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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 1332 - Correspondence Rcvd as of 11-10-2017Douglas P. and Diane L. Bouche 747 I'.nsenada ('t. San Die,o. (.A 92I09 November 7, 2017 Mayor Jan Harnik - City of Palm Desert Dear Ms. Harnik, We are owners of a home in Palm Desert which falls in the city's R2 zone. We have owned our home since 1984. We raised our children in this home until we were transferred overseas for work in 1991. Between August, 1991 and September, 2016, our home was a year-round rental, but we had always planned to keep the house and dreamed of using it as a second home for our family. We still have family and friends in the Coachella Valley. In 2000, we repatriated to San Diego. We continued to maintain the house as a full-time rental under property management. In September 2016 the house suffered a fire. The tenants relocated and we began the rebuild. We decided to take our home back and make it our second home with the help of income from short-term renting when we were not using it. We committed nearly $100,000 to upgrades and furnishings for our home and applied for and received our STR permit with The City of Palm Desert, knowing it would take several years to recover our invested funds. We recently retired and, along with our children. grandchildren and friends greatly enjoy spending time in our beautiful new home. Spending more time in our home here in the desert is the cornerstone of our retirement plan, and our STR income derived from our home enables us to keep the house so we can do that. We live on a fixed income and could not afford it otherwise. We think you should know that we are not part of the group of people who have bought property here to short-term rent for the sole purpose of making a pile of money. This is a quality of life issue for us. We consider this our home. We let all potential guests know that, and they are all carefully screened. Our guests are typically families, or guests in their 40s or older. They have all been very respectful of our property and our house rules. including those pertaining to city ordinances. We have never had any complaints from the neighbors, and we want to keep it that way. Regarding limiting guests stays to 28 days or more, we did receive a number of queries about that since we put our property on the STR market, but they were interested in more amenities than what we could offer (e.g., golf carts, tennis courts, etc., amenities you would more likely find in gated communities). We did not receive a single booking for 28+ days, even though we offered a 35% discount for these longer stays. From our experience so far, we expect to derive little. if any, income from this longer -term vacation rental market. We will not return our house to full-time rentals because this does not provide us the opportunity to enjoy it ourselves, and do not wish to be forced to sell our home to replenish our retirement funds we used to upgrade and furnish our home. We ask that you consider our situation and allow us to continue short-term rent our property beyond July 2019 as long as we continue to abide by city ordinances. This is our second home which we cannot afford to keep without STR income, and as we said spending time here in the desert is the cornerstone of our retirement plan. Please don't take that away from us. Sincerely, Douglas P. Bouche dnbouche( mail.com (858) 822-8708 Diane L. Bouche dbouche89P2mail.com (858) 822-8710 Swartz, Kevin From: Mary Parmakszian <maryedp@telus.net> Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 3:25 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Palm Desert Sent from my iPad > > November 6th, 2017 > > > City of Palm Desert > 73-510 Fred Waring Drive > Palm Desert, CA 92260 > kswartz@citvofpalmdesert.org > > Attention: Kevin Swartz > > > Dear Mr. Swartz: > > Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance > > I am writing because I believe that short term rentals should continue to be allowed throughout the City of Palm Desert. I have been vacationing in Palm Desert with my family several times per year for approximately ten years and hope to continue to be able to do so. When we come, we stay at rental houses in the Palm Desert area close to El Paseo. We regularly eat out at Mama Gina's, Mastros, The Daily Grill and II Corso. We don't like to drive once we've arrived, which is why this area is perfect for us. We come with extended family members, cousins, aunts, uncles and the like. We are always responsible guests at our short term rental homes and treat them as we would our own. > > I understand your desire to keep out renters who are disruptive to the neighborhood, but to increase the minimum rental length to 28 days would also keep out those of us who seek to travel to Palm Desert for a relaxing break. Myself, my family, and my friends cannot take 28 days out of our lives to travel and so we would be forced to seek out vacation properties in other areas. Typically, we come for 4-10 days at a time. If this Ordinance were passed, my family and many of my friends would no longer be stay in Palm Desert, spending money at local shops and restaurants, which would be detrimental for the Palm Desert economy. It is short-term renters who eat out frequently and spend their time shopping because their vacations are a small break from regular life while Tong -term renters are making their time in Palm Desert a part of their regular life and are less likely to spend more than they would on average at home. I believe that there are other ways to deal with the noise concerns expressed by full-time residents, such as harsher regulations on Short Term Rentals. I hope that the City Council will reconsider the Ordinance because Palm Desert has become a special place for me and my family and we would be distraught to have to vacation elsewhere. > > > Sincerely, > Mary Parmakszian 1 Swartz, Kevin From: arlette@powerthinking.us Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 1:13 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: from Dr. Poland, thank you Hello, I want to say thank you for helping our city remain a city and not a hub for party goers Avho tend to have little or no respect or care for neighborhoods. Just as important to that issue is the financial one. The hotels certainly pay more in taxes for our city when they' rent a space than do the homeowners. Indeed, my guess is that many of the weekend rentals pay nothing to the city and yet they draw on our services even more. And lastly, this move to disallow short term rental (under 3o days/nights) Nvill protect the value of the homes here and the quality of life. We have suffered the consequences of short term party houses too often in Silver Spur Ranch where I live. It is time to take hack the neighborhood feel that the sought when we found this wonderful little city. So, thank you and please keep the line firm on this. ALL Best, Dr. Arlette 1-Iear my podcast: W ww.listenwithin.org and join the internationally growing community of 'ARKists.' Dr. Arlette Poland JD, MA -Religion, MA -Ethical Leadership, Ph.D Professor 76O/4o9-1925 Be self -kind, not self-ish. ListenWithin.org 1 November 7, 2017 VIA EMAIL (kswartz@citvofpalmdesert.org) City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz Dear Mr. Swartz: Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance Dear Mr. Swartz, It has come to my attention that the City of Palm Desert passed a first reading of an ordinance on October 26, 2017 to ban Short Term Rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert as of July 1, 2019. I know there is a second reading of this ordinance on Thursday, November 16, 2017 at City Hall. I am very worried that if this passes there will be no more places to stay close to El Paseo which is where all our friends are located and where we like to stay when visiting the desert. 2 As we cannot attend the meeting ourselves as we are in Vancouver, Canada, I am writing you to express our strong opposition to ban the from the perspective of a repeat renter of Short Term Rental properties in the El Paseo area. I am against "party houses" as much as the residents of Palm Desert, but I believe this ban is a big mistake and will force vacationers like myself to rent in Palm Springs as an alternative, thus losing my vacation dollars and that of my friends who enjoy the El Paseo area. Please forward this letter to the City Council on our behalf, and thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Norman Bishop 4750 Granville Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada norm@bishopwear.com November 7, 2017 To: City Council Members Esteemed colleagues I/we have owned property on 42420 Warner Trail for the past three years. I have rented it short term as well as long term to friends, family and regular vacationers. These have been good people who have come to visit Palm Desert, enjoy the weather, the people, the atmosphere and the available entertainment. We have had good people use, enjoy the property and infuse money into the economy. We encourage you to authorize the use of short term rentals thus enabling many of the folks who visit the desert along with folks who live here to prosper and enjoy the benefits short term rentals provide. I support tourism economy for the City of Palm Desert. Brent C. Patchell Homeowner 42420 warner Trail Palm desert November 7, 2017 To City Council Palm Desert. I am a small business owner and benefit from short term vacation rentals. Palm Desert also benefits from tourists that come from all over the world. Palm Desert will be losing the money that tourists spend here in our beautiful city. They will go to other destinations where they have the option of renting short term rentals. We have mature respectful couples that visit our city from around the world. The tourists that come to our beautiful city are seeking all the amenities that Palm Desert has to offer. The beautiful weather and the friendly people of Palm Desert and enjoy a relaxing place to stay while in the comfort of a home. Why push out the tourists that enjoy the beauty of our City Palm Desert while spending their money in our beautiful City of Palm Desert. It's a win -win situation. Don't push out the business that helps the city grow? Instead we should be working on how we can improve our city. Prosper for our residents and our visitors. Welcome new residents and new tourists. I support tourism economy for the City of Palm Desert. Sincerely Basiliza Perez. Dear Mayor Harnik, I hope this finds you well. It has come to the attention of my husband and I the debate concerning the short term rental properties in Palm Desert. We are completely devastated to learn that they may possibly be banned. You see we have friends who happen to be single parents and have varying hours and the best way they have found to both be "there" for their kids as well as feed and clothe them is to make their homes available to folks who want to visit our gorgeous desert. If this is taken from them it is possible they will not be able to afford to live here. Coachella valley is not necessarily a wealth of job opportunities. It feels like a tremendous loss as well as a very nervous time for regular sometimes underpaid folks who just want to utilize what little they have, in order to survive. My friend who is terrified of losing the ability of "week end renting" was telling me last April, "Woo Hoo mama, 4 more Coachella concerts and my baby goes to College." I smiled. "Really", she said, "No joke." It would seriously hurt in many ways to see