Lawsuit Filed Against the City of Santa Barbara for Legal R-4 Short Term Rentals

Well, we knew it would end up here.  Let me tell you that one thing I have learned over the last 2 1/2 years in trying to legally permit a short term rental in the City of Santa Barbara is that the city is under the "rule" of the staff in the City Planning Department and City Attorney's Office to promote their socialist agendas and those of the "hoteliers".  Those 2 offices believe they were put on this Earth to police this city at any and all costs and  "arbitrary interpretations" they make are "law". Well guess what, they are not.  There is a process the City of Santa Barbara must go through in order to make any of these interpretations law and that process they did not only not go through and they did not grant due process under the law to property owners when the decisions were made by Santa Barbara City Council Members.  Be very clear, any political or special interests/agendas will overshadow those of owners and their property rights or small businesses in the City of Santa Barbara.   After 2 1/2 years you can see my attitude has done a complete 180.  It's a tangled web...

If this is your first time reading my blog, I encourage you to go back and read where this all started 2 1/2 years ago first, to get caught up.  For those loyal to the cause that know and understand that we are talking about properties that have the same zoning designation as hotels, bed and breakfasts and other commercial properties, this fight is long from being over and we are not about to give up.  48 members strong and growing by the day, we now have filed our first of what will potentially be many lawsuits in the coming months against the City of Santa Barbara.  Sad that it has come to this but it all needs to end.

The City of Santa Barbara fails to recognize that short term rentals are NOT hotels.  The City of Santa Barbara fails to adopt an ordinance that specifically defines and regulates short term rentals in ANY zone let alone the hotel zone where stays of less than 30 days have always been and will always be legal.  The City of Santa Barbara is allowing numerous hotels to be built by "hoteliers" but as soon as an owner that wants to rent out their property located next door to one of these hotels with the EXACT same zoning designation (while they are gone 4-6 months out of the year), the city now cries "HOUSING CRISIS"?  Let's not forget, these same owners have spent tens of thousands of dollars to play by the city's "Rules of Ridiculousness" in calling their properties now "hotels" and then in the 11th hour, 2 years later, deny them based on something they have no control of and has nothing even related to their properties...workforce housing shortage...which has been around since the early 1970's?  And to Mayor Helene Schneider, who says it's a "discretionary process", nope...that is something that must be site specific.  One approved 2 weeks prior to this one in our group denied and 1 block away didn't have a "housing crisis", why this one? Hmmmm......tangled web.

Really?  A Housing Crisis for a $3 million dollar home that the owner lives in 6 months out of the year is definitely impacting the housing shortage because for one, this home could potentially house at least 15 homeless people if Cathy Murrillo was elected mayor and had her way.  Or better yet, perhaps some of the people most vocal about it saying our homes are causing rents to go up would say that this owners mortgage of $10,000/month should instead be offered as affordable workforce housing at say $2600/month as Cathy Murrillo recently claimed for a 2 bedroom.  The owner should just forgo both using their property as a second home and at the same time not be able to make the payments.  But it's OK if the owner loses the home to foreclosure because at least the tenant got to enjoy it for a little while before they too lost the roof over their heads, right?

This my friends is the definition of the socialist government of Santa Barbara our current city council and city staff embraces and seeks to advance for their benefit.  This needs to change and fast as our property rights are quickly being chipped away in Santa Barbara.  This is why our first lawsuit against the city of Santa Barbara in the legal R-4 and other zones has been filed with others to follow.  If we do not stand up to the City of Santa Barbara, who will?  This nonsense has absolutely NO basis in the law.  We have Joseph Liebman representing our group as our attorney and Jarrett Gorin as our Land Use Planner.  We have managed to make huge progress together as a group in stopping many things coming down the pipeline that would have affected all of our properties in Santa Barbara in the legal allowed use zones.

We have challenged the City of Santa Barbara and been successful on the 1 unit exemption even under the "Rules of Ridiculousness"  hotel code they seek to apply to our properties which we completely disagree with.  We have a larger battle we would like you to join.  If you own an R-4 property or other property zoned C-1, C-2, R-3 (some of historic merit apply), C-L, C-M, HRC-1, HRC-2, OC please get in touch with me immediately as we are on to our next legal challenge.

