La Quinta's short-term rental dispute blares on: I continue to see unfairness
Sonny and Cher once sang, the beat goes on, the beat goes on; in the City of La Quinta that is certainly the case. Those rabble roused against short-term rentals just won’t let it go and the City Council meeting May 16 revealed some of the fault lines otherwise hidden from view.
A ballot initiative to phase out all short-term rentals was defeated in November, but the beat goes on. Under the current rules, no new STVR permits will be issued outside of a very limited commercial district, and all other existing permits can be renewed but not transferred with a sale of the property. Those changes were adopted during the COVID idiocy, and many were caught unaware that they needed to renew their permits even if the rentals were banned because, well, maybe they won’t be. Some were caught short, including one young couple from Los Angeles who testified at the May 16 meeting.
Four new proposals are up for grabs. One grants exemptions for large, undeveloped lots. One allows homeowner associations to make their own rules. One makes it clear home share arrangements where the owner remains on-site are exempt from the rules. And one will bar any further changes unless four out of five of the city council members vote for it. This last one is favored by the anti-STVR folks who fear the ban on new permits will be lifted by a future council, and they think a supermajority rule will protect them from the invasive species of out-of-town investors. As I said, the beat goes on.
All but the home share amendment serve the interests of the wealthy. Why should owners of large lots and those who live in developments built with homeowner associations get special treatment? Do we really want enclaves with added privileges? I question the policy basis for dividing the community into the wealthy and not as wealthy. As was expressed at the May 16 meeting, the election was divisive, and it’s time to move on and come together.
The super majority proposal to require a vote of four out of five members to change the rules again is also misguided. While it helps my wife and I who are grandfathered in with our STVR permit, it does not seem fair to those who missed out. As I’ve said before, this issue is driven by fear and it seems that beat goes on. Plus, I question whether a limitation on the future democratic process, which is usually by majority vote, is constitutional.
As for fairness, the young couple from LA was not treated fairly. In 2020, the Council was doing what it could to comply with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ill-advised statewide shutdown where, for example, you could go to the liquor store but not to church. But the rolling 90-day moratorium on all lodging, including STVR, was confusing and some whose permits came up for renewal did not know what to do, and there may have been a glitch in the software the City’s vendor used to manage the permits. When the moratorium was lifted and new rules were imposed, this couple was out of luck as they were forced to apply for a new permit, which was now barred.
All members of the Council expressed sympathy for this couple, and it could be some relief will be granted to them – as it should – in my view. But one council member wanted to know if they had neighbors who would support them and whether they had any citations or complaints during the one year they owned their home before COVID hit.
These questions were plainly offensive and speak to other issues, including one advanced by other citizens who spoke. It seems that enforcement of these rules depends on neighbors informing on neighbors and sometimes, as reported by city staff, with complaints as petty as children laughing next door. The day we can’t hear children laugh is a day I don’t want to see.
Charleston was once the rage, uh huh, but history has turned the page, uh huh. Let’s turn the page and live and let live. La de da de de, la de da de da.
Michael Bond is a retired Seattle lawyer, part-time resident of La Quinta and author of "Remember to Duck: a trial lawyer’s memoir." His email address is michael@bondschambers.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: La Quinta's short-term rental dispute blares on: I see unfairness
