by Betsy Duncan
I want to comment on the Transient Rental Ordinance that the Board of Supervisors is considering and that Planning has prepared.
I am very concerned that the ordinance as it stands today, would not be legally defensible.
I support an administrative permit for short term rentals. It provides much needed revenue to the county and it could provide a sensible means by which rentals could be monitored.
As it stands today, this ordinance does not.
There have been two arguments made in support of the ordinance. One is that the properties are zoned R1 or R2 and transient occupancy is not a permitted use.
That makes sense. This also means that ANY and ALL short term rentals in Calaveras County that are zoned residential would be required to obtain an administrative use permit.
If the argument to permit is that of zoning, then it would have to be across the board. R1 is R1 no matter which corner of the county it is in.
The other argument is that the problems described by a handful of waterfront owners (500 waterfront lots) are exclusive to Lake Tulloch and that the ordinance should therefore, be exclusive to Lake Tulloch.
In order to use this argument you are required to substantiate your argument. This means documentation and photographs that can be directly linked to short term rentals.
In other words....how can Calaveras County prove that the photos you have been presented were of renters??
Does the County have copies of these rental agreements? Does the County have the names of the owners of these properties?
Have they contacted the owners of these properties to verify who was occupying the home on the date the photos were taken?
When were the photos taken? Ms. Ponte states that she has spent time in one of these homes and that the noise and overcrowding were serious issues.
Where was Ms. Ponte staying? Did she verify that the "offenders" were renting? Did she drive up and down the lake checking to see if the loud, drunk people were transient occupants?
Did she stop by crowded docks to verify they were being used by renters and not owners? If not, you cannot substantiate your argument that the problem is exclusive to Tulloch and you cannot pass this ordinance as it stands today.
The argument that the county should now step into the homes of private property owners and determine the number of people allowed in their bedrooms, in their kitchens and on their privately owned docks is dangerously close to Big Brother territory.
The County should not concern itself with such matters unless they intend to enforce these rules on private parties as well.
The idea that an overcrowded dock with renters is somehow more dangerous than one with homeowners is absurd and paints the County foolish.
The permit should require that noise, safety and revenue be priorities. As for enforcement....it took the Sheriff 45 minutes to arrive to a stabbing in Murphys last week.
What on earth makes anyone think they are going to arrive for overcrowding on a dock or too many people in a bedroom??
The argument that too many complaints on a home will simply result in the permit being rescinded is also foolhardy.
The County would still need to be able to provide that the incidents actually occurred, and that the home was occupied by renters.
This will never happen after the fact.
Please reconsider this bulky, restrictive and frankly frightening ordinance. Keep the meat and potatoes and get rid of the dessert.
Require the ordinance be county wide or prepare for providing proof that this issue is exclusive to Tulloch...proof which you do not have.
Respectfully Yours,
Betsy Duncan
9 comments:
Ms. Duncan, please read the adopted county Housing Element and provide your interpretation on it as it relates to occupancy and rentals.
With your help, the citizens of Calaveras County might get what they're paying for, comprehensive information. Thank you.
I've taken some of those photos! Come to my street with TWO illegal rentals from April to October! I live here! I work from my home! It ain't hard figuring out who the obnoxious and rude folk are. It sure isn't the locals!
Week in and week out! RV generators running 24/7, overcrowding, trash, etc. It will stop. With a permit system or with the current codes on the books. All the county or just Tulloch. IT WILL STOP! The Rental Party is over.
Anonymous: Nobody is disputing that there are problems with some short term rentals. I am supportive of the ordninance. But photos alone will not hold up in court if this is legally challenged. Neither will anonymous postings. The county must be able to substantiate that there is a problem that is exclusive to Lake Tulloch. Right now they cannot. They have to be able to provide parcel numbers that are linked to photos with dates and times. They have to be able to provide photos of the renters and/or offer proof that they are in fact renters and not guests. They cannot do that because they have not done their due dilligence. As a result, the ordinance must be county wide.
