Short-term rental rules and commercial zoning changes
On July 13, the Planning Board will consider recommending that City Council adopt comprehensive regulations for short-term rentals aimed at preserving permanent housing while allowing residents to earn income by temporarily renting their homes.
The Board will also consider a broad update to zoning rules along Park and Webster streets aimed at reducing storefront vacancies and making it faster, cheaper, and less risky for businesses to open in Alameda’s two main commercial corridors.
Below is a summary of what will be discussed and how you can participate.
[1]Short-term rental ordinance
The Board will consider recommending that City Council adopt a short-term rental ordinance that establishes eligibility requirements, safety and neighborhood standards, annual permits, and progressive enforcement procedures.
Under the proposal, homeowners and tenants could operate short-term rentals for stays of less than 30 days. Owners could rent out their primary residence or another eligible unit on a multi-unit property, such as a duplex or triplex, where they live. Tenants could share their own units. The rules aim to prevent investors from converting multiple homes into commercial vacation rentals.
The proposed ordinance includes several housing protections. Units that have undergone a no-fault eviction would be ineligible. Properties removed from the rental market under the Ellis Act, which allows landlords to evict tenants when they are removing the property from the residential rental business, would be barred for five years. Subsidized housing would also be excluded. All accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units would be prohibited from short-term rental use to preserve them for longer-term housing.
Hosts would have to comply with occupancy limits, noise and trash regulations, and other “good neighbor” standards. Parties and events would be prohibited, and rental spaces would have to meet habitability, housing code, and basic fire safety requirements.
The City would offer a streamlined online application process tied to its business licensing system, with permits renewed annually. Enforcement would be complaint-based, with repeated violations progressing from warnings to suspension and, eventually, revocation. Serious health or safety violations would result in immediate revocation.
Alameda has also opted into a new state-authorized reporting program allowing cities to obtain property information from short-term rental platforms. This data could help measure the effect of vacation rentals on the long-term housing market and improve the collection of transient occupancy taxes.
[3]Downtown commercial zoning amendment workshop
The Board will hold a workshop on proposed zoning changes for Park and Webster Street commercial corridors to streamline entitlement processes for retail, personal service, office, and other commercial uses.
The proposal would modernize regulations that, in some cases, have not been comprehensively updated for more than 20 years. Staff recommends replacing outdated lists of specific permitted stores with broader categories, including “general retail sales” and “general personal services,” to allow zoning rules to adapt more easily to changing business trends.
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A major focus is on reducing conditional use permit requirements, which staff says typically cost about $3,500 and take three to five months to process. Commercial recreation businesses, including escape rooms and other entertainment venues, could be permitted by right, as could billiard establishments, salons, massage businesses, tattoo parlors, gyms, health clinics, and certain repair businesses. Grocery and convenience stores could also operate without use permits if they close by 10 p.m. and limit alcohol sales to beer and wine.
The changes would also allow offices of up to 4,000 square feet on ground floors without a use permit, replacing existing restrictions intended to preserve street-level space for retail. Larger offices would continue to require discretionary approval.
Staff also proposes expanding standard business hours from the current 7 a.m. opening time to 5 a.m., allowing coffee shops, breakfast businesses, and gyms to operate earlier without special permits. Businesses operating after 10 p.m. or using outdoor areas would continue to require use permits.
To maintain pedestrian-oriented shopping districts, new tenants would be required to keep street-facing ground-floor windows transparent and provide views into displays or active interior spaces, with limited exceptions.
Staff acknowledges that zoning is only one factor behind vacancies but says reducing regulatory barriers could make Park and Webster streets more attractive to prospective businesses.
How to participate
The meeting will be held on Monday, July 13, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers on the third floor of City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Avenue.
Members of the public may participate in person or via Zoom. They may comment on the Non-Agenda, Consent Calendar, and Regular Agenda portions of the Meeting Agenda [5] (link downloads document).
The Non-Agenda portion of the meeting provides an opportunity to address the Board regarding any matter not on the agenda over which the Board has jurisdiction. The Consent Calendar is 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.
Submit requests for reasonable accommodation via an online form [6].
For Zoom registration, click here [7]. Information to assist with Zoom participation is here [8]. The Zoom phone number for telephone participants is 669-900-9128, and the Meeting ID is 815 3979 3319. Community members may also email Board Members [9] before the meeting.
Contributing writer Karin K. Jensen covers boards and commissions for the Alameda Post [10]. Contact her via [email protected] [11]. Her writing is collected at https://linktr.ee/karinkjensen [12] and https://alamedapost.com/Karin-K-Jensen [13].