I was thrilled (and somewhat shocked) by how well my meeting with Mayor Richard Bloom went. We spoke for about an hour, getting into some detail about how regulations regarding vacation rentals would work.

It seems that in the past, no one championed vacation rentals. In other words, the current ban seems to be because neighbors didn't want a specific vacation rental near their homes, so they decided to ban them all. I'm hoping that pretty strict regulation, plus the benefit of new taxes, plus the worry of less tourist spending will combine to encourage other city counsellors to buy in.

Mayor Bloom suggested that I contact the other members of City Councel and find a champion who would take it to the next step.

My presentation to him consisted of the reasons why regulating -- rather than an outright ban -- would be good for the city. It also discussed some of the reasons given for the ban (people are always coming and going, tourists make more noise, etc.). He seemed to imply that detailing how to make it work might be a good next step. Santa Cruz recently legalized vacation rentals, so he directed me to the appropriate documents so I can copy what they've done there.

I also plan to start working on the vacation rental owners association. I've discovered a few things that might encourage owners to band together. First, the city plans to close down all vacation rentals. Second, those people who are renting out their places (or say they are) for more than 30-days but not to permanent residents are still breaking the law -- but it's a different law. It turns out the a hotel is defined by the city as a place that rents to people who stay for no more than 30 days. A short-term rental is also illegal, and it is a place that is rented to a non-resident for more than 30-days, but has amenities such as furniture, maid service, a pool or other things that are pretty rigidly defined. This means that even those places that are advertising that they won't rent for less than 30 days may yet be in trouble, because what they're doing is also illegal, just under a different set of rules.

My next step will be to create a proposal for a policy to legalize and regulate vacation rentals. If you know someone in Santa Monica who is doing this, please send them my way. I'd love to have some help. Plus, if you know someone who is on the City Council, please let me know. I think I have an uphill battle ahead of me.

I thought I'd start by writing down what's happened so far. I plan to add entries as new things ocurr.

This started at the end of June, the day before we went to my parents' for a week.

The City of Santa Monica finally decided to start enforcing its ban on vacation rentals, and started by contacting 25 owners, about whom it had complaints. My complaints are, I'm sure, from the same people next door who complained throughout our renovation. We have eight or nine households abutting our property, and only one household complains. However, the city doesn't track whether it's one person complaining multiple times or multiple people complaining, so I have many complaints.

Armando, in planning, said I had to shut down right away. I asked if there was some way to stay open for the summer, since I had people coming from all over the world who had paid deposits. He mailed me a citation and a fine. I've been fined $500 for not having a business license (although they wouldn't give me one when I applied for one), $75 for not collecting hotel taxes (I can't pay taxes if I don't have a business license) and $75 for running an illegal business. The actual bill should arrive any day now. If I pay it, I have 30 days or so before I have to close. According to Armando, at that point, he'll come by to see if I've closed and, since I won't have closed, he'll send me another citation for the same amount. This should cover me until I no longer have booked guests. I'm not booking people for this winter.

When I returned from my trip, I searched the Santa Monica Daily Press and found an article from last year saying that the city wasn't prosecuting people unless they were really causing problems. In the last four years, they've closed down exactly one vacation rental. Since the situation has obviously changed, I contacted the Daily Press and this article was written. http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c-2011-07-11-72170.113116-Homeowner-wants-to-legalize-vacation-rentals-.html

I started to collect data and estimate that tourists who stay in Santa Monica vacation rentals spend about $1.8 million (not including lodging). If vacation rentals were taxed, an additional $1.8 million would be raised. (I'm still wondering about the coincidence of the numbers being the same.) The owners with whom I spoke also said that they'd be happy to pay a licensing fee that would cover the city's cost of inspecting vacation rentals.

I have a phone meeting with the mayor tomorrow. I'll post what happens with that. I'm gearing up for a long fight, but maybe I'll get lucky and prove that being reasonable and logical can get me far. More likely, I'll end up proving that nothing gets done without a good attorney.