Host ordinance for short-term rentals approved by Malibu City Council
Michele Willer-Allred, Staff Reporter
Malibu Surfside News
8:26 am PST November 7, 2020
After many years of discussion, a permanent short-term host ordinance has finally passed the Malibu City Council, with two of the three “lame-duck” council members moving it forward.
The council on Nov. 5 voted 4-0, with termed-out council member Jefferson Wagner abstaining, to give initial approval of the revised ordinance and Local Coastal Program Amendment to address rentals of 30 days or less.
“This city council has worked hard and deserves the right to bring it forward. This is not something to push on the next city council. It’s already been discussed ad nauseum by the entire community,” said Mayor Mikke Pierson before he joined Karen Farrer, Rick Mullen — the lone incumbent in the Nov. 3 council race, whose prospects for another term were dashed — and the other termed-out member, Skylar Peak, in voting yes during Thursday’s meeting.
City officials said the ordinance protects neighborhood character, provides a mechanism to address nuisance rentals, and maintains availability and variety of the city’s housing stock.
The ordinance is expected to come back for final approval Nov. 23. From there, the California Coastal Commission would still need to certify amendments on the host ordinance, which can be a lengthy process.
On Sept. 29, the council gave final approval to a separate provisional short-term rental “enforcement ordinance,” which allows the city to deny or revoke a short-term rental permit because of outstanding code enforcement violations or if an owner has made false statements on required permit applications. The enforcement ordinance takes effect Jan. 15.
In a separate motion on Thursday, the council unanimously approved a short-term rental permit fee of $294 per permit, which covers administrative costs and is expected to generate approximately $129,000 in revenue for the city.
Behind the hosted ordinance
The hosted ordinance, which is the culmination of years of legislative review spanning well over 10 public meetings, is similar to the Santa Monica home-sharing ordinance with modifications to address unique Malibu conditions.
It creates an annual short-term rental permit system with two distinct permit types — one for primary owners of single-family residences and condominium units, and another for multi-family properties and duplexes.
Under the terms of the hosted short-term rental permit the primary owner or designated operator must live on site during the rental; must be on site 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and appear immediately if issues arise; and appear within one hour of a phone call if issues arise 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Multi-family property owners can apply for a permit to rent up to two units or 40 percent of the units at a parcel whichever is less provided that the others are rented on a long-term basis. Owners of duplexes can apply to rent one unit as long as the owner lives in the other.
The grounds for revocation of multi-family permits are more stringent, and include issuance of two or more citations for violations in a 12-month period. With single-family homes and condominiums, permits can be revoked after three citations, except with noise violations, which can still be revoked after the second.
For both permit types, individuals can’t possess more than one active short-term rental permit, and the owner must provide a 24/7 contact for addressing problems, which must be listed in advertising.
The hosted ordinance also limits the time a designated operator can serve as “host” to 60 days.