Palm Springs City Council to discuss short-term vacation rental recommendations Thursday
The Palm Springs City Council will review and discuss recommendations from a work group on Thursday regarding short term vacation rental policy.
On March 29, 2022, the City Council held a Special Study Session to discuss the state of vacation rentals in the City. A comprehensive report was presented to Council outlining various data metrics for vacation rentals. Following a presentation by staff, Council discussed the current state of vacation rentals, and staff subsequently created a working group to review additional data and draft recommendations to allow policy choices. The group reviewed data and discussed impacts to the City relating to vacation rental density, ancillary use, and housing prior to drafting recommendations. The group consists of real estate professionals, vacation rental industry stakeholders, ONE-PS members, and community members randomly selected after applying; a total of 124 applications were received. Group members actively participated in the discussions, abided by the Rules of Engagement, worked hard on the issues, and provided feedback.
Palm Springs City Council Staff Report
Thursday's City Council meeting will focus on three main issues: "Vacation rental density, vacation rentals for ancillary use or secondary use, and then the impacts on housing supplies," according to Veronica Goedhart, City of Palm Springs Director for Special Program Compliance.
Journalist and longtime Palm Springs resident Hank Plante sits on the work group and helped draft the recommendations City Council will discuss this week.
He supports reducing the number of short-term vacation rental permits approved throughout the city.
“I understand people are on vacation and they let loose, but to have ten of them in one block, it’s just too much to ask neighbors to absorb," said Plante.
The work group is recommending City Council adopt a 2,500 city-wide cap on vacation rental permits, with the stipulation that all submitted permit applications will be processed as well as applications for properties that have an escrow closing date within 30 days of the adopted ordinance. The group is also recommending City Council implement a10% neighborhood cap.
