The Beverly Hills Planning Commission voted 3-2 at its Nov. 14 meeting to recommend that City Council adopt an ordinance that would impose new regulations on short-term rentals.
While a ban on short-term rentals has been in place in the city since 2014, the new ordinance essentially redefines minimum lease terms from six months to one year for single-family rentals and from 30 days to six months for multifamily rentals. The proposed ordinance would additionally outline a harsher fine to be issued for violations of short-term rental regulations to the maximum extent allowed under state law.
City staff developed these stricter regulations in response to concerns about housing availability, affordability, privacy, noise and safety. Since 2014, officials have documented 395 cases of short-term rental violations, with approximately one-third providing sufficient proof of a violation.
Short-term rentals are often facilitated by the use of third-party rental platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo, which may provide property owners with a supplemental source of income or flexibility to those who wish to lease their property.
The proposal sparked debate during public comments. Earle Hyman of Crown Management Corp., for example, voiced concern that the adoption of this ordinance would negatively impact those on month-to-month work contracts, such as traveling nurses, who seek short-term rentals. Similarly, Vito Teruna with Kape Property Management, Inc. believes that the ordinance would have unintended negative consequences, discourage responsible tourism, and impose undue burdens on property owners.
Beverly Hills resident Deborah Blum, who owns a historic 1913 Craftsman house, described how the draft ordinance would take away a source of income for her as a retiree living on Social Security. Blum requested an exemption from the proposed total ban on short-term rentals for owners of properties deemed “designated landmarks” to regularly rent one accessory dwelling unit on their property for less than 30 days, so long as they continue to reside in the main house, where they can maintain close oversight of the rental unit.
On the other hand, housing advocacy group Better Neighbors LA spoke in support of the draft ordinance’s imposition of stricter fines for violations of short-term rental regulations, believing that harsher and enforceable fines act as a deterrent to unscrupulous operators who wish to violate the short-term rental regulations. Better Neighbors LA works to curb illegal short-term rental activity in order to preserve long-term housing for residents.
During the commission’s deliberations, the issue of enforcement emerged as a central concern. Vice Chair Jeff Wolfe voiced his opposition to extending the rental lease periods for short-term rentals beyond 31 days, arguing this would fundamentally undermine what the proposed ordinance seeks to do.
Similarly, Chair Terri Kaplan believed that the effectiveness of the draft ordinance ultimately comes down to code enforcement.
However, Commissioners Myra Demeter and Lou Milkowski said they would support implementing an affidavit system requiring landlords to register properties, making violation-tracking more efficient.
Kaplan views the centrality of the proposed ordinance as a safety concern. She spoke to the value that short-term rentals bring to “law-abiding people” visiting Beverly Hills but stated that “the behavior of some poisons the well for everyone.”
Ultimately, Milkowski, Demeter, and Kaplan voted in favor of the draft resolution recommending that the council adopt the draft ordinance on short-term rental regulations, while Ross and Wolfe voted against it.
