Concerns linger among residents as Palm Springs moves ahead with allowing co-owned homes

Additional co-owned homes, similar to timeshares, may soon pop up throughout the city of Palm Springs.

In a 3 to 2 vote, the City Council voted Tuesday to establish an ordinance that would allow co-owned homes to operate within the city for the next three years, but with some limits.

Only up to 30 homes will be permitted citywide, and new co-owned properties will not be allowed in neighborhoods where the 20% vacation rental cap has been hit, along with other restrictions.

The business model began operating in Palm Springs in late 2021 with San Francisco-based company Pacaso, which currently manages five homes. The firm "purchases residential properties and sells them to a limited liability company, which company is then owned by up to 8 co-owners," according to city attorney Jeffrey Ballinger. The co-owners are then entitled to use and occupancy of the home for short periods of time.

The issue of co-owned homes had previously come before City Council in 2022 and 2023, during which Council indicated a desire to see how these types of properties would be operating subject to strict regulations, such as the city has with vacation rentals.

A group of residents in the Vista Las Palmas neighborhood of Palm Springs were left disappointed by the Council's decision after sending a letter on behalf of 400 homes in opposition of the business model existing in the City.

The ordinance must be taken up by City Council for a second reading before it can take effect. A date for when that will happen has not been established.

Watch News Channel 3 at 6:00 p.m. tonight for more on the story.