At a special council meeting on February 12, 2019, the Culver City Council considered policy recommendations from the Short Term Rentals Subcommittee related to short term residential rentals. The city staff will now work on writing the ordinance to regulate and legalize the use of private homes for public hospitality.
After listening to public comment and extensive discussion, the City Council directed staff to begin preparing an ordinance that would:
Allow short term residential rentals in Culver City
Limit short term rentals to the host’s primary residence only
Allow both hosted and unhosted short term rentals
Not impose a limitation on the number of nights short term rented annually
Not allow short term rental of a duplex, triplex, or apartment unit, except the primary residence of the owner if it is on site
Require neighbor notification by hosts
Require annual reporting to City Council on short term residential rentals
Of the people who spoke at the meeting, a majority were hosts who spoke in favor of the practice, and asked the city to make it legal.
Jessie Mays, assistant to the city manager who gave the report, noted that the licensing fee in the city of Los Angeles reflected the amount of days the host would be open; rental less than 120 days a year were licensed for $80, while rentals of more than 120 days were $800. The latter figure drew both gasps and groans from the audience.
The number was simply about how much city staff time would have to be used for enforcement, and Mays offered that Culver City would have to come up with it’s own number.
Council member Daniel Lee spoke to the balance of the meeting, saying that “We have a number of hosts that are here; trying to discover the concerns of the non-hosts is also important to us,” and he also offered thoughts about ‘neighbor notification’ to ease the concerns.
The next step will be another City Council meeting at which the City Council will consider and give direction on short term rental of accessory dwelling units, as well as review an early draft ordinance based on the above policy direction.
This meeting has not yet been scheduled, but is anticipated to take place in Spring 2019.
Residents can leave comments about short term rentals policies on the City’s website.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please email Jesse Mays, Assistant to the City Manager, or call him at (310) 253-6000.
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