Visit our site to sign up:  http://www.sbstra.com

And on another note, I encourage all of you to vote in the November elections.  I NEVER was involved in politics until this all started over 2 years ago.  Having sat through at least 30 City Council Meetings on various topics, I can tell you my 6 years of college and Master's Degree, former teacher and life experience with 2 children and running many small businesses here in Santa Barbara....

Cathy Murrillo is NOT qualified to be our next Mayor!!!  She will protect the homeless over your property rights and at the expense of all our safety.  She favors tenants rights over any property rights and she believes socialism 100% will save our citizens and we should be a sanctuary city.

Frank Hotchkiss will be much of the same stuff we see now which is crazy town and special interests and agendas with no one controlling that Planning Department or City Attorney's Office or City Head.

Bendy White is not qualified to lead our city and we will have the same mistakes over and over again.  Did you know there are 27 active lawsuits against the City right now that I know about?  This is because of the poor decisions of this city council!

The ONLY choice for NEW Leadership and new Ideas that will lead us out of this mess is:

ANGEL MARTINEZ

http://www.angelmartinez.com

Just listen to him, go meet him.  Don't let me sway you, you be your the judge.

City Council Decides to Selectively Apply "City Housing Shortage" to be Site Specific

In probably one of the absolute worst legal decisions the city has ever made, City council on Tuesday, July 18th decided to vote 5-2 that "housing stock" was more important that an owners right to use their home in the allowed use zone as is protected and permitted by right. By the way, this property has historically rented long term at $6000/month so not sure how it's the workforce housing they were trying to protect last night.

These zones, C-1, C-2, R-4 and numerous others have always and will always have this legal right to rent for less than 30 days.  Most of the Bed and Breakfasts and Hotels located on Bath, De La Vina, Downtown, East and West Beach are located on properties with these zoning designations...these homes are no different.  For that matter, how many bakeries, law offices, vet clinics, restaurants occupy what used to be former "residences" and apartment buildings that ultimately have taken away housing stock?  Do we just go after housing shortage for "certain" types of rentals?  

Just one month ago, Santa Barbara City Staff themselves approved another similar property located just 2 blocks from the one they denied last night and specifically made the finding that it WAS "in line with sound community planning" and did not affect the housing element.  So are these selective denials because call me crazy but the housing shortage they claim we have is not site specific it's a city wide issue, correct?  No my friends, what you have here is a POLITICAL AGENDA!  It is also arbitrary and capricious....

Cathy Murrillo is running for Mayor...I encourage you to not vote for her if you are a property owner that believes your property rights are valuable.  Bendy White is running for Mayor...I encourage you to not vote for him if you believe the same.  Jason Dominguez decided to take the opportunity to badger the property owner and both planners in an attempt to discredit them all.  Greg Hart was as he always is, protecting the corporate Hotel lobby in our town.  The only 2 that actually see the real glaring problem with this are Randy Rowse and Frank Hotchkiss.

Let's not forget the City Council told all these property owners in June of 2015 there was a process to get legally permitted in the legal zones.  The process was to convert to a "hotel"!  No owner wants to do this and it's not the right process as there exists no definition of short term rental in the municipal code.  None-the-less, these law abiding owners have spent thousands of dollars to comply.  The city has taken their money, their time (2 years of it) and now they deny them based on a housing shortage?  There is no process anymore.  That was made crystal clear last night.

So where does this leave all responsible second home purchasers that purchased homes in the "allowed use zones", that went to the city before they closed escrow and made sure they were OK to proceed with short term rentals when they themselves were not occupying the home?   I think I see damages here....  A housing shortage is not site specific.  A housing shortage does not pop up overnight, it's been well documented since the 1970's.  And guess what, we have more housing units being built in the pipeline in 2016-2018 then ever in the last 20 years in the city with the AUD and ADU programs.  City Council didn't even follow City Staff's recommendation to approve this project.  Again, political agendas....

Like I said, only a judge will be able to rule on this one and I will tell you this, you can't approve 6 and then decide this one in particular has a housing shortage. 

If you are an owner of an R-4 or other legally zoned property and care about the value of your property and your rights that Santa Barbara City Council just took away from you, visit: sbstra.com

Short Term Rentals in Santa Barbara will Prevail

One thing I have learned over last 2 years is that I cannot wait for this nightmare to be over.  To see firsthand how shady Santa Barbara city staff have been is a huge wake up call and frankly my first experience in, and swift exit out, of politics.

