Group to file lawsuit against Palm Springs over vacation rental ordinance

UPDATE: 6:29 p.m.

Mark Owens has called Palm Springs home for two years.

Since moving there, he said he’s dealt with issues with vacation rental properties that have hit close to home.

“For us, do we live in a single-family neighborhood, or do we live in a hotel environment,” Owens said. “We didn’t sign up for the hotel environment.””

Now with the neighborhood group, Protect Our Neighborhoods (PON), Owens, along with city leaders, industry professionals and other residents have met to come up with a solution to vacation rental permits.

“We’ve spent the last eight, nine months meeting with Protect Our Neighborhoods, with the vacation rental industry, and with residents to come up with an ordinance that we believe will work,” Palm Springs City Councilman Geoff Kors said. “And we’re looking forward to getting that ordinance in place.”

City leaders passed an ordinance at a meeting in February.

And now, PON is addressing their concern, announcing their intention of suing city leaders over the issue.

“What’s occurred is the compromises that we’ve discussed have never been accepted,” Owens said. “And the industry’s point of view has always been accepted at 100 percent of what they wanted, or more.”

Owens said some of the requests outlined in the letter sent to Palm Springs city leaders from PON include putting a temporary ban on all new vacation rental permits.

“We’re asking them to follow the normal rules which apply, which require that every single parcel go through a review process in the normal process,” Owens said. “We’re asking for that to occur, and/or the election to decide the issue.”

But city leaders and residents like Owens said they’ll continue to work on building a solution.

“With the new ordinance coming forward, all parties will see that this is going to work,” Palm Springs City Councilman J.R. Roberts said. “And we will be able to make the changes necessary to keep it working. And I think that, ultimately, the lawsuits will go away.”

Owens said PON plans on filing the lawsuit Tuesday.

Both Kors and Roberts said the ordinance passed last month will go to the planning commission, and come back to the city council for a final reading, before going into law at a meeting next week.

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ORIGINAL STORY: 5:13 p.m.

KESQ and CBS Local 2 are following new developments over the vacation rental debate in Palm Springs. A group has announced it will be filing a lawsuit against the city on Tuesday.

The group is called, ‘Protect Our Neighborhoods’. Its intention to sue the city is based on certain requests, including the placement of a temporary ban on new vacation rentals until a case-by-case analysis is conducted.

The group met with city leaders Monday afternoon to try and reach an agreement, but organizers said the lawsuit will be moving forward after it failed to meet negotiations. The lawsuit is expected to be filed on Tuesday.

Hear from both sides of the debate in Zak Dahlheimer’s report on CBS Local 2 at 5:30 p.m. and on KESQ News Channel 3 at 6 p.m.