that dream and its dreamers go away. Can we not find a way to give the ordinances that were put in place this year a chance to work? Maybe give law enforcement a chance to enforce those ordinances? I hope the opposing side of this issue realizes that when a person rents a "short term rental " for 30+ days and acts inappropriately, is it not true that you would have to go through an eviction process if they refuse to leave? "Week end renters" who are loud and inappropriate are asked to leave immediately, with no refund. Law enforcement can help if they refuse to leave. Much easier. Just a little food for thought, Ms. Mayor. Please consider our pleas. Thank you for your time and also the platform. Lisa Geiger MICHELLE L. PHIPPS #1615 - 68 Smithe Street Vancouver, BC V6B 0P4 Telephone: 604-725-5864 Email: michelleohions�7a.live.conl November 7, 2017 VIA EMAIL (kswartzecitvofoalmdesert.ora) City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz Dear Mr. Swartz: Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance I have recently learned that the City of Palm Desert passed a first reading of an ordinance on October 26, 2017 to ban Short Term Rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert as of July 1, 2019. I understand that there is a second reading of this ordinance on Thursday, November 16, 2017 at City Hall. I am concerned that if this was to be passed there will be no more places to stay close to El Paseo which will be detrimental to all! I am writing you to express my opposition to ban the perspective of a repeat renter of Short Term Rental properties in the residential areas of Palm Desert close to El Paseo. Short Term Rentals in every area of the City of Palm Desert are positive for the community and the economy of Palm Desert. If Palm Desert proceeds with this ban, I will choose to rent properties in Palm Springs instead and Palm Desert will lose my vacation dollars. I would like to propose that the City implement a minimum of 4-7 nights for Short Term Rentals as a reasonable compromise. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please forward this letter to the City Council on my behalf. Sincerely, Michelle L. Phipps Cheri Steinker ± City council meeting regarding short term rentals Oct 25, 2017 at 12:04:01 PM rklassen@city.mac.com Dear City, For over a year, i have had a short term rental with airbnb for my home at 42935 Texas Avenue. Very great people have come to visit for tennis, golf and the lovely area. We have had no complaints. I am very careful to have excellent visitors and to keep my property up. Because of being widowed, this has helped to supplement my low income. I have complied with the business license. Please consider my request to continue a short term rental. It is helpful to Palm Desert citizens and to Palm Desert tourism. Please read my letter into the city council minutes. Respectfully, Cheri Steinker 42935 Texas Avenue Palm Desert 92211 Sent from my iPad November 7, 2017 VIA EMAIL (kswartz c :citvc>tpalmcicscrt.()rg) City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Dear Mr. Swartz: Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance Dear Mr. Swartz, I understand that the City of Palm Desert passed a first reading of an ordinance on October 26, 2017 to ban Short Term Rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert as of July 1, 2019 and have a second reading of this ordinance scheduled for Thursday, November 16, 2017. Should the ordinance pass, it will prevent short term rentals close to 1?1 Paseo which for me, makes renting in Palm Desert much less appealing. It is one of the reasons I chose to vacation there. I wish to state my fervent opposition to such a ban as a renter of just such a property. I strongly believe that the option of Short Term Rentals in all areas of Palm Desert can only be positive both for the community and for the economy of Palm Desert. Should Palm Desert go forward with this ban, I will be forced to choose to rent properties in Palm Springs and Palm Desert will lose my vacation dollars. Bu way of compromise, I would like to propose that the City implement a minimum of 4-7 nights for Short Perm Rentals. Thank you in advance for giving my recommendation due consideration and please share this letter with the City Council so they can also consider my request. Sincerely, Sue Street 60-12411 1'rites Road Richmond, BC \'7E 6J7 November 7, 2017 VIA EMAIL (kswartz@citvofoalmdesert.ora) City of Palm Desert Attention: Kevin Swartz 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance Dear Mr. Swartz: I have just recently learned that on October 26th, 2017, the City of Palm Desert has passed a first reading of an ordinance to ban Short Term Rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert, as of July 1st, 2019. I am told there is to be a second reading of this ordinance on Thursday, November 16th, 2017, at City Hall. I am writing you to express my opposition to this ban of Short Term Rental properties in the residential areas of Palm Desert, close to El Paseo. Short Term Rentals in every area of the City of Palm Desert are positive for the economy of Palm Desert, as well as the community, bringing in tourists who utilize the businesses in the area. If Palm Desert proceeds with this ban, I (along with many others) will choose to rent properties in Palm Springs and Palm Desert will lose my vacation dollars. I would like to propose that the City implement a minimum of 4-7 nights for Short Term Rentals as a reasonable compromise. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please forward this letter to the City Council on my behalf. Sincerely, Sue Kidd North Vancouver, BC, Canada 604-351-3390 Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 8:55 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: FW: OPPOSED TO STR ORDINANCE !!! Blind copied to the City Council. From: Walter Gaines [mailto:walteraainesvahoo.com1 Sent: Friday, November 03, 2017 12:32 PM To: Harnik, Jan; Jonathan, Sabby; Kelly, Kathleen; Nestande, Gina; anestandeCaaol.com; CityhallMail; Weber, Susan Marie Subject: [SPAM] - OPPOSED TO STR ORDINANCE !!! Walter Gaines 73734 Buckboard Trail #A Palm Desert CA 92260 Phone (858) 775-1697 Email: walterciaines@vahoo.com Date: November 3, 2017 Palm Desert City Council Hon. Mayor Jan Harnik Hon. Mayor Pro Tem Sabby Jonathan Hon. Council Member Kathleen Kelly Hon. Council Member Gina Nestande Hon. Council Member Susan Marie Weber My name is Walter Gaines and I reside with my husband, Miguel Gomez, at 73734 Buckboard Trail #A in Palm Desert. In December 2016, we purchased our second desert home in Palm Desert as our primary residence. Our plan was to rent it periodically to trusted vacationers and friends in order to alleviate some of the costs. We are experienced AirBnB SuperHosts with over 70 5-star reviews and no complaints from neighbors. We are not realtors or a corporation. We are just hard-working middle-aged people who love our desert and who are trying to survive in an economy without a lot of high -paying jobs. We took on this significant risk knowing we could periodically rent to offset expenses. Instead, we have encountered a moratorium and some very unwelcoming neighbors. We love fixing up houses and then sharing them with appreciative guests. We take pride in our homes and in our hard work as hosts. We enjoy meeting every guest and scrutinize them closely. We keep in touch daily with guests and neighbors to assure everything is going smoothly. We stay in town and assure immediate response whenever anything comes up. We provide all of the rules, regulations, and "good neighbor" brochures as required by the jurisdiction. Oftentimes, we make great friends and have repeat guests return. We have worked closely with the City Council, Staff, and have attended many meetings leading up to this month. In good faith, we told the city that we agreed that "party houses" are a bad thing and that we would help take action to get rid of them. But at some point between the meetings of last spring and this fall, the City Staff made a recommendation to the Council that completely contradicted those prior efforts. Staff was 1 apparently frightened into banning short term rentals rather than dealing with the enforcement of party houses. I was personally provided a much more reasonable recommendation earlier in the summer by Mr. Swartz, and I fully supported the terms of the proposed new ordinance. I believe we are owed an explanation for the change and why staff and City Council have not really attempted to enforce the current ordinance. The other side is spreading a message of fear, anger and selfishness. They not against short term rentals. They do not want anyone in the homes next to them. They want a return to a time when homes sat empty either because they were in foreclosure or their remote owners were just never there. They are afraid of people from the outside world and do not want to meet new people. The worst part is they include us with a world of drunk partiers, sexual predators and greedy out-of-town investors. What was on display during the October 25th meeting was utterly ridiculous fear -mongering, and it was an insult to our hard work. Our work as hosts brings income to ourselves and the local economy. Our guests go to restaurants and attractions we recommend, and that money helps to keep our local businesses afloat. We ALL rely on this revenue to thrive and improve. These local businesses are a huge part of our valley's recovery. It is no accident that the success of services like AirBnB has come at the same time as the recession has abated. We personally have felt the burdens of the old economy lifted and have reinvested earnings into our properties. Values have improved and the whole neighborhood is lifted up. We should be welcoming this type of investment, not frightening people away. Finally, we are sick and tired of this controversy and want it over. These signs convey a hostile message that tells visitors to "Get out. We don't want you here." Please do not fall for these fear tactics and make the mistake of banning short term rentals. PLEASE come up with a reasonable -- enforceable -- ordinance so that we can get on with our lives in a bit more harmony. And when the ordinance is in place, you can count on us to help this city enforce its terms. Thank you. Sincerely, Walter D. Gaines Palm Desert CA 2 Swartz, Kevin From: Adi Gross <pdvacationrentals@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 5:20 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: [SPAM] - STR Violators Attachments: HomeAway STR Non Compliant .pdf Mr. Swartz, I have owned a short term vacation rental company in Palm Desert for many years and run a tight ship. I would like to share with you some of the things we do in order to keep our neighborhoods disturbance free and successfully coexist with full time property owners. First we get to know the neighbors surrounding all of our rentals. We give them a refrigerator magnet with our contact information and encourage them to contact us day or night as the first responder for any issues that may come up. We let them know that we want to hear everything...from over occupancy to noise to profanity being used in the back yard. This has worked very well for us because it does let the neighbors know that we care and it opens up a line of communication between us. They do call us with issues but mostly it is to let us know that there is a broken sprinkler in the front yard that needs addressing...this is also very helpful. We engage these neighbors in conversation each time we see