Planning Commission wants Malibu council action on short-term rentals

Planning Commission wants Malibu council action on short-term rentals

Michele Willer-Allred, Staff Reporter11:18 am PDT May 19, 2020   

https://www.malibusurfsidenews.com/p/news-city-local-government/planning-commission-wants-malibu-council-action-short-term-rentals

The COVID-19 pandemic has Malibu’s Planning Commission again urging the City Council to curb short-term rentals.

At issue are gatherings of out-of-towners in violation of orders to wear face coverings and practice social distancing.

During a videoconference meeting by the five-member panel on Monday, Commissioner Chris Marx first brought up the issue by saying the community is at risk from unrestricted large gatherings.   

“When we look at our community of 10,000-ish, and we have this influx of tens of thousands of people on a given weekend, it just sets us (up) for hitting that curb really fast,” Marx said.

In Malibu, there has been a concern with large parties going on at short-term rentals even while the public is warned about risks associated with large gatherings and the spread of coronavirus. 

Commissioner Steve Uhring said the city is “speaking out of both sides of its mouth” on the issue.

“At one point we’re saying, look, we got all these people on the beaches that are not social distancing, they’re not wearing masks and we really got a problem and we got to do something there,” Uhring said. “On the other side, we got these short-term rentals where people come into the city. They don’t live here, they don’t follow the social distancing rules, and they’re living next door to people who are trying to (comply). And we’re creating a problem.”

“I do believe in the short run, until this pandemic process gets taken out, the city should consider some program that we’re going to slow these short-term rentals down until such time as this thing gets solved,” said Uhring.

Uhring added that hotels and motels have rules and guidelines about how they’re supposed to be cleaned, and he didn’t believe those guidelines were being carried out at short-term rentals, especially in Malibu.

“If they’re not, we’re just creating a bigger problem that’s going to come back and bite us at some point in time,” he said.

Commissioner David Weil concurred with Marx and Uhring, saying he thought at a previous meeting it was suggested that someone go to the City Council and say the Planning Commission would like to take up the issue of STRs.

“When can we do that?” Weil asked. “If we didn’t do that, can I suggest that we do that now?”

Planning Commission Chair Jeffrey Jennings then reminded colleagues that the issue of short-term rentals was not on the agenda and that commissioners are free to take any concerns to the council member by whom they were appointed.

He said the council has responsibility and control over the issue. “We don’t. All we have to do is make our pitch to the city council and hopefully they will act on it,” Jennings said.

The discussion didn’t end there. Commission Vice Chair John Mazza said the issue of STRs need to be addressed soon, but not via online meetings.

“I’ve been inundated by people who are very, very unhappy about these online meetings,” said Mazza. “I know that other cities are having council meetings in their chambers with masks and stuff. To continue these meetings this way, we’re skipping a lot of things that need to be done, and one of them is STRs.”

“I’m getting calls all the time. I’m getting people so frustrated they want to start an (STR) initiative, and I want to be able to start our first public meeting with that item,” said Mazza, adding that he wanted a resolution drafted to the council saying the Planning Commission would like to see action on the matter.

Most commissioners agreed that a resolution asking for council action was in order.

“I personally have spoken to a couple City Council people and asked them can we put it on the agenda so we can at least talk about it. And they can promise me they’re going to do that, and it’s never shown up, so I would like to second or third (this action),” Uhring said.

Assistant City Attorney Trevor Rusin told commissioners that there was no reason to formalize a resolution, and that they didn’t have jurisdiction to tell the council what to do. He also said that council members say they have concerns about addressing big issues like short-term rentals during meetings being held online in response to the pandemic.

Rusin did ask Planning Director Bonnie Blue to tell the council that there’s been a request by the Planning Commission to put something in place now regarding STRs.

“If they say no, ask them why,” said Uhring. “Let’s find out why they’re sitting back doing nothing. I mean, if we want people to do nothing, we can fill a room with a bunch of people that will do nothing. Let’s get somebody who is willing to make some decisions that are going to help our community out.”