Plans to regulate short-term rentals
On April 28, the Planning Board will hold a workshop on plans to regulate short-term rentals (STRs), that is, rentals for periods usually less than 30 days, commonly offered on such platforms as Airbnb and VRBO.
Prompted by concerns over housing supply, tenant protections, and neighborhood impacts, the City is developing an ordinance to prevent or minimize the conversion of permanent long-term housing units to transient lodging while still allowing residents—both property owners and long-term renters–the opportunity to rent their residences on a short-term basis. Below is a summary of what is proposed and how to participate in the discussion.
Planned Short-Term Rental Ordinance
The Planning Board workshop will expand on prior discussion, present staff research on the effects of short-term rental ordinances on housing supply and affordability, and seek feedback on regulatory proposals.
Here are key recommendations on which staff is seeking feedback:
- Require STRs to be the host’s primary residence or on the same property.
- Alternative: Limit each host to one STR and require the host to be a person, not a corporation.
- Alternative: Allow STRs that are not the host’s primary residence.
- Allow hosted STRs year-round but limit semi- and unhosted STRs to 90 days per year.
- Hosted STRs are rentals in which the host lives in the dwelling where guests stay.
- Semi-hosted rentals are where the host lives in one unit on the property and rents out another.
- Unhosted rentals are where the host does not live on the property.
- Specify types of permitted units.
- For the host’s primary residence, allow the short-term rental of individual rooms or the entire dwelling.
- Allow STRs in single-family small multi-unit buildings, such as duplexes, where the host lives in one unit.
- Ban STRs in post-2017 ADUs and non-habitable structures such as RVs and tents.
- Protect affordable housing tenants.
- Prohibit STRs in deed-restricted affordable housing and units from which tenants have been evicted under the Ellis Act.
- Optional: Extend STR ban to rent-controlled units.
- Set operating standards.
- Cap guest numbers, ban large events, require contact person and safety equipment.
- Optional: Add noise curfews, parking rules, and liability insurance.
A description of all staff’s recommendation is in Item 5A (link downloads document) of the meeting agenda.
Staff will use workshop feedback to draft an ordinance for Planning Board review in Summer 2025, with City Council consideration expected in Fall 2025.
How to participate
The meeting will be held on Monday, April 28, at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the third floor of City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Avenue.
Members of the public may participate in person or over Zoom. They may comment on the Non-Agenda, Consent Calendar, and Regular Agenda portions of the Meeting Agenda (link downloads document).
The Non-Agenda portion of the meeting provides a chance to address the Board regarding any matter not on the agenda over which the Board has jurisdiction. The Consent Calendar is intended for routine items approved by a single motion. The Regular Agenda is the central portion of the meeting, during which each issue receives a presentation and time for Board discussion and public comment.
Requests for reasonable accommodations can be made by contacting the Planning, Building, and Transportation Department’s Executive Assistant, Nancy McPeak, at [email protected] or 510-74-.6805.
For Zoom registration, click here. Information to assist with Zoom participation is here. For telephone participants, the Zoom phone number is 669-900-9128, and the Meeting ID is 815 3979 3319. The meeting can also be viewed on the City of Alameda Facebook page, but comments posted there are not monitored.
Community members may also email Board Members before meetings.
Contributing writer Karin K. Jensen covers boards and commissions for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at https://linktr.ee/karinkjensen and https://alamedapost.com/Karin-K-Jensen.