them outside during our check in and check out procedures and we ask them how things are going. Our second line of defense is our service crew. Our housekeeping staff, pool guys and gardeners are always the same people for all our properties and report to me with anything that they see which may cause issues. On one occasion our pool man spotted 7 pairs of sandals in the back yard of a 2 bedroom home and went to the trash to find 2 empty boxes that contained air mattresses. I was surprised that the neighbors had not called me about this over occupancy and glad that the pool man caught it. Those guests were immediately evicted for breaking the rental agreement. We get hundreds of requests for special events and the music festivals. In the last 2 years we have been sending out a list of rules to every guest requesting a reservation, 1 asking them to abide and agree to this document before we move forward with the reservation phase. This list of rules has the city mandates, along with a few of our own, and states that the consequences for breaking the rules is an immediate eviction without a refund. Needless to say, the hundreds of reservation requests turn into 12 and that is exactly what we want. This helps us to cultivate a great clientele that is respectful and books year after year. I live and manage a stable of properties at The Palm Desert Country Club as well as other cities. I have seen a lot of changes in my community which to all of us full time residents is a wonderful place to live and protect. The many full time rental properties that were once unkempt and made the neighborhood look shabby, slowly have turned into fully renovated rentals that are pristine bringing up not only our property values but also our pride for the community that we all love. Our golf course, which we consider historic, is on its second owner/developer. You allowed the first owner to build homes on every inch of our open space and he went bankrupt anyway. These homes that look nothing like the existing homes in our neighborhood are rentals and in most cases empty most of the year. The current owner of the golf course at Palm Desert Country Club will be allowed to build even more homes on the short course which, if we learn from the lessons of the past, will turn into full time rentals assuming they will actually be purchased. It is hard for me to understand why the council would pay such special attention to a group of homeowners in one neighborhood that doesn't want STRs and not give the same consideration to the residents of the Palm Desert Country Club that face this new development and are complaining about more noise, traffic, cars and a decline of their quality of life. Should one group of homeowners affect the financial well-being of everyone else outside of their neighborhoods? Should they be allowed to affect the home values of other neighborhoods that economically gain from STRs which create jobs? Should they be allowed to put small business out of business? While The Palm Desert Country Club golf course struggled year after year, I was curious to know how much of an economical impact my rentals made to the course._In the early part of 2016 I called all of the guests that stayed in our rentals in 2015 and asked them how many times they had played our home course. That number came to 90K in golf play and it doesn't include how much they spent on food and drink at the clubhouse or on golf at neighboring country clubs. The 3 night minimum brings in a lot of golfers to STRs and if increased to a 5-7 night minimum, it would financially impact struggling golf courses not tied to hotels there by ruining smaller communities like ours. People come here to play golf on weekends and support the golf course which is why our HOA and the majority of the people in our community support STRs. 2 The problem is compliance and the city's inability to enforce the rules and mandates until recently. Compliance is really not that difficult to police, you just find the bad apples and get rid of them before they infect us all. I spent a few hours yesterday morning and just by looking at HomeAway found 135 STRs that were non complaint. I have attached the list along with links to each property and their violations below. The dates on the list reflect the year the properties first advertised on Homeaway. Some go as far back as 2003 and the most recent are from 2017. If the compliance department actually had a game plan and was enforcing the rules, we would never have gotten to this point and we would not be seeing listings on HomeAway from 2003 that are non compliant. Many of these violators are in communities that will be allowed to operate as STRs. Aside from the STRs on this list, there are about 50 other 28 to 30 day minimum properties that are huge violators and are probably being mistaken for STRs. All of these properties have high levels of occupancy and not enough bedrooms. I have seen 3 bedroom homes that sleep 15 on HomeAway. These non STRs should also be regulated by the city for occupancy levels, parking and noise if you want to really have an impact on neighborhood disturbance. I am sure that you realize that these properties that claim they are 28 to 30 day minimums really do rent short term on occasion. Also, the hotline number in my opinion was a good idea but I am sure that you are getting the same people calling over and over again not really giving you a good snapshot of violations throughout Palm Desert. I hope that this council will not be known as the body that created a a huge negative financial impact to our city by hurting us small business owners, real estate agents, struggling golf courses and small communities that rely on the revenue stream that has been created. Rather, I hope that you will tighten your own ship and train code compliance to do a better job --one that produces results before putting a lot of people out of work and a lot of homeowners of STRs to sell and invest in other cities. It is wiser in my opinion to allow some time for compliance to work before driving the STRs underground and accomplishing nothing. Respectfully, 3 Adi Gross 760-333-6996[eU .iDdvacadonrenta|s.corn 4 Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 8:49 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: FW: - RE: Short Term Rentals Blind copied to the City Council Original Message From: Nate Porter [mailto:natep@ARCReports.com] Sent: Monday, November 06, 2017 10:05 AM To: Nestande, Gina; CityhallMail Cc: gad@cdaronline.org; teamhopere@gmail.com Subject: [SPAM] - RE: Short Term Rentals Gina: There was year moratorium to gather this data yet as you said nobody seems to be able to produce data that supports a complete ban in R1 and R2 zones. I find this very disturbing. I bought a house in shambles and completely restored it to its midcentury glory. The appraised value of the home went from $220K to $460K in six months. All this work was done by LOCAL businesses! I see homes all along my street that are vacant for 6-9 months a year that are falling apart. I'm scared that that investors will no longer buy homes in Palm Desert knowing they cannot recapture the cost to fix up the home. I am 45 years old with young kids. I grew up in the Northwest coming to the desert quite frequently as a child. One of the goals in my life was to buy a vacation home in the desert for my family and friends to use and that we would move to once our kids are out of our house. I was fortunate to find a house that needed a lot of work as that was all we could afford to spend. We specifically knew we'd have to rent it out once in a while to recoup the money we spent on fixing it up. We specifically chose our neighborhood because it was not a gated community. We love the different looking homes, and folks we meet every day but if this law is passed we most likely will have to sell our home and find another community in the desert. I applaud your initial no vote and choosing to address the real problem which is lack of enforcement on those who break rules. I hope that others on the council can be informed of the impact this decision is making on the economy. Nathan Porter CFO/Owner American Reporting Company cell: 206.851.1922 work: 425.563.1900 ext. 1973 email: natep@arcreports.com 1 Original Message From: gnestande@cityofpalmdesert.org [mailto:gnestande@cityofpalmdesert.org] Sent: Sunday, November 5, 2017 8:23 PM To: Nate Porter Cc: gad@cdaronline.org; teamhopere@gmail.com Subject: RE: Short Term Rentals Nate, I asked our City Manager for this same information and was not able to obtain it. It will be citizens like you that may help get this information. I will ask again as well. I copied Paul Herrera on this email and Darcy Hope as they are taking a lead role in helping to organize. Thank you, Gina Nestande From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Friday, November 03, 2017 9:01 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: FW: Short Term Rentals Blind copied to the City Council From: Nate Porter [mailto:natep@ARCReports.com] Sent: Friday, November 03, 2017 8:49 AM To: CityhallMail; weber Cc: Swartz, Kevin Subject: [SPAM] - FW: Short Term Rentals Please look at how ridiculous it is to ban good citizens of your city from renting their home to BETTER the neighborhood and the businesses that support it. It is with utmost importance you take the route of actually enforcing stricter rules and addressing those who have created this problem and not hurt those who are helping Palm Desert thrive with houses that are maintained and guests that are not causing any issues. Palm Desert is a destination city that is not changing. I drive down Fairway (where my home is) and see a bunch of vacant homes the majority of the year. They are an eyesore and if you adopt this plan you are going to see a lot more of these in our neighborhoods. Also the larger management companies will find ways to still rent to folks using 30 day co -tenancy and other options that are completely legal. You are not solving the problem by stopping those of us who follow rules and screen residents. A lot of the folks who fought to ban these types of homes used to rent them before they became residents. A lot of them have homes in other communities also that they rent. This all sweeping choice is not only prejudice and unfair it is downright un-American. I urge you to vote against the current banning of all short term rentals and look towards a very strict enforcement policy that addresses those rentals that caused these noise and parking issues in the first place. We do not need a return to the Palm Desert of the housing recession because of a few folks who break rules. Also has there been any records kept of the current properties that offend? I have scoured the site for information but have not found anything. It seems quite unusual to make such sweeping changes when you don't even have a grasp on how often it is happening. There is definitely a vocal minority that been quite outspoken but does anyone have any actual data they can share to prove this is widespread? 