Council delays ruling on short-term rentals

Councilors will take up issue again Jan. 30

Julie Ann Grimm | The New Mexican

1/9/2008 - 1/10/08

The city debate about short-term rentals is getting longer and longer.

The City Council decided Wednesday that at least three more weeks will pass before it makes a decision about regulating the pervasive industry that has established short-term vacation rentals in the city's residential neighborhoods.

Councilors spent more than three hours listening to public testimony and debating the issue but put off the matter until their next scheduled meeting Jan. 30.

The proposed ordinance that was slated for a vote was backed by Mayor David Coss and Councilor Miguel Chavez. It would limit the number of times per year that properties could be rented, impose fees and regulations about parking, occupancy and notification on existing rentals, and phase out that use in five years.

The measure followed one proposed by Councilor Rebecca Wurzburger that introduced the same regulations but didn't call for an end to the practice.

Those advocating regulation of the industry are mostly homeowners who say living near the revolving doors of short-term rentals is detrimental to their quality of life. It's been no secret that the proposed regulations don't have the blessing of most people in the real-estate industry or city residents who rent out their own homes or adjacent structures.

Of more than 40 people who testified at the public hearing, fewer than a quarter of the speakers favored the proposed rules. Many who spoke against the ordinance said they had jobs providing services to short-term rentals, operated them or lived near them and had no complaints.

Wurzburger moved for the three-week tabling because, she said, it was evident there was no council consensus on the issue.

"I don't think there is anyone on this council who would like more than I to end this debate," she said, nevertheless noting she thought a solution that would balance the needs of the broad community, the neighborhoods and the economic impact could be forthcoming.

The city's Land Use Department and Finance Department have hired a consulting firm to collect data on the number of illegal rentals and their tax impact, and they estimate the information will be available before the late January meeting.

Another reason councilors offered for putting off a vote was the absence of Councilor Patti Bushee, who had said earlier she wanted to offer an amendment to the proposal. Bushee told the city clerk earlier Wednesday that she was ill and would not attend the meeting, according to Coss.

The mayor, who because of city rules would be able to vote in case of a tie only if the entire council were present, said he would continue to advocate for the bill he supported.

During the public hearing, attorney Tom Simons said he represented several companies that manage properties. He submitted a thick binder of exhibits he said supported the idea that the proposed rules were "highly and unfairly discriminatory against out-of-town short-term rental owners."

Although Simons did not allude to filing a lawsuit should the rules pass, that idea has surfaced more than once among those opposing the law. Their main argument has been that the city has ignored the illegal industry since changing its laws to forbid it in 2002 and has condoned the practice by accepting lodger's tax money from short-term rental operators.

The councilors voted unanimously to discuss the issue again at the next meeting.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.