Please do not make statements that you cannot substantiate. Plenty of lake front property owners behave badly on the lake. I have seen it since 1990. Plenty of owners have parties and make noise. I have been to some of those parties so I know it to be true. The point is, that the ordinance cannot be exclusive to Tulloch because they cannot absolutely prove that the problems are exclusive to Lake Tulloch. There are approximately 500 waterfront parcels on the lake according to Tri Dam. If ten property owners state that renters are a problem that means only 10-20out of 500 are raising concerns. That number does not qualify it as a huge problem exclusive to Lake Tulloch. The ordinance should be passed because the properties are not zoned for transient use. Therefore all transient use homes should require a permit. I know some of these rentals are out of control. But we cannot pass laws that are not legally defensible.
Betsy
What is it with you folks? You keep making excuses? Out of town vacationers get more respect from Callaway and the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors than permanent live in homeowners! My HOA gives these illegal transient renters and landlords more respect than their full time residents! I've seen folks say there's a bay area mentality taking over Lake Tulloch! HUH? My home area code is 209 and the prefix is 785. The two illegal rental landlords on my street have area codes of 925 and 510!? We bought this home in 2000 because we saw it to be fun. We know there’s activity and parties at and on the lake and at the Kiva. This is what we wanted. But the rentals got worse, the traffic, the house stuffing, parking, trash, etc. They guys blew it. They got greedy. You never gave permanent residents a choice. It was.."too bad, call the sheriff, or move..". Guess what? Time’s up. You now need some guidelines through a County wide or Tulloch wide permit system. Or we just use the codes on the books. No need for guidelines, it will simply shut down this illegal activity.
Why would you say anyone is making excusses. In fact, point one out. Lake Tulloch has had waterfont rentals since long before you or I moved there. In fact there were problems as far back as 1990 on the lake. And I can say without reservation that the problems are not exclusive to renters. If you continue use that argument you may end up losing because you cannot prove that the problems are exclusive to renters. If you can, so so now. Tell us which homes are rentals. Tell us when they were rented out. Prove that the offeners were renters and not owners or guests of owners. Then prove that statistically speaking the number of "problem homes" on the lake are over 10%. Then establish the number of complaints fled by different residents in the community of a specific period of time. I doubt you can make it work. So you do not pass laws because 10% of the community is offended and 90% of the community is not. Or because 10% of the community os guilty and 90% is not. Instead you pass comprehensive and legally defensable ordinances that are applicable equally through out the county. THOSE can pass muster.
The two houses are 4503 and 4533 Lakeshore Court. They advertise on VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner). They do pay County TOT taxes. They do not use your Real Estate office for property management. They are NOT the only rentals bypassing their tax or good neighbor responsibilities.
These are R1 Zone homes. Please review Calaveras Codes 17.24.010, 17.24.021, 17.06.0800, 17.06.1803, 17.06.0420, 3.12, 3.12.020(A). Transient Rentals are illegal in R1 Zoned homes. As for the parking in county streets, Calaveras County vehicle code 10.24.010, 10.24.020, 10.24.030, and 10.24.040.
These existing codes do pass the muster and would deem the rentals illegal. The permit system would allow the rentals to continue. Your choice.
How many of the developed property owners in the HOA rent their units to short term renters?
How many people need to be put in harm's way due to one or one hundred irresponsible and illegal short term rentals? What do we need to happen for this illegal activity to end? Do we need a home to burn down because emergency equipment can't reach it. Do we need someone to die because emergency help can't make it through the streets? The party is over. Renters. Pick up your empty beer cans, pack up your boat, and go find another recreational area to thrash. You are no longer welcome in my neighborhood As you will find out this summer.
Harms way. Surely you jest! We have a Sheriff who won't got get the dangerous criminals in the county because they are his friends. And you think he's going to help you with a little noisy neighbor. Get real and stop whining. Buy one and enjoy it!! And help us get a new Sheriff!!
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