2 I know that I'm going to start thinking about selling my current home and buying in a desert city that allows for good folks to earn income on their property if this passes. Nate Porter [cid:image001.png@010353CC.E547FB501 Nathan Porter CFO/Owner American Reporting Company cell: 206.851.1922 work: 425.563.1900 ext. 1973 email: natep@arcreports.com<mailto:natep@arcreports.com> From: Nate Porter Sent: Thursday, November 2, 2017 11:23 AM To: kswartz@cityofpalmdesert.org<mailto:kswartz@cityofpalmdesert.org> Subject: Short Term Rentals November 2, 2017 VIA EMAIL (kswartz@cityofpalmdesert.org<mailto:kswartz@cityofpalmdesert.org>) City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz Dear Mr. Swartz: Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance I write to express my support STRs throughout the City of Palm Desert, in every neighborhood, not just in planned residential communities. STRs have revived the City of Palm Desert and keep the economy going year-round. We have beautiful neighborhoods again when we did not during the recession. If there are problems with noise and parking, then what is required is simply better regulation and better enforcement. I believe that increasing the minimum nights for rent to 4-7 nights from the current 2 nights would solve many of the problems that I understand some residents complain about. The goal is to eliminate the renters who are here to party, not to turn away the great renters who come to Palm Desert because they love our neighborhood. These renters spend their money in our city and sustain local businesses. I am greatly concerned for the property values in the R1 and R2 zones if this ban goes into effect. In the current economic climate, people want the flexibility to be able to rent out their homes for short periods of a week or so 3 to supplement their incomes or to cover their costs. If they do not have this opportunity, they will purchase elsewhere, thereby decreasing property values. This ordinance is contrary to the best interest of all of Palm Desert and I strongly urge the City Council to reject it on second reading. Please forward this email on to the City Council. Sincerely, Nathan Porter 74656 Fairway Dr Palm Desert, CA 92260 natep@arcreports.com<mailto:natep@arcreports.com> [cid:image001.png@01D353CC.E547FB50] Nathan Porter CFO/Owner American Reporting Company cell: 206.851.1922 work: 425.563.1900 ext. 1973 email: natep@arcreports.com<mailto:natep@arcreports.com> This email is the property of American Reporting Company LLC. This e-mail message (including attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). It contains confidential, proprietary or legally protected information. Any unauthorized disclosure or use of the contents of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, notify the sender immediately and destroy all copies of the original message. 4 HomeAwaT November 6, 2017 Robert Hargreaves City Attorney 73510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 CC: City Manager Lauri Aylaian CC: Mayor and Members of the City Council Dear Mr. Hargreaves, We understand that it is the intent of the City of Palm Desert to present Ordinance No. 1332 as a second reading for adoption at the City Council meeting on November 16, 2017. The full title of Ordinance No. 1332 is "An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California, approving amendments to Palm Desert Municipal Code Chapter 5.10 Short -Term Rentals in regards to enforcement, operational standards, communication, and density requirements for short-term rentals within the City of Palm Desert." We believe Ordinance No. 1332 should be re -introduced as a first reading on November 16, due to the substantial and significant changes made from the dais at the City Council meeting on October 26, 2017. These changes included the removal of all references to "temporary short-term rental permits" and the replacement of Section 5.10.070(c) with the following: Existing short-term rental permits in R-1 and R-2 zones may be renewed if otherwise qualified, but all such short-term rental permits shall terminate, and such uses permanently cease operation, by July 1, 2019. Additional renewal for operation beyond July 1, 2019 may be granted only by the City Manager based on the criteria outlined in 25.34.140 "Exceptions Based on Unconstitutional Takings" This pre -written language was not included in the draft ordinances included in the meeting agenda, nor did the staff report contemplate the idea of terminating all short-term rental permits in R-1 and R-2 zones. Had homeowners known the City Council would terminate their permits, their comments submitted in writing and in person at the public hearing would have been completely different, potentially changing the outcome of the meeting. While the City may argue that presenting the amended ordinance for adoption on November 16 does not violate the letter of the law, we believe it certainly violates the spirit of the law and raises questions about the city's commitment to openness and transparency. In the interest of ensuring the public has an adequate opportunity to review and provide input on this important policy, and minimizing exposure to legal challenges pursuant to the Brown Act, we respectfully request the City re -introduce Ordinance No. 1332 at the November 16 City Council meeting. Sincerely, 1011 W. Fifth Street. Ste. 300 j Austin. TX 78703 512.684.1 100 ! Fax 512.505.1993 I www.homeaway.com Walter Gonzales SW Regional Manager of Government Affairs 1011 W. Frith Street, Ste. 300 I Austin, TX 78703 512.684.11001 Fax 512.505.1993 I www.homeaway.com Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 8:34 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: FW: SHORT TERM VACATION RENTALS Blind copied to the City Council Original Message From: Mary Suarez fmailto:marvesuarez@vahoo.coml Sent: Friday, November 03, 2017 6:56 PM To: CityhallMail Subject: SHORT TERM VACATION RENTALS City Council, I am writing this as a concerned resident of Palm Desert as well as a STR owner. My husband and I have been coming to the desert for over 30 years, renting single family homes, in R-1 and R-2 and PR-1 zones, with private pools. We are frankly horrified that the City Council of Palm Desert would literally ban STR permits, without FIRST, ENFORCING existing laws and enacting new laws that need to be adhered to. There are 98% GREAT STR owners and management companies, with 2% being the rotten eggs I agree, we NEED TO ENFORCE LAWS and GET RID OF THE ROTTEN EGGS, but to literally STOP STR's is unfair, unjust and unacceptable. People will just go around you, go underground and everyone looses! The city make a lot of money on TOT's and our city NEEDS the tourists. Every year, the same people come from Canada, Chicago, New York and Boston to vacation with US, in our beautiful Palm Desert city. They want a single family home with a private pool! If we don't give them what they want, THEY WILL FIND ANOTHER PLACE TO GO! That is the truth. PLEASE RECONSIDER your last vote and ALLOW ALL STR's to operate and thrive, and LET'S GIVE ENFORCEMENT A CHANCE. Thank you for your time, Mary Suarez Palm Desert Resident 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 8:34 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Message re: STR FW: Support our tourism economy Blind copied to the City Council From: Dulce McMillon [mailto:dvazauez9211@amail.coml Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2017 5:07 PM To: CityhallMail Subject: Support our tourism economy I support our tourism economy . Banning vacation rentals will drive visitors away and harm out local business. Hello, My name is Mark Forsyth, I live in South Palm Desert and I have short term rental properties around me. I have attended a couple meetings and have read through the minutes, I have also read some of the written testimonies and have heard the residents as they spoke from the podium. I am troubled by a couple things. First: I have to say that I have not had the same experience as some of my neighbors and I feel as though possibly, with the exception of Coachella fest weekends, the situation is really not as bad as is being presented and with the proper enforcement tools in place can be managed to everyone's satisfaction. The city unfortunately has been behind the curve on this one and now it's gotten to a point where the residents are very upset. The rental property behind my house has outdoor lighting and a sound system that along with the occupants' conversations will spill into my bedroom at night as I am trying to sleep. However, that said it does not keep me up all night and they make no more noise than my permanent full time next door neighbor who will have parties with more cars and people than any rental property. They block my driveway and leave me nowhere to park on the street in front of my house. Full time residents will have party's. Full time residents will make noise. At least these renters go home at the end of the week or weekend. My main concern is the revenue, so far as I have attended meetings and read through the minutes the only mention of revenue is that of the TOT $1.8M annually. There has been no mention of how that translates into and up to as much as $3M in earnings for our restaurants, stores, boutiques, coffee houses, the Living Desert, service people, your pool man or favorite repair technician. These are just a few examples of auxiliary businesses run by and employed with tax paying residents of Palm Desert that will suffer financial hardships from such a ban. Local residents, seasonal residents and long-term renters are not the daily foot traffic that keep the lights on. I know this because I am a resident and a business owner. My bread and butter customer is the short-term renter, the family 2 and 3 generations deep renting a home so the whole family can be together under one roof not separated by hotel rooms. Without them I am out of business and I am not the only one. There absolutely needs to be a financial impact report done. The city needs to know how much revenue will be lost beyond sacrificing $500k or so in TOT's. There are a lot of families out there that depend upon the short-term renter. It would be a mistake to compare our community with others such as Santa Monica, Hermosa Beach and San Diego. These are communities in large metropolitan areas with much industry to drive their economies. Palm Desert has no other industry as large that employs as many people as tourism. We residents of Palm Desert chose to live in a resort community. Palm Desert has allowed the short-term rental market to flourish creating an opportunity for many of its residents to make a living. These are good things, jobs have been created, money is made and returned right back into our economy. The city would be remised in thinking this only pertains to homeowners that wish to rent out their property. The city of Palm Desert allowed short term rentals to flourish and now has two responsibilities. One is to the residents with legitimate noise complaints and the other is to its residents that make a living from short-term renters. We are all tax payers and we all have a right to make a living and we all have a right to live in a safe quiet community. Do not displace us, any of us. The answer is not to cripple and or eliminate all together the only industry we have because of a few bad apples. The city of Palm Desert needs to be able to enforce noise ordinances and crowed control so the residents are not inconvenienced by the obnoxious party house and feel safe in their neighborhoods. While at the same time allowing short-term rentals to continue and allow for the tax paying residents who have built successful businesses and have created jobs around tourism to continue to make a living and provide for their families. Also allowing their employees the opportunity to provide for their families. There have been many good suggestions on how to enforce the rules. Please give enforcement a chance. In Palm Springs since they have had to tackle the same situation, complaints are under control. Let's give Palm Desert