Journal Santa Fe:  Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment

          Front Page  santafe

Monday, October 22, 2007

Short-Term Rental Bill Changed

By Dan Boyd
Journal Staff Writer
    To Miguel Chavez, five years seems like a long enough grace period.
    Chavez, a Santa Fe city councilor and one of two sponsors of a bill to regulate the city's short-term vacation rental industry, confirmed changes have been made to the bill that would reduce the length of a grace period for current rental operators.
    Previously, the proposal had called for a strict crackdown on such rentals, which are illegal in residential areas, but not until 2015.
    A flurry of discussions in the last week between certain councilors and Mayor David Coss has led to a new number: Under the bill's current terms, short-term vacation rental operators would have five years from when the ordinance takes effect to scale down their business.
    At that point, dwelling units in residential areas could not be rented for less than 30 days, which effectively amounts to 12 rental periods per year.
    "In most business ventures, you're able to amortize things out in about five years," said Chavez, explaining the rationale behind the change.
    The short-term vacation rental issue has become one of Santa Fe's hottest topics, following years of lax enforcement of laws regulating the practice.
    A survey of four top Santa Fe vacation rental companies released last week said there are 275 illegal vacation units in residential districts in the city, though some believe the actual number is far higher.
    With the City Council scheduled to take up the issue anew in November, there appears to be a growing collective desire to find a lasting solution to the problem.
    "What I'm sensing is an interest to bring a closure to this issue and not let it fester again," Chavez said. "It doesn't make any sense to enforce what we haven't been doing. It would be a long legal challenge to do that."
    Phasing out vacation rentals is just one of nine alternatives presented to the City Council at a study session last month. But it's the sole alternative with the support of Coss and Chavez, the city's mayor pro tem.
    The plan would require vacation rental operators to prove they were in business in 2002, when the law regarding vacation rentals was changed, if they want to continue doing business during the five year grace period. An earlier version of the bill had set the date at 2005.
    An exception to the new rental rules would be carved out for one single-story guest house for each owner-occupied home.
    Vacation rental company officials could not be reached for comment Friday, but business leaders in the city have generally supported the industry.
    The recent survey said that the four companies have a total annual payroll of about $1.7 million and contribute nearly $190,000 in lodger's tax to city coffers.
    Santa Fe isn't the only community dealing with vacation rentals, which are despised by some locals who complain they ruin the character of neighborhoods.
    The Florida Supreme Court recently upheld a ban on unlicensed vacation rentals in Monroe County, the southernmost county in the continental United States.