What I do know is that our property rights are being slowly chipped away at daily in the City of Santa Barbara planning department and Santa Barbara city attorneys office by people that are HIRED and PAID by us, the taxpayers.  These people are reporting to the Santa Barbara City Council and the facts they are reporting are inaccurate, self-serving and what we have now come to find out, are not legal.

“Interpretations” of code are arbitrary and by no means law.  The antiquated 50 year old ordinances they are attempting to apply are overbroad, vague and cannot be applied to vacation rentals or short term rentals. There currently is no definition of either in the Santa Barbara Municipal Code so they have “arbitrarily” called them “hotels“.  There were no hearings, no due process, nothing.  Just a Santa Barbara City Council meeting (that was inaccurately documented) and that was it!  One day it was a Vacation Rental as documented on the City of Santa Barbara Business License and the next morning, it was a Hotel.

The City of Santa Barbara has unclean hands.  It PARTICIPATED in this “business” for over 10 years with Vacation Rentals.  Issuing business licenses for “Vacation Rentals” (not hotels) in ALL zones, allowing owners to rent for less than 30 days, collect the TOT and remit it to the city.  People purchased homes (vacation rentals, not hotels), based on this assurance by the city and that the ordinance did NOT prohibit “Vacation Rentals“.  There was no conversion to a “hotel” required.  There was no “conversion to hotel” required in the allowed use R-4 zone that is the Hotel -Motel Multi Use Zone since the beginning of time.  The California Coastal Commission also recognizes these properties as a residential use and NOT hotels.  The City of Santa Barbara is in for a real awakening here in the next couple months.

One lawsuit has been filed with potentially others to follow.  Enforcement cases for renting less than 30 days against owners in the legal R-4 zone and residential zones are being sent to property owners every day as a form of entrapment, bullying mechanism, scare tactic, you name it.  If you receive one of these letters, please get in touch with us and we can refer you to one of many attorneys that are handling this right now.

In the meantime, here are some recent videos that have been posted to YouTube that highlight some of the controversy surrounding this issue…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvO_Utdd5b0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QFLH2Awqho&t=8s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aagKKWuh3VE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In6Onw6oMfc&t=4s

Here is a recent feature story on KEYT…

http://www.keyt.com/lifestyle/house-and-home/residents-fed-up-with-short-term-rental-permit-process/502163419#comment-3311073221

We will not back down.  This is about property rights and not allowing city staff to take them away.  It is also about not allowing groups in our city to  feel as though they are “entitled” and have the right to tell us what we can do with our properties when we are well within our legal rights.  We use these “HOMES” part of the year.  They are not part of the city’s employee housing stock nor will they ever be.  If the city, or these other groups wish to protect housing, then I recommend they focus on purchasing city properties for this cause.

Our privately owned and privately used properties are ours…HANDS OFF!   Please find the right target to shoot at, you have the wrong suspect.

post provided by: Tiffany Haller - Real Estate Broker - Compass 

Enforcement Cases in the City of Santa Barbara for Vacation Rentals

For anyone that has followed my journey to get a property in the R-4 “legally allowed” zone in Santa Barbara permitted since August of 2015, you know that it is IMPOSSIBLE to get the permit.  Well guess what, not only is it impossible, we have come to find out, for 1 unit,  it is actually not required!!!

28.88.028 Permit Required; Exceptions.

EXCEPTIONS TO REQUIREMENTS FOR CONVERSION PERMITS.
The following shall be exempt from the provisions of this Chapter:
1. A project creating a condominium, hotel or similar use and using no more than one (1) existing dwelling
unit as part of said project shall not be considered a conversion.

Straight out of the 40 year old municipal code (for hotels) they are trying desperately to apply, there you have it.  So what is the City of Santa Barbara choosing to do? Yep, you guessed it, completely ignore the code!

Did you also know that you do NOT need to have a business license to operate a hotel according to the code, let alone a short term rental if you are less than 3 units…this is something they hold firmly to and say is the REASON you cannot do anything with your property in Santa Barbara until you get that “business license”.

SECTION 5.04.390 OF THE BUSINESS AND TAX CODE CLASSIFICATIONS  –  motels and hotels (3 or more rental units) only.  It also goes on to say that the business license is “confined to construction comprising three (3) or more units and even refers to “hotels”.  So where do they even make up this stuff?