the same opportunity. Thank you for your time, Sincerely Mark Forsyth Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 8:28 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Message re: STR FW: Thank You Blind copied to the City Council From: Karen Casier fmailto:bassetsrgr8@dc.rr.coml Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 8:11 AM To: CityhallMail Subject: Thank You Dear Mayor Harnik and Council Members, We just wanted to say thank you to all of the City Council members for taking the time to review the short term rental issue and hear out Palm Desert residents on their concerns and problems with this matter. I know you spent a lot of time, along with the Planning Commission, reviewing the concerns and coming up with a suitable plan to go forward on this issue. My husband and I are extremely happy with your votes to end short term rentals in the R-1 and R-2 residential zones. We think it was the right decision and appreciate your support with this difficult issue. Again, thank you for your support to end the short term rentals in residential areas! With much appreciation, Karen and Bryan Casier 73175 Deer Grass Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 760-776-1952 BassetsRgr8@dc.rr.com 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 8:30 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: FW: Short Term Rental in Palm Desert Blind copied to the City Council From: Keith Sansone fmailto:ksansone@dfrd.coml Sent: Monday, November 06, 2017 3:10 PM To: CityhallMail Subject: Short Term Rental in Palm Desert Good Afternoon, I work with Sullivan's Steakhouse here in Palm Desert. I have been here for 4 years and have had a chance to see our business grow and flourish here in The Desert. A big portion of our business both in and out of season is from guests coming to visit our beautiful city. Not only are they bringing income for those they rent from but they help all of our businesses in the retail and service industry. Short Term Renters are great for us because they are coming in for a short stay with no thought of cooking for themselves but planning on dining out in one of the many fantastic restaurants we have here in Palm Desert. If I am fortunate enough for them to choose Sullivan's and we are able to exceed their expectations we can possibly get them to come in again before they leave or at the very least they will spread the word of what a fantastic time they had with us to all friends that live here and are going to visit. Banning STR is not healthy for the economy, our business and our employees livelihoods. These renters will go to the other cities nearby and find other spots to dine at that are closer to them. I support enforcement and not a ban. Let us be able to share Palm Desert to everyone. No matter how long or short they want to stay with us. Keith V Sansone Regional Director "Celednabny Life in'esfauranfr" Sullivan's Steakhouse Palm Desert, Austin, Anchorage Baton Rouge, Leawood, Omaha ksansone@dfrg.com sullivanssteakhouse.com 312-498-1375 Cell 1 November 6, 2017 VIA EMAIL(kswartzt.a'�_citvofpalmdesert.ora) City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz Dear Mr. Swartz: Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance I appreciate your time last week to discuss with me on the phone, the Short -Term Rental Ordinance that was voted on at the council meeting on October 26th, 2017. I wanted to send a response for the record. I am a responsible owner of a Short -Term Rental and I am very opposed to the recent ban on Short Term Rentals in the R1 and R2 zones in South Palm Desert that was passed on first reading by the City Council. I am concerned about this ordinance and the impact that it will have on the Palm Desert community, the economy of Palm Desert, the city revenues and the property values in our neighborhood. It is far too extreme a measure to correct the problems of noise and party houses in the residential areas. It is also very unfair that just the R1 and R2 neighborhoods have been singled out, but that STRs are still allowed in the planned residential communities. This arbitrary distinction does not solve the problems that the City Council stated it was trying to correct: noise, different neighbors all the time, and excessive parking. I believe that the answer is better regulation, not a zone -specific ban that is unfairly discriminatory. STR owners have improved the entire neighborhood of south Palm Desert. It is now beautiful and well -maintained when it was not in 2010-2012 during the recession. As a Short Term Rental owner and operator, I take steps to ensure that my renters abide by the Short Term Rental Rules. To correct the problems identified by some of the long-term residents in Palm Desert, I would like to suggest some constructive changes that I believe would be acceptable to the city and supported by the other Short - Term Rental owners that I've talked to: 1. Increase the minimum nightly rental from three nights, to 4-7 nights. This would eliminate the party houses. 2 2. More quiet hours- disallow outside music after 9pm on weeknights and 10pm on weekends. 3. Limit the total number of persons allowed to stay at a house to a maximum of 2 per bedroom up to a total maximum of 10-12 persons with special allowances for small children. 4. Maintain the increased fines and penalties for violations of rules. 5. Increase the cost of the permit to allow for more enforcement dollars. 6. Require damage deposits from renters so that they can be fined and those fines can be collected. 7. Limit the total number of STR permits in each area so as to avoid large concentrations in one area. Grandfather existing STRs permits and allow attrition to take effect and over time, reach the desired numbers. Create a waiting list so that as people move, others can be in line for the permits. Or have a lottery to sell STR permits (revenue opportunity for the city!) As I stated in our conversation on the phone, if this ban goes into effect, I believe these will be consequences, among others; 1. People taking vacations will rent in Palm Springs instead of Palm Desert, taking all their vacation dollars with them. Businesses along El Paseo will suffer. 2. Property values in south Palm Desert will decline significantly. Many owners will have to sell. Trying to sell a home that is not rentable will depress values perhaps leading to foreclosures. These foreclosures, when vacant, could lead to squatters, property damage, increased police calls, and a general deterioration of what makes Palm Desert wonderful. Disallowing STRs will drive purchasers to other areas where they are allowed. 3. The City will lose tax revenues that could be spent on better enforcement of stricter rules for STRs. This ordinance is contrary to the best interest of all of Palm Desert and I strongly urge the City Council to reject it on second reading. Please forward this email on to the City Council. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, GL,-, -07-1--ta_ Craig Rhodes 73752 Shadow Lake Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Phone 425.443.0299 Email Rhodes.craig@outlook.com Swartz, Kevin From: Patty Reed <pattyreedplmdsrt@aol.com> Sent: Monday, November 06, 2017 9:08 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Short term rentals Dear Kevin Swartz, As residents of Palm Desert for more than 30 years my husband and I were relieved and elated that you, the Mayor, and the other City Council members listened to the concerns of your residents and decided to maintain the integrity of the R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. We love our city and especially our neighborhood where we have developed a network of friends who respect each other and help each other when it is needed. We look forward to many more years of living in Palm Desert, patronizing local businesses, volunteering within the city, and enjoying the peace and quiet of our neighborhood — all of which drew us to purchase a home in south Palm Desert so many years ago. We appreciate the many hours you spent working to craft a solution to satisfy the needs of the residents of R-1 and R- 2 neighborhoods as well as owners of rental properties. Nevertheless, we are delighted that there will he a return to a previous ordinance that limited short term rentals in R-1 neighborhoods to a minimum of 30 days. Thank you for listening to the many stakeholders and respecting the opinions on both sides of the debate. With hest regards, Richard and Patricia Reed 72810 Tamarisk St Palm Desert CA 92260 1 Swartz, Kevin From: LARRY REEDY <Irst7@yahoo.com> Sent: Monday, November 06, 2017 10:17 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Short Term Vacation Rentals Thank you for your favorable vote on short term vacation rentals. It is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Larry Reedy 72816 Bel Air Rd. Palm Desert, Ca. 11/06/2017 Dear Palm Desert City Council Members: My name is Barbara Marrs, and I am a high school teacher and a resident in Phelan, California (the High Desert). For years I have been spending the early part of my summer vacation in Palm Desert. During all of my Palm Desert stays I have enjoyed the wonderful variety of fine dining establishments, shopping centers, cultural events, flea markets, and hiking trails, and the beautiful desert environment and peace and serenity that your city has to offer. Last year, when the condo I usually rent was not available, I registered on AirBnB and found Anna's wonderful mid-century home that booked for 10 days in June, 2017. My stay was thoroughly delightful, especially because my daughter and I could take advantage of our "own" pool right on the property, and the location of Anna's home was central to so many of the restaurants, shopping centers, and College of the Desert events that we wanted to partake of. It is incredulous to me that a ban on short-term rentals was even proposed by the Palm Desert City Council. I always spent my vacation money in the City of Palm Desert —not the adjacent cities of Palm Springs, Indio, La Quinta, etc. —because your city offers me everything I need! And, as I mentioned previously, I have been coming to vacation in Palm Desert for years —it is absolutely what I and my family look forward to every single year. If short-term rentals are banned in your city, I will not be coming out to the Palm Desert/Palm Springs area at all! I will have to research another vacation spot, like Temecula or Santa Barbara. I will miss visiting your desert area greatly, but there is no other place I wish to rent a home or condo other than the City of Palm Desert. Kindly reconsider your ban on short-term rentals. I can't be the only one who looks forward to a yearly stay in your city and is quite willing to spend money in your stores and establishments and events. Respectfully, Barbara Marrs All my best, A Tillbrook Sent from my iPhone November 5, 2017 To the Palm Desert City Council: We are a retired couple from Seattle who love to come to Palm Desert every year to get some sun and enjoy the many activities of the Coachella Valley. This year we spent eight days, renting a lovely house on Hedgehog Street through Airbnb. It was perfect for us, providing privacy, quiet, and space that we previously were not able to find in hotels. It was definitely our most satisfying visit to Palm Desert. While there, we dined out every night and sometimes at lunch; shopped El Paseo, attended movies; hired a tour guide; bought groceries, gasoline, and souvenirs; and rented a car, among other ways in which we contributed to the local economy. We enjoyed