOUT cIE
City Attorney
U.
Approved and adopted this 12th day of May, 2015.
ILI �k
K n McKeown, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Ordinance No. 2484 (CCS) had its introduction on April 28, 2015,
and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on May 12,
2015, by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers: Davis, Himmelrich, O'Connor, O'Day, Winterer
Mayor McKeown, Mayor Pro Tern Vazquez
Noes: Councilmembers: None
Absent: Councilmembers: None
A summary of Ordinance No. 2484 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806 .
ATTEST:
Sara P Gorman, City Clerk