From Save San Diego Neighborhoods
On Thursday, June 14, without fanfare, Mayor Faulconer rolled out his proposal to change San Diego’s Municipal Code – residential zoning ordinances – to legalize the use of residential dwellings as Airbnb mini-hotels – short term vacation rentals.
There are over 10,000 homes in San Diego that have been turned into Airbnb mini-hotels for tourists. Faulconer wants to take even more San Diego houses and use them for tourist lodging.
He’s doing this despite the fact that San Diego’s residents and economy have struggled — for over a decade — under crushing housing costs because of a severe housing shortage.
Unbelievably, Faulconer proposes allowing everyone who has a “primary” residence in San Diego to rent that residence to tourists for 6 months out of the year – AND allow everyone who has a “primary” residence in San Diego, to own and operate another San Diego home as a short term vacation rental for tourists.
Think about this. Think about who benefits from this “compromise”. Who is Faulconer doing this for?
We know the BIGGEST beneficiaries are short term vacation rental platforms like Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway — and STVR operators like, Jonah Mechanic, founder of Seabreeze Vacation Rentals, Nancy Kramer of Nancy’s Vacation Rentals and Bluewater Vacation Homes — and their lobbyists, Craig Benedetto, Ben Haddad and Jim Madaffer. All big campaign contributors. FTM.
Who can afford to buy two homes in San Diego? Apparently Mayor Faulconer’s friends can.
Think about this.
Over half the residents of San Diego are renters.
What happens when homes are turned into hotels? Who loses? Hard working San Diego residents, that’s who. Citizens, workers who pay rents that are already too high. Citizens, workers who struggle to feed their families, make ends meet and make a mortgage payment every month.
San Diego has a finite number of residential dwellings. Right now, San Diego’s housing shortfall is 35,000 to 40,000 residential dwellings – and growing. Mayor Faulconer proposes allowing everyone who has a “primary” residence in San Diego to own a “secondary” residence to be used as accommodations for tourists – transients.
We are dumb struck – flabbergasted! Can our Mayor be this . . . ignorant? Is he so detached from regular San Diegans that he can’t see what he’s doing?
Let’s say that again. In the midst of a protracted housing crisis our Mayor suggests we use our precious residential housing stock — in our quiet, safe, clean, friendly neighborhoods — as tourist accommodations. He’s proposing that we allow those who are fortunate enough to be able to afford two homes in San Diego to convert one of those homes to an Airbnb mini-hotel – short term vacation rental – so they can make more money. So they don’t have to rent those homes to San Diego residents – hard working citizens of America’s Finest City.
Faulconer proposes no limits on turning homes in Mission Beach into Airbnb mini-hotels. He is throwing away not only the historic community of Mission Beach, but its residents too! He is saying Mission Beach is a lost cause. If Mission Beach is a lost cause – it’s because Faulconer failed and refused to enforce the law.
He helped create the problem he now is proposing a “solution” for!
Ask yourself – is your neighborhood next? Will he sell out Hillcrest? Mission Hills? Barrio Logan? North Park? Mira Mesa? La Jolla? Golden Hill? Pacific Beach? Little Italy? Downtown?
Who’s next!?
Mayor Faulconer lost the Chargers. Faulconer ignored the homeless crisis. He disregarded the Grand Jury’s warnings about the impending Hepititas A outbreak. And you ask – what next?
Well this is it. Faulconer intends on selling our neighborhoods to the highest bidder. He intends on selling out San Diegans – again!
Help us stop him!
Call, message, email or snail mail Mayor Faulconer and City Council members. Tell them you don’t want San Diego homes turned into hotels; you don’t want your neighborhood turned into a commercial hotel zone! Tell him to protect the residents, workers and community of San Diego! Tell him to do his job!
Tell Mayor Faulconer his proposed change to our residential zoning laws is folly!
Tell Faulconer our homes and neighborhoods and communities are not for sale!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
A complete oxymoronic response to the “Affordable Housing Crisis”. If the city was so concerned about affordable housing it wouldn’t permit STVR’s like this, which A. take alot of homes out of rental inventory and B. drive up prices to that which no renter can compete. I don’t have a dog in this fight and understand the “free enterprise” arguement BUT then have very little patience to listen to the City’s so-called reasoning behind so-called affordable housing developments. Corruption as usual. Buttering all sides of their toast.
While I agree with this analysis of the Mayor’s Plan, the Democrats on the City Council are also responsible for the STVR crisis. Any plan should start with…….STVR are currently illegal in residential neighborhoods, period!
This past spring I was in South Lake Tahoe and talking to my Uber driver. This (STVR) has become a serious issue for local residents there. Even though they have some of the most stringent rules on SVTR’s (noise, parking, etc.) the increase in SVTR’s has created a serious shortage of rental properties for local residents and has driven up these costs on top of it.