Palm Springs City Council to Introduce Revised Vacation Rental Ordinance

PALM SPRINGS, CA – An amended vacation rental ordinance will be considered today by the Palm Springs City Council after a referendum forced the pending rescission of the original ordinance, which placed numerous restrictions on local rental owners.

The council's proposed "interim urgency ordinance" would grant vacation rental owners four extra contracts during the summer months, allow those with permits issued prior to Jan. 10 to retain multiple rental properties, and require rental owners to undergo periodic testing and training to ensure knowledge of the regulations.

The amended ordinance is scheduled for introduction at the council's meeting Wednesday evening, along with a vote to rescind the original measure. The amended ordinance requires a four-fifths council vote to pass.

City officials also scheduled a news conference on the ordinance this morning featuring vacation rental subcommittee members Geoff Kors and J.R. Roberts, along with members of the local vacation rental industry.

The council adopted the original ordinance in December 2016 in a bid to stem the booming growth of the vacation rental industry. City officials said the explosion of rental properties over the past decade reduced local affordable housing and led to an increase in noise violations, disorderly conduct, traffic congestion, vandalism and illegal parking.

The ordinance limited how many properties an individual could own within the city and how many times those properties could be rented out annually. Opposition to the ordinance was swift, with a referendum by Citizens For A Better Palm Springs gaining enough signatures to force the city to repeal the ordinance or submit it to the voters in a future ballot measure.

However, according to a city staff report, officials say the city will not have to submit the ordinance to voters.

"Although the total number of valid signatures was more than 10 percent of the city's voters, the total number was less than 15 percent of such voters and therefore the council is not required to submit the ordinance to the voters at a special election," the report reads. "Nevertheless, the council has the discretion, but not the obligation, to submit the matter to the voters at a special election."

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--City News Service/File image via Morguefile