R111981
City Council Meeting: September 10, 2019 Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NUMBER (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA ESTABLISHING APPLICATION AND RENEWAL FEES
FOR THE HOME-SHARING PROGRAM
WHEREAS, a central and significant goal for the City is preservation of its
housing stock and preserving the quality and character of residential neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica places a high value on cohesive and active residential
neighborhoods and the diverse population which resides therein; and
WHEREAS, 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 as a key factor in economic growth; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica's natural beauty, its charming residential communities, its
vibrant commercial quarters and its world-class amenities have drawn visitors from around the
United States and around the world; and
WHEREAS, there is within the City a diverse array of short-term rentals for visitors,
including, hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, vacation rentals and home sharing, not all of
which are lawful; and
WHEREAS, operations of vacation rentals, where residents rent entire units to visitors
and are not present during the visitors' stays, frequently disrupt the quietude and residential
11198
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character of the neighborhoods and adversely impact the community; and
WHEREAS, home-sharing does not create the same adverse impacts as
unsupervised vacation rentals when the home-shares are hosted by the owner or long-term
residents who live on site and are present to introduce their guests to the City’s neighborhoods
and regulate their guests’ behavior; 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 home-
sharing activities do not threaten or harm the public health, safety, or general welfare; and
WHEREAS, on May 12, 2015, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2484
which added Chapter 6.20 to the Santa Monica Municipal Code and thereby preserved the
City’s prohibition on vacation rentals, but authorized “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
WHEREAS, on January 24, 2017, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number
2535CCS, which amended Chapter 6.20 to clarify its application to hosting platforms; and
WHEREAS, on June 27, 2017, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number
2547CCS, which further amended Chapter 6.20 to address the use of accessory dwelling
units that received their building permits after March 31, 2017 as home-shares; and
WHEREAS, in the time since Chapter 6.20 was first added, the City has issued over
450 business licenses authorizing home-sharing; and
WHEREAS, the City is investigating approximately 30% of the licensed home-share
hosts as operating vacation rental businesses under the guise of home-sharing; and
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WHEREAS, the costs of regulating and enforcing the requirements of the home -
sharing program are significant and should be borne, at least in part, by those benefittin g
from their participation in the home-sharing program; and
WHEREAS, the City Council is concurrently adopting an Ordinance authorizing
home-sharing permit fees to contribute to covering the costs of operating the home-sharing
program, which strives to strike a balance between preserving the City’s available housing
stock, protecting the residential character of neighborhoods, and preventing home-shares
from turning into de facto hostels and hotels, while at the same time permitting owners and
long-term residents to host guests as part of a home-share; and
WHEREAS, the home-sharing permit fees established by this resolution are not more
than necessary to recover the costs of the services provided.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The initial fee for obtaining a home-sharing permit shall be $100.
SECTION 2. The annual fee for renewing a home-sharing permit shall be $50.
SECTION 3. Commencing on July 1, 2020 and on July 1 of each fiscal year thereafter,
the fees set forth above shall be incorporated in the Master User Fee Schedule and shall,
unless noted otherwise, be administratively revised and increased annually by a factor equal
to the net change in City salaries and benefits costs for that fiscal year. Such net change is
measured by comparing the total budgeted City salary and benefit costs for the fiscal year in
which the change is to become effective to the total budgeted City salary and benefit costs for
the prior fiscal year. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall the annual administrative
revision set forth be less than zero percent (0%).
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SECTION 4. The fees established by this resolution shall be effective as of the same
date on which the Ordinance authorizing home-sharing permit fees is effective.
SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this resolution, and
thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
________________________
Lane Dilg
CITY ATTORNEY
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Adopted and approved this 10th day of September 2019.
__________________________
Gleam Davis, Mayor
I, Nikima S. Newsome, Assistant City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do
hereby certify that Resolution No. 11198 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of
the Santa Monica City Council held on the 10th day of September 2019, by the
following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Himmelrich, Jara, Morena, Winterer
Mayor Davis, Mayor Pro Tem O’Day
NOES: None
ABSENT: Councilmember McKeown
ATTEST:
_____________________________________
Nikima S. Newsome, Assistant City Clerk
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