the proximity to parks and hiking trails as well as the atmosphere of a quiet, beautiful residential neighborhood. We are dismayed to hear that the council is considering preventing short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods. This would limit our vacation housing choices in the future, as well as those of many other visitors. There are many possible sunny destinations within our reach —Hawaii, Phoenix, Baja, New Mexico —that offer diverse lodging choices, but our experience this year in Palm Desert was unique, and we fully intend to repeat it —if permitted. We urge you to continue to allow this arrangement, as those in other cities and countries have done so successfully. Sincerely, Prof. R.J. Wilkes Roberta Wilkes Seattle, WA All my best, Anna... aka Ainslee Sent from my iPhone Hello We are shocked that Palm Desert would consider a complete ban on short-term rentals. We always use a short-term rental for our winter and summer travel. We have rented in Palm Desert three times in the past seven years. Bill volunteers at the Indian Wells BNP Paribas Tennis event in March. I spend my time seeking out local venues, shops, the bakery at the library and other hidden gems in Palm Desert. We stay for the month and usually eat half of our meals in and half in area restaurants. We frequent Trader Joe's, area grocery stores, farmers market and the weekend market for our in -home meal needs. We shop on El Paseo and in the mall and smaller stores. We attend the Catholic Church, contribute money weekly and support any fundraisers that occur during the month, including the Friday Lenten dinners. We enjoy local entertainment and often invite friends from Colorado to join us for a few days, taking them out to eat and shop. Staying in a hotel for a month would be cost -prohibitive for us. We prefer a home -like setting and care for our "home away from home" as well as or better than our own home. We are always respectful of neighbors and the neighborhood. If short-term rentals were not available in Palm Desert, we would choose another locale in the U.S. In which to spend our time and money. We are looking forward to our stay this winter and certainly encourage the Council to reconsider the ban and the ultimate economic impact that it will have on the area. Best regards, William and Mary DesOrmeau A Til'brook To the Palm Desert City Council: My family and I have stayed in Palm Desert four times in the last three years. We like the area very much and recently stayed in an Airbnb house and an Airbnb condo. I would like to continue to be able to rent. We stayed in a house recently that had a pool and was a wonderful place for us because we could hike and bike from the house. We are also interested in buying property in Palm Desert and would consider renting it out because we are working and can't be there all the time. So if the law passes that we couldn't rent or rent our own property we would be less inclined to come to Palm Desert Thanks. Barbara Lloyd Portland, Or Barb Lloyd 503-320-1179 All my best, Ainslee Swartz, Kevin From: Darryl Moore <dmoore@catanzarite.com> Sent: Monday, November 06, 2017 6:09 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Palm Desert Fee Estimate Kevin - Per our conversation, I would like to get estimates of city fees for our project. Yo9u said I should send you an outline of what I think we might build. Based on our last meeting, we are re -thinking everything. I believe we will downsize storage to around 12 acres total. There would be about 150,000 sf of bldgs. and about 80,000sf of covered RV storage. We think we will propose the balance of the site to be various apartment communities totaling around 1250 units. The unit mix would be roughly 50:50 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom. The one bedrooms would average about 750sf and the 2 bedrooms would average about 1000sf. Is this enough information to estimate the various building and impact fees? Also I need to get the school fees. Let me know if I need to provide any other information. Darryl E. Moore Vice President Aetis Builders. Inc. General 13uildine & hnsincering C'tmlractt,r, License No. 86566:; 22365 13Ltrt in Rtrul. Suite 200 Grant) -Terrace. C'A 92313 Direct Dial/Mobile: (626) 827-4496 Direct Fax: (714) 399-0584 Office Phone: (909) 825-S022 Office Fax: (909) 264-3262 / Llk NOTICE This I- -mail (including attachments) is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. 18 U S.0 §§ 2510-2521. is confidential may be legally privileged and exempt from disclosure under applicable law It you are not the intended recipient. you are hereby notified that any retention. dissemination. distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited If you have received this e-mail in error. please (i) notify the sender immediately that you have received the message in error, (ii) delete the message and all copies• and (lig) do not disclose. distribute or use the message in any manner We have taken precautions to minimize the risk of transmitting software viruses, but we advise you to carry out your own virus checks on any attachment to this message We cannot accept liability for any loss or damage caused by software viruses Thank you 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Sergio Solari <solari1258@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, November 06, 2017 12:45 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Change in Rental Bylaws Mr. Kevin Swartz City Planning Department City of Palm Desert Dear Mr. Schwartz, I am writing this as I am deeply concerned about the new bylaw that is in the works in the City of Palm Desert, that will effect short term rentals. I am a frequent visitor to Palm Desert and I have always enjoyed staying there for a vacation, with my family. I have enjoyed the Short Term Rentals, near El Paseo Drive, as our family can walk down to the main strip and enjoy the many restaurants and shopping and still have an enjoyable, affordable break. I have always enjoyed this type of rental as we can take a short break from our lives and take in what the area has to offer. I always come there, as a family, and rent a large home, because we enjoy the community, how quiet it is, and how well the housing we have stayed in has been managed. There are many other Canadians that we know that enjoy the same benefits of the area and if you change the bylaw we will have to go somewhere else for a vacation, because we can only commit to 7 days maximum. I urge you to reject this proposal as it will definitely effect business, which is essential to the livelihood of the area. A reasonable compromise would be a 7 night minimum stay, an option I am strongly in favour of supporting. Thank you for considering this appeal. Please forward my comments opposing this ban to the City Council. Sergio Solari 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Debbie Houston <debbie_a_houston@yahoo.com> Sent: Monday, November 06, 2017 12:20 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Fw: Palm Desert STR Ordinance Good morning Kevin from Scotland in the UK. sent this last week but have not had any repsonse to date. I am wondering if you would be able to help me with any of the information requested? I know you have been communicating with Tracey Jackson who I am also in touch with and we do very much appreciate your help this far. Kind regards Debbie Houston Forwarded message From: Debbie Houston <debbie a houston@vahoo.com> To: citvhall@ citvofpalmdesert.orq <citvhall@citvofpalmdesert.ora> Sent: Tuesday, 31 October 2017, 22:03:28 GMT Subject: Palm Desert STR Ordinance Good afternoon, I was wondering if this email could be passed to Gina Nestande. I am the Scottish lady that flew over especially for the meeting last Thursday night and was the first person to speak as one of the affected R1/R2 homeowners. I am wondering if you can confirm a few things for me. Living in Scotland at the moment but hoping to retire to Palm Desert I am not 100% sure of how things work within your council. Although I intend to take a much keener interest in how all this works. Could you confirm there will be a second reading of the motion for the Ordinace to ban STR's in Palm Desert from July 1 2019 on November 16? If this is the case is there a further opportunity for people like myself to have the option to speak again? I feel that the homeowners were not represented well at all at that meeting. Furthermore I have spent a great deal of time contacting homeowners who were unaware that 1. there was a meeting at all, as they had not been notified by the City and 2. would have definitely attended had they know that there was even the slightest chance that this ban could be an option council were considering. It was not even part of the agenda that I picked up that day of the meeting. Even though this motion was voted on 4.1, and I very much appreciate you voting against, what exactly does this mean? Is that it or could it be reconsidered and revoted on? And if it is an option to relook at it how do we "lobby" (if this is the right term of phrase) the councillors to get them to reconsider? 1 Also where am I able to find information relating to rentals in Palm Desert for instance the amount of homes rented in total, the amount in R1/R2 and where these zones are. The TOT that each zone contributes to the $1.8 million the city receives in TOT. The amount of complaints there were and when. What areas they came from and was there more than one for certain properties and what the complaints were. Is there a specific department or email address I can send my questions to or a department that can be visited to get this information or can it be found online? I feel very let down by the City that they are going to penalize homeowners like myself that offer a legitimate rental to people that want to stay in these neighbourhoods and that will now be descriminated against because of some other homeowners that are not adhering to the existing rules there are. And with all due respect to people in planned residential, these are not places myself included that some people want to rent in. I wholeheartedly believe that there should have been an opportunity for enforcement to work and other solutions to have been out on the table before this decision was made. I absolutely sympathise with the people affected by these party houses and they should be dealt with accordingly, both the renters and the homeowners. None of us want these types of people in our homes and certainly not as neighbours. At no time have I been notified by the City even though you have my address in Scotland as you mail my permit to me there. I only found out last Monday evening at 10pm while I was in Scotland and had to scramble to get a flight on the Wednesday to attend the meeting on the Thursday returning home on Sunday. Since the meeting I have spoken to a lot of people, homeowners, management rental companies, stores on El Paseo, people in restaurants, business owners and also people on vacation about this. There is an underlying sense that this has not been handled well by the City both with how it has been kept quiet up to this meeting and the outcome and affect it will have on the City. So I am hoping that you can email me back with the answers to my questions. 1 do plan to come back and attend the meeting on November 19 especially if there is an option to speak as I think there are a good number of things that can be done to change this ordinance that will be a solution to all stakeholders in this situation. