Foothills Sentry March 2020

Foothills Sentry Page 2 March 2020 By Tina Richards Short-term rentals (STRs) in the City of Orange got a reprieve, Feb. 11, when the city council opted to regulate them rather than prohibit them outright. The city realized it had to reckon with STRs following a spate of serious complaints from neighbors who lived near rental units that were primarily party houses. Those complaints about trash, noise, lack of parking and “strangers roaming residential streets” at all hours, coupled with the increased popularity of short- term rentals, prompted the city council to hold a policy discus- sion on the issue during its Janu- ary meeting. Orange opts not to ban short-term rentals At that time, Councilman Chip Monaco recommended banning STRs citywide, and Councilman Mike Alvarez insisted that they should not be allowed in residen- tial neighborhoods. Mayor Mark Murphy and Councilwoman Kim Nichols took a more tempered ap- proach, opposing a ban but agree- ing to explore regulating them. The council asked City Manager Rick Otto to draft an ordinance banning them, but leave the op- tion open to regulate them in- stead. Backing off ban Otto presented the draft ordi- nance at the council’s February meeting, with the understanding that it might be rejected in favor of leaving the STR door open instead of slamming it shut. The proposed ordinance prohibiting STRs, regardless of zoning, was met with a lukewarm reception by the council and mixed reviews from the audience. While the January meeting centered around the problems neighbors experi- enced with short-term rentals, the February public hearing attracted more rental owners who extolled their benefits. Public speakers who reiterated the downside and supported the ban were met with an equal num- ber of STR proponets. Homeown- ers who have been renting their homes, accessory dwellings and garage apartments to short-term visitors for years reported no ten- ant problems, no complaints from neighbors and a screening pro- cess that kept party-house renters away. Speakers cited the economic benefits both to landlords and the city. “STRs bring visitors to the city, and they spend money here,” Bob Bell explained. “My rental house is the best-looking property on my street. I want to protect my investment, and I want the home to appeal to renters. I think STRs add to property values and bring value to our city.” Defining the target “You don’t shoot a fly with a cannon,” Councilwoman Kim Nichols advised. “I’m in favor of regulation, not a full ban. It makes sense to me to allow current STR owners to get a business license and to put restrictions on the number of people per bedroom, parking and parties. The license fees would pay for code enforce- ment. We have to do the right thing for the neighbors and shut down properties that are abusers. We could also put a cap on the number of STRs in the city.” Chip Monaco, who strongly supported a complete ban on STRs at the January meeting, agreed that the city does regulate how businesses are run and STRs are a business. “I strongly believe STRs are inconsistent with neigh- borhoods,” he said, “but I don’t believe we’ve clearly defined the problem. “We don’t have enough ac- tionable information. How many code enforcement visits? How many police calls? How do we enforce what we regulate? If we don’t do this right from the get- go, then we shouldn’t do it at all.” Monaco said he favored staff coming to a future meeting with a regulatory ordinance, but wanted to leave the ban on the table in the meantime. Both sides now At the January meeting, Mike Alvarez was adamant that he would not abide STRs in r-1 zoned neighborhoods. After lis- tening to public comments at this meeting, he reported that he had gathered “lots of valuable infor- mation.” “I’m still opposed to STRs in r-1,” he said, “but I’m willing to listen.” He suggested the city continue the discussion with a public forum or a work- shop in a less formal environ- ment. “I want to continue this,” he said. “I want to get more in- formation.” Mayor Mark Murphy noted that, ”STRs are going to be part of life whether we like it or not. We want to focus on the five per- cent of bad owners; we want to go after those issues right away, but we don’t want to penalize the good owners.” He pointed out that the city already has boarding house, noise and party ordinances on the books, and recommended staff “assemble a framework for what we’ve discussed tonight” and send it to the planning com- mission. The council voted, 4-0, to consider an ordinance regulat- ing STRs. Potential restrictions include licensing, owner occu- pancy, limits on tenants per room, parking considerations and fines for noncompliance. Mike Learakos, owner of the Katella Family Grill and Execu- tive Director of Waste Not OC, was honored at the Community Foundation of Orange Gala, Feb. 21. The Community Cham- pion award was conferred on Learakos for his on-going efforts to end hunger and reduce food waste. His restaurant, the long- established Katella Grill, was the first participant in the Waste Not OC pilot program, donating excess edible food for distri- bution to local nonprofit food pantries, aiding senior centers, after school programs and food banks. VP will up waste fees by container, not household To meet state-mandated chang- es to the way green waste is pro- cessed, Villa Park’s collection fees, like every other municipal- ity, have increased. The city’s trash hauler, Repub- lic, reported last fall that green waste fees would go up by $82.41 per ton. That translated into an additional $5.90 per household or $4.38 per green waste container. Before agreeing to the rate increase, the city council voted to hire a consultant who, for $19,000, confirmed the numbers provided by Republic. The con- sultant’s six-page report offered little additional information and was not mentioned during the Feb. 25 council discussion of the increase. Republic subsequently reimbursed the city for the con- sultant's fee. Villa Park generates more green waste than other Republic customers because of its larger lot sizes. Republic recommended that the city could either increase rates on a per household basis or charge by the container. Many VP residents use more than one container, with a handful using up to four. The council opted for the per container charge, saving one-con- tainer residents $1.52 per month.