All these “made up truths”, “interpretations”, “vague ordinances” is what the city of Santa Barbara is attempting to do right now to harass, entrap, entangle and instill fear and suffering in all of us right now that own properties in the legal and allowed zones in Santa Barbara.

We formed a group last year as NO ONE in the R-4 zones of Santa Barbara have been able to get the permit (which is not required as provided in the hotel code) to vacation or short term rent your property for less than 30 days in the city of Santa Barbara in 2 years!

Yes 0 permits in 2 years.

My client has spent over $40,000 and gone no where AND to add insult to injury was issued an enforcement case not too long ago.  So what does this tell you?

IT’S A BAN ON SHORT TERM RENTALS.

IT’S TAKING AWAY PROPERTY RIGHTS  FOR THOSE OF US THAT ARE ALLOWED TO RENT FOR LESS THAN 30 DAYS, AND THAT THE CITY NEVER REQUIRED A PERMIT FOR EVER BEFORE, IN THE LEGAL ZONES.

The City of Santa Barbara staff were given $180,000 directed towards enforcement of short term vacation rentals in ALL ZONES.  Enforcement staff are heavy handed in coming after owners (and seldom challenged) in the allowed use areas and have no problem issuing 10 page city attorney’s settlement agreements to these owners that basically state they will cease and desist, give city full reign for future search and seizure of their properties and pretty much do a hell of a job “scaring law abiding citizens” into submission.  I have to ask, are these enforcement officers and city attorney’s office working ethically when they cite erroneous “beliefs” and “citations” that “lead them to believe” these owners are renting for less than 30 days.

It’s truly a “fishing expedition” with no proof, a sprinkle of fairy dust and the hope that one rabbit might jump out of a hat.  All the while, providing the perfect recipe for emotional duress, pain and suffering and economic losses for those in the legal zones while our city continues to implode with businesses closing, ultra expensive hotels being erected all over and a police department that feels like homeless panhandlers have more rights than we do.

And what does the California Coastal Commission say about Santa Barbara policy on short term rentals…they are completely against them classifying us as hotels, would like them to update their ordinance to include a definition of a short term rental as one does not exist right now and we have a letter that goes into detail about how this all serves as a ban and impacts low cost visitor serving accommodations as provided for in the Coastal Act.

Did you catch something I mentioned a couple paragraphs ago…I said owners in the “allowed use zones” of Santa Barbara are being enforced?  Did you remember that in 2 years not 1 property owner in R-4 has been granted a permit?  Did you also remember that the code actually exempts 1 unit from being converted and city staff refuse to follow this exemption? Are you following me here….

When things don’t seem to add up….they can only add up to one thing…agendas….political AND personal.

If you have received an enforcement case for a short term vacation rental in the city of Santa Barbara and are in the allowed use zones, please contact us.  We have both an attorney representing us right now on numerous fronts and experienced local planner helping us  in both challenging the city on their 40 year old code and also what city staff is attempting to do in taking away our property rights.  Without going into detail on a public blog, suffice to say, we have our ducks in a row and have been working on this for quite some time.

I cannot give you legal advice as I am not an attorney, however I can tell you that you have a very small window to respond to these city of Santa Barbara enforcement cases.  It’s 10 days, I believe.  I do not recommend signing any settlement agreement without first speaking with attorney Joseph Liebman or another local attorney familiar with this.  If you are located in a residential zone, I can give you the name of a local attorney that is dealing with some people in the residential zones however, we are not involved with those areas.  The planner we have been using is Jarrett Gorin and he is well-versed in the process to permit in the allowed use zones.

Our group is R-4 Property Rights.  We are at every Planning Commission Hearing and City Council Meeting.  We have managed to get both of these groups to see what has been happening to us over the course of 2 years and start to institute change however, we are not super confident our elected officials will not be swayed by these “agendas” of city staff and others in our community at this moment.  The direction of our great city is sadly going terribly wrong at the moment and has been for some time.  To see that we have this gift that could generate additional revenue for our city with endless possibilities to help start funds for affordable housing, homelessness, you name it, we could help start something great in the allowed use areas of Santa Barbara.

We see it far too often these past few years that our city staff and elected officials are short sighted and do not rely on us to help problem solve the issues that face us and let bureaucracy ultimately beat us all down.   We have rights to protect and we have a plan.  We will not be backing down and we do hope you will join us.

Post provided by: Tiffany Haller - Real Estate Broker - Compass