SAN DIEGO _ Faced with a referendum seeking to repeal San Diego's new restrictions on short-term rentals, the City Council did just that on Monday, but left open the question of how it will regulate home sharing in the future.
The council Monday afternoon had only two choices before it _ repeal the regulations it formally adopted in August or put the question before the electorate in a future election. The effect of the council action is to once again leave San Diego in limbo on the much debated question of renting out homes for periods of less than 30 days, an increasingly common practice popularized by online platforms like Airbnb and HomeAway.
The council vote to repeal the short-term rental legislation was 8-1, with Councilwoman Lorie Zapf dissenting. Zapf had supported taking the matter to the voters.
"I was not elected to represent the interest of out-of-town investors and I will not let corporate interests with a lot of money to bully me into rescinding this ordinance," said Zapf, who represents the beach communities that have been most affected by the proliferation of vacation rentals. "I just feel we worked too hard on this issue. There is no guarantee a compromise will be reached any time soon or ever."
Other council members, however, expressed some optimism that a compromise on new regulations can be reached, despite years of debate and struggles to reach consensus.
"What I've always said is a good compromise is where you find yourself where neither side is totally happy," said Councilman Scott Sherman, who was one of the formal backers of the referendum effort. "We found ourselves, though, where one side was very happy and the other side very unhappy but I think there is room to find a true compromise. We're going to have to let the dust settle and cut back on some of the rhetoric. We can get to a place where I think a compromise can happen."
The now repealed regulations that were adopted in August would have barred the short-term rental of second homes but would have permitted the use of primary residences for short term stays six months out of the year.
While the council members were limited in what action they could take on Monday, many of those who addressed them pushed for speedy action on replacement regulations. The city legally has the option of adopting a new set of regulations within the next year, but those new rules would have to be substantially different from the ones that were repealed.
"Our communities cannot wait an indefinite period of time to bring this pressing issue to resolution," said La Jolla Town Council President Ann Kerr-Bache, who also heads a short-term vacation rental working group representing some 20 community groups. "We are prepared to immediately work with the city and all stakeholders to create legal, reasonable and improved ordinances that protect our communities"