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Kind regards Debbie Houston 2 Swartz, Kevin From: David Foutz <dgfoutz@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, November 06, 2017 8:16 AM To: Harnik, Jan; Aylaian, Lauri; Jonathan, Sabby; Kelly, Kathleen; Weber, Susan Marie; Stendell, Ryan; Swartz, Kevin Dear City Leaders, As single family residents of Palm Desert since 1990 we would like to thank you for your insightful and courageous vote to no longer permit short term rentals in single-family residential areas within the city of Palm Desert. While we understand this was a complex and difficult decision, we strongly affirm your decision as the correct one to maintain the wonderful quality of life in Palm Desert. Thank you again for maintaining our neighborhoods for residents and neighbors to keep Palm Desert as the premier community in the Coachella Valley. Gratefully, David and Marty Foutz 45687 Verba Santa Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Sent from Mail for Windows 10 Virus -free. www.avast.com 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Victoria Luick <vluick@icloud.com> Sent: Monday, November 06, 2017 8:26 AM To: Aylaian, Lauri; Harnik, Jan; sjohnathan@cityofpalmdesert.org; Kelly, Kathleen; Weber, Susan Marie; Stendell, Ryan; Swartz, Kevin Subject: Thank you! Dear Mayor, Council Members and City Staff, We really appreciate your support in maintaining the integrity of the R- land R-2 neighborhoods in banning future short term rentals effective July 1, 2019 and the changes in proposed fines, etc. We enjoy our Palm Desert neighborhood, it's safety, friendly neighbors and above all, the peacefulness it offers us. That is why we chose Palm Desert over other valley cities 22 years ago. Knowing we can take relaxing walks and visit with friends and "neighbors" rather than policing our blocks gives us peace of mind. Thank you again for your support. We look forward to the Nov. 16th meeting when the new policies will be ratified. Jim and Victoria Luick Pinyon St 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Nicole Zambon <nicole@itrip.net> Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 2:31 PM To: jharnik@dc.rr.com; Harnik, Jan; Weber, Susan Marie; Swartz, Kevin Subject: [SPAM] - Letter to the City Council To whom it may concern, I am in favor of quality STRs. I manage over 30 vacation rental properties in the Palm Desert area. So, I want to share my personal experiences since I have handled over 1,000 bookings in the last 3 years, and it is my livelihood, in which I have much pride. We can find a better balance and solution than a ban, and we can eliminate the need for the Sunset in 2019. I propose a 3 night minimum enforced immediately on all new bookings, a thorough review of existing STR renewal applications, so we can weed out party houses or those with deferred maintenance or worst of all listings that allow for over occupancy. STR permits in R1 and R2 zones should not be given on a first come first serve basis. The City should review the property more thoroughly and decide based on proximity to others, condition of the home, and should have to confirm that there is proper management in place. 20% of the homes I manage are private homes with Short Term Rental permits, and that 20% brings in 90% of my gross revenue from May — Oct (approx. $50,000 and $5,500 in TOT). The average stay during this time period is 7 nights; the average group is 4 adults and 1 child. A whole family wants to have a private home and pool, not stay in a condo or hotel. These stays boost our local economy in the off-season and build our reputation as a great relaxing Summer destination. These guests are coming to relax just like you do on your vacations, they are not coming to throw loud parties. We own our home just a few blocks south of El Paseo. I assure you I want to see the character and quality of my neighborhood improve. I want to live in a City where we support the local economy. I want to see more friendly families who are visiting than have my neighborhood turn into a ghost town in May — October. I want to see more OPEN signs than 'See you next Season' signs on our local restaurants and shops. Please do not push away opportunities for local business to succeed year round. Please do not stop the opportunity to build our City's reputation as a great Spring, Summer and Fall Vacation family getaway, and ultimately bring in better residents. Sincerely, 1 Nicole Zambon, Owner Palm Desert Vacation Properties u, . ITrip.net/Pal DeSer( flie0h2(d 760-702-7349 (cell) 760-841-3399 (fax) 2 Swartz, Kevin From: Hannah Mehlenbacher <mehlenbacher.h@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2017 1:38 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Short Term Rental Ban Dear Mr. Swartz, I have come to understand that a second reading of an ordinance to ban Short Term Rentals in the City of Palm Desert in residential zones is scheduled for November 16th. Knowing this information, the purpose of this email is to oppose the ban as my family and I are renters and lovers of the area, especially close to El Paseo. As a compromise, perhaps a 7 night minimum stay could be considered. Otherwise, our vacation funds will be going toward homes, restaurants, and entertainment in Palm Springs, or elsewhere. Could you please forward this letter on to the City Council. I greatly appreciate your time. Sincerely, Hannah Mehlenbacher 1 Swartz, Kevin From: sdjassociates@aol.com Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 11:46 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: palm desert short term rentals November 2, 2017 City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz Dear Mr. Swartz: Re:Short Term Rental Ordinance I write to express my support of STRs throughout the City of Palm Desert, in every neighborhood, not just in planned residential communities. STRs have revived the City of Palm Desert and keep the economy going year-round. We have beautiful neighborhoods again when we did not during the recession. If there are problems with noise and parking, then what is required is simply better regulation and better enforcement. I believe that increasing the minimum nights for rent to 3 nights from the current 2 nights would solve many of the problems that I understand some residents complain about. The goal is to eliminate the renters who are here to party, not to turn away the great renters who come to Palm Desert because they love our neighborhood. These renters spend their money in our city and sustain local businesses. I am greatly concerned for the property values in the R1 and R2 zones if this ban goes into effect. In the current economic climate, people want the flexibility to be able to rent out their homes for short periods of a week or so to supplement their incomes or to cover their costs. If they do not have this opportunity, they will purchase elsewhere, thereby decreasing property values. This ordinance is contrary to the best interest of all of Palm Desert and I strongly urge the City Council to reject it on second reading. Please forward this email on to the rest of the City Council. Thank you for your consideration. Regards, Stacey Jelmini 47955 Sun Corral Trail Palm Desert CA 92260 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Ari Goott <arigoott@hotmail.com> Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 7:32 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: City interests I just wanted to express my support STRs throughout the City of Palm Desert. I recently purchased a home in Palm Desert and am currently doing a major renovation. I would not have done so, if I knew there was going to be a ban. I definitely think, STRs have revived the City of Palm Desert and keep the economy going year-round. There are major benefits from allowing STRs, home values will increase, it creates tax revenue for the city and the many businesses will thrive from visitors as well. We have beautiful neighborhoods again when we did not during the recession. If there are problems with noise and parking, then what is required is simply better regulation and better enforcement. I believe that increasing the minimum nights for rent to 4-7 nights from the current 2 nights would solve many of the problems that I understand some residents complain about. The goal is to eliminate the renters who are here to party, not to turn away the great renters who come to Palm Desert because they love our neighborhood. These renters spend their money in our city and sustain local businesses. I am greatly concerned for the property values in the R1 and R2 zones if this ban goes into effect. In the current economic climate, people want the flexibility to be able to rent out their homes for short periods of a week or so to supplement their incomes or to cover their costs. If they do not have this opportunity, they will purchase elsewhere, thereby decreasing property values. This ordinance is contrary to the best interest of all of Palm Desert and I strongly urge the City Council to reject it on second reading. I would like to attend the meeting on November 16, 2017 when the second reading is supposed to happen. 1 wish to speak to the City Council to express my strong opposition to this ban. Please forward this email on to the City Council. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Ari Goott 801-755-1144 i Swartz, Kevin From: Tamsin Morgana <tamsinmorgana@yahoo.com> Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 7:44 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Letter for council re opposition to short term rental ban Mr. Kevin Swartz City Planning Department City of Palm Desert Dear Mr. Schwartz, I have just learned that the City of Palm Desert passed a first reading of an ordinance on October 26, 2017 to ban short-term rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert as of July 1, 2019. I wanted to let you know how deeply concerned and opposed I am to this new proposed regulation. My family and I have spent several vacations in the Palm Desert area near El Paseo Drive and we plan to spend more vacation time there in the future. However, if this type of accommodation is not available we will be forced to look elsewhere as this is the type of vacation and area location we prefer. We have experienced a high quality residence that is conscientiously run with emphasis on abiding by the rules and respecting of neighbours. In general, a short-term rental in someone's home is an excellent choice for several couples to get together or for an extended family to be in one place together. It is great to have the local neighbourhood experience and be able to walk to local shops and restaurants and hike the local trails. We have also considered buying a vacation home in the area ourselves because we liked it so much. Short-term rentals offer a multiplicity of tourism -related benefits for the local economy and without this option in Palm Desert there is a risk for large negative economic impacts to the business community, a potential impact to real estate sales, and loss of jobs and taxes. For these reasons I urge you to reject this proposal. I strongly support a compromise. The suggestion has been made to extend the minimum stay to 7 nights which I support. Thank you for considering this appeal. Please forward my comments opposing this ban to the City Council. Sincerely, Tamsin Morgana, B.Admin., BSN, MA, RN 4620 Edmonds Drive Delta, BC V4K 1M9 604-952-4463 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Rod Lee <rd.lee@yahoo.ca> Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 8:28 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Letter