May 17--Hundreds of people descended on City Hall Tuesday to oppose Mayor Rahm Emanuel's proposed regulations for online home rental platforms like Airbnb, even as the mayor said he was confident he'd win approval.
The opposition comes as Emanuel brought forward last-second tweaks to his ordinance in a bid to gain the support of lakefront aldermen who have been complaining their tony neighborhoods are getting overrun by partying tourists staying in apartments in residential areas.
A hearing was supposed to kick off at 11:30 a.m. But with several hundred people crowded into a City Hall lobby outside a committee room that was already packed with people waiting to speak on the issue, License Committee Chairman Ald. Emma Mitts, 37th, recessed the hearing. She said it would reconvene at 1:30 p.m. in City Council chambers, which can handle a bigger turnout.
Ahead of the planned committee vote, Emanuel announced he was limiting the number of units that can be rented through online agencies in large Chicago buildings, either six apartments or 25 percent of the total, whichever is less. That change comes after downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, voiced concerns that entire high-rises could turn into Airbnb hotels.
And the mayor said he would change his plan to specify that only primary residences can be rented out in two- to four-unit buildings, after Lincoln Park Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, said parts of that neighborhood are turning into de facto hotel zones with investors renting to out-of-towners year-round in buildings that have no long-term residents.
Reilly said the mayor's office made some "very important changes that definitely move this ordinance in the right direction," but declined to say whether he will now vote for it. Smith declined comment before the hearing.
It's certain that many of those who have turned up to voice their displeasure with the plan are from Smith's and Reilly's wards, which have seen some of the heaviest concentrations of Airbnb units in Chicago. Also on hand were many Airbnb supporters wearing shirts emblazoned with the company's logo.
If the mayor's ordinance passes the committee Tuesday, it would head to the full City Council for consideration Wednesday.
Emanuel's changes come as Airbnb released a statement saying it will oppose the ordinance because of the limits on the number of units, a requirement that owners be home for rentals in single-family homes and a clause requiring the company to "delist" hosts who break the rules.
Airbnb's refusal to publicly support the proposal could help Emanuel try to make the case to aldermen and Chicagoans that he's standing up for them and the character of their neighborhoods against the online booking giant.
That's particularly important for the mayor, who faces condemnation from cab drivers and their supporters who say he has favored the ride-sharing industry over traditional cab companies. And Emanuel has been dogged for years by criticism that his policies favor big business over regular Chicagoans, even in wealthier lakefront wards where concerns like too many tourists seem far removed from the problems of violence and high unemployment common in many parts of the city.
Airbnb spokesman Christopher Nulty released a statement Tuesday saying the latest version of the ordinance "is a giant step backward for Chicago," and calling on Emanuel to delay a vote on the measure.
"Unfortunately, this ordinance will hurt the thousands of middle class Chicagoans who rely on Airbnb to make ends meet, severely limit the options visitors have to experience Chicago's neighborhoods, and will fall short of the Mayor's goal of raising $2 million annually to support homelessness programs," Nulty said.
That's a reference to a clause in the ordinance setting a 4 percent tax on online rentals, with the money being used to fund services for homeless people and to try to enforce the new rules.
Emanuel indicated while talking to reporters Tuesday that Airbnb officials are privately OK with his plan.
"I've heard from individuals from both the hotel industry as well as Airbnb and they say privately -- obviously the day before a vote, everyone is trying to get the last inch of reforms," Emanuel said. "Privately, they have expressed support for what is happening here, and we are going to continue to move forward and make the steps necessary to protect our neighborhoods and communities, to invest in finding a new revenue source for homelessness and make sure what is an emerging industry without any oversight begins to have exactly the regulatory oversight that it needs."
jebyrne@tribpub.com
