By Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

After hours of discussion and public comment, on April 22 the Claremont City Council approved a first reading of a temporary ordinance that would amend the city’s municipal code to allow and establish regulations for short-term rentals in the city.

“The purpose of this chapter is to regulate privately owned residential dwellings within the City used as short-term rental, ensure transient occupancy taxes (TOT) are paid and collected, and minimize the potential adverse effects of short-term rental on surrounding residential neighborhoods,” according to a staff report.

The first reading passed 4-1, with Council member Jed Leano voting no. Leano argued the estimated $70,000 that would be generated from transient occupancy tax revenues if the city was to lift its ban on short-term rentals, not including permit fees or registration, was not substantial. He also said the proposed ordinance would be difficult to enforce given the city’s staffing levels.

Senior Management Analyst Alexander Cousins at the April 22 City Council meeting. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

“This is not regulatable in the way that we think it is,” Leano said. “The City of Anaheim had a four-part historical structure regulation for this. … They functionally have no system now because they’ve tried to amend it so many times. And the only reason is because they started doing it in the first place.”

The proposed amendments to the city code would:

• define a short-term rental as “a privately-owned residential dwelling, or portion thereof, unless otherwise prohibited, that is offered or provided to a guest by an operator for less than 30 consecutive days.” It would not include hotels, motels, inns, or bed and breakfasts.
• define “homesharing” as “an activity whereby the owner hosts visitors in either the owner’s primary residence or an eligible accessory dwelling unit for compensation for periods of less than 30 consecutive days, while the owner lives on-site and in the home or accessory dwelling unit throughout the visitor’s stay.”
• compel those offering short-term rentals to obtain a city permit (the number of which would be capped at 100, or 20 per each City Council district) before listing a property on a short-term rental website. Permits would be $704 plus an $84 inspection fee, but that could change upon the second reading.
• bar landlords from evicting tenants or terminating a lease for the purpose of converting a rental unit to a short-term rental.

• bar the use of a short-term rental property for commercial and/or social events.

• limit overnight occupancy to a maximum of eight.

• compel operators to provide overnight, on-site parking for on vehicle per bedroom.

City Manager Adam Pirrie said that the city enforces its current ban on short-term rentals by using “reactive code enforcement that is based on complaints.” A violators’ first fine is $100, the second $200, and all subsequent $500. Violators could also be subject to permit suspension. And if operators are found to renting without a permit they could be fined $100 fine, increasing “for each subsequent day the short-term rental is operated without a certificate,” Pirrie said.

Claremont Vice Mayor Jennifer Stark at the April 22 City Council meeting. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

The council reaffirmed evaluating short-term rental regulations as a 2024-26 budget priority last year. In the subsequent months, the Claremont Planning Commission has discussed regulations, heard community input, and crafted code amendments that were then sent on to council.

The proposed ordinance would go into effect 30 days after council approves a second reading, which is scheduled to occur when the council next meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 13 in council chambers, 225 W. Second St.