Palm Springs, CA Residents Will Finally Get to Vote if STRs Belong in Residential Neighborhoods

PALM SPRINGS, Calif., February 22, 2018 (Newswire.com) - The local citizens’ group, Palm Springs Neighbors for Neighborhoods, has announced that June 5 will be the voting date for their ballot initiative to limit absentee-owner short-term rentals (STRs) in R1 zoned residential neighborhoods. 

If it passes, the Measure: 

As is, residents have no protection from the proliferation of short-term rentals in their neighborhoods.

Steve Rose, Organizer, Palm Springs Neighbors for Neighborhoods

✓ Will limit absentee-owner rentals to a minimum of 28 days or more per stay in residential R1-zoned single-family neighborhoods.

✓ Will give STR owners two years to adjust their business model or relocate their business to an area not zoned R-1.

✓ Will not affect home sharing or owner-hosted vacation rentals. 

✓ Will not affect Condos which have HOA’s that set their own rules.  And it won’t affect Apartment Renters.  In 2016, Palm Springs passed an ordinance stopping apartment units from converting to short-term rentals.

This initiative represents the first time residents of a major tourist city have taken this issue to the ballot box.

Palm Springs, with approximately 2,000 STRs,  has more single-family short-term vacation rentals per capita than any other city in the country.   It has become a mecca for out of town investors to own and operate full-time commercial mini-hotels throughout the city’s many residential neighborhoods.

Steve Rose, the group’s organizer said, “I was shocked when I read the City’s Impact Report. It states that 467,000 visitors stayed in short-term vacation rentals in 2017.  This is an outrageous number of strangers to inject into R1-zoned residential neighborhoods, which house fewer than 28,000 residents. Everyone deserves somewhere safe and secure to call home, that is what living in a neighborhood is all about.  As is, residents have no protection from the proliferation of short-term rentals in their neighborhoods.”

"It should not be the responsibility of residential neighborhoods to generate business tax revenue. Palm Springs has a multitude of hotels, motels and boutique inns for our tourists to stay in – and more in the works.  Citizens’ requests for reasonable restrictions on STRs have been dismissed for the last time.  It is time for the residents to have their voices heard,” said Rob Grimm, PSN4N Campaign Manager. 

Residents of Palm Springs will be able to vote on the ballot measure in the California state primary on June 5.

More information can be found at the group’s website www.psn4n.org

For media inquiries, contact PSN4N campaign manager at RobGrimm@psn4n.org or (760) 464-1724.

Source: Palm Springs Neighbors for Neighborhoods