for council re opposition to short term rental ban Mr. Kevin Swartz City Planning Department City of Palm Desert Dear Mr. Schwartz, I have just learned that the City of Palm Desert passed a first reading of an ordinance on October 26, 2017 to ban short- term rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert as of July 1, 2019. I wanted you to advise city council on my behalf that I am deeply concerned and opposed to this new proposed regulation. As a repeat renter and visitor to the area, if this regulation comes to fruition it will mean I will have to invest my future tourism dollars at another location outside Palm Desert. A short-term home rental at a local residence is my holiday of choice. It's an option for my family to enjoy a local experience. We have experienced short-term rental owners that are responsible and respectful of the neighbourhood and whom display rules in a visible location. They employ trades people, contractors, managers, cleaning and gardening staff that are readily available and promote the use of local businesses. The houses are so well equipped, clean and well run, relatively in expensive, and convenient. They offer easy access to parking, shops, restaurants, and local outdoor activities. To me, it's a more relaxing holiday than staying in a large hotel. Financially, short-term rentals are a win -win for the community. If they are banned there will be economic, employment, and tourism losses to Palm Desert. I urge you to reject this proposal and rather I would like to propose that the City implement a minimum of 7 nights for Short Term Rentals as a reasonable compromise. Thank you for considering this appeal. Please forward my comments opposing this ban to the City Council. Sincerely, Rod Lee Box 3, Lacadena, Saskatchewan SOL 1 VO 604-836-3143 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Friday, November 03, 2017 9:01 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: FW: Short Term Rentals Blind copied to the City Council From: Nate Porter [mailto:natep@ARCReports.com] Sent: Friday, November 03, 2017 8:49 AM To: CityhallMail; weber Cc: Swartz, Kevin Subject: [SPAM] - FW: Short Term Rentals Please look at how ridiculous it is to ban good citizens of your city from renting their home to BETTER the neighborhood and the businesses that support it. It is with utmost importance you take the route of actually enforcing stricter rules and addressing those who have created this problem and not hurt those who are helping Palm Desert thrive with houses that are maintained and guests that are not causing any issues. Palm Desert is a destination city that is not changing. I drive down Fairway (where my home is) and see a bunch of vacant homes the majority of the year. They are an eyesore and if you adopt this plan you are going to see a lot more of these in our neighborhoods. Also the larger management companies will find ways to still rent to folks using 30 day co -tenancy and other options that are completely legal. You are not solving the problem by stopping those of us who follow rules and screen residents. A lot of the folks who fought to ban these types of homes used to rent them before they became residents. A lot of them have homes in other communities also that they rent. This all sweeping choice is not only prejudice and unfair it is downright un-American. I urge you to vote against the current banning of all short term rentals and look towards a very strict enforcement policy that addresses those rentals that caused these noise and parking issues in the first place. We do not need a return to the Palm Desert of the housing recession because of a few folks who break rules. Also has there been any records kept of the current properties that offend? I have scoured the site for information but have not found anything. It seems quite unusual to make such sweeping changes when you don't even have a grasp on how often it is happening. There is definitely a vocal minority that been quite outspoken but does anyone have any actual data they can share to prove this is widespread? I know that I'm going to start thinking about selling my current home and buying in a desert city that allows for good folks to earn income on their property if this passes. Nate Porter rc Nathan Porter CFO/Owner American Reporting Company cell: 206.851.1922 work: 425.563.1900 ext. 1973 email: natep@arcreports.com 1 From: Nate Porter Sent: Thursday, November 2, 2017 11:23 AM To: kswartz©acitvofDalmdesert.ora Subject: Short Term Rentals November 2, 2017 VIA EMAIL (kswartz@citvofpalmdesert.ora City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz Dear Mr. Swartz: Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance I write to express my support STRs throughout the City of Palm Desert, in every neighborhood, not just in planned residential communities. STRs have revived the City of Palm Desert and keep the economy going year-round. We have beautiful neighborhoods again when we did not during the recession. If there are problems with noise and parking, then what is required is simply better regulation and better enforcement. I believe that increasing the minimum nights for rent to 4-7 nights from the current 2 nights would solve many of the problems that I understand some residents complain about. The goal is to eliminate the renters who are here to party, not to turn away the great renters who come to Palm Desert because they love our neighborhood. These renters spend their money in our city and sustain local businesses. I am greatly concerned for the property values in the R1 and R2 zones if this ban goes into effect. In the current economic climate, people want the flexibility to be able to rent out their homes for short periods of a week or so to supplement their incomes or to cover their costs. If they do not have this opportunity, they will purchase elsewhere, thereby decreasing property values. This ordinance is contrary to the best interest of all of Palm Desert and I strongly urge the City Council to reject it on second reading. Please forward this email on to the City Council. Sincerely, Nathan Porter 74656 Fairway Dr Palm Desert, CA 92260 natep@arcreports.com rc Nathan Porter CFO/Owner American Reporting Company cell: 206.851.1922 work: 425.563.1900 ext. 1973 email: nateo@arcreoorts.com This email is the property of American Reporting Company LLC. This e-mail message (including attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). It contains confidential, proprietary or legally protected 2 information. Any unauthorized disclosure or use of the contents of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, notify the sender immediately and destroy all copies of the original message. 3 Swartz, Kevin From: Jann Buller <jannb774@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2017 6:35 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Thank you for your service re STRs Attachments: Fact Sheet_v2a.pdf November 4, 2017 To: Ryan Stendell Kevin Swartz CC: Laurie Aylaian Thank you for your months of hard work and effort developing the ordinance approved by City Council on October 26`'. Your encouragement of public participation by representatives of many, sometimes conflicting, points of view is a tribute to the democratic process. The Planning Department and city officials involved in developing, reviewing and refining the ordinance approved by Council have framed a workable plan for addressing STRs. It restores integrity to the city's General Plan and quality of life to Palm Desert's residential neighborhoods. And, in my opinion, the approved ordinance offers something for everyone: • Preservation of purely residential neighborhoods and the strength of their social fabric • Robust business opportunities and options for investors, owners and operators • Growth opportunities for the city, developers and the STR industry in a new STR-friendly sector • Offsets to municipal costs for administration and enforcement • Diverse and plentiful accommodation options for visitors. During the public hearing that preceded Council's decision on October 26`h, it seemed that some attendees had either not read the entire draft ordinance or had not fully understood it. Because of this we developed a fact sheet to clarify key points for our website users and posted it on the site (ProtectPDNeighborhoods.org). A copy of the fact sheet is attached for your information. I look forward to the meeting on November 16`h and, I hope, affirmation of the ordinance as approved by Council at the last session. Yours sincerely, Jann Buller 73110 Somera Road Palm Desert, CA 92260 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Jaeden Gastaldo <jgastaldo91@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2017 7:57 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Palm Desert Rental Ban Dear Mr. Swartz, I am writing to express my concern regarding the City of Palm Desert's consideration of a ban on Short Term Rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert close to El Paseo. As a regular visitor of Palm Desert I have frequently availed myself of Short Term Rentals in residential neighbourhoods near El Paseo Drive. These are by far the most appealing type of accommodations for someone coming from Vancouver and I would be very disappointed if this option was no longer available to me. This is a much more desirable option than staying at a hotel. The housing in this area, the restaurants and the natural terrain are what bring me to Palm Desert. The houses we have stayed in are managed in a very responsible manner with clear regulations insuring that neighbours are not impacted in any way by our presence. I know many other Canadians who stay in this neighbourhood for the same reasons I do. I urge you to reject this proposal as it will greatly reduce tourism in the area, which as you know is a critical component of the local economy. A reasonable compromise would be a 7 night minimum stay, an option I strongly support. Thank you for considering this appeal. Please forward my comments opposing this ban to the City Council. Kind regards, Jaeden 1 Swartz, Kevin From: RAY RUSSO <rrusso_moneyman@yahoo.com> Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2017 10:32 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Vacation rental moratorium Dear Kevin, I have contacted you in the past requesting notice of any future meetings held by the city on the topic of vacation rentals. That notice has never been received, as I wished to attend and make my voice known on the matter. Can you please tell me when the next meeting is? For the record, I want it known that I am against this bureaucratic BS. No one should have the right to tell me what to do with my property. It is my constitutional right to rent it out in any manner I choose, as long as I am committing no crimes. I don't care what the local hotel people think or any other residents, especially and including the lo. None of them have a right to determine what someone else does with their property. If you want to resolve issues like noise, make fines, but don't restrict an owner from covering his mortgage if the home is being used as an investment Best regards, Ray Russo Follow Me #: 760-933-8767 Fax: 888-908-8093 Skype: ray.russo Confidentiality Notice: This email message including any attachment is for the sole use of the intended recipient and may include confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message. 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Aylaian, Lauri Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2017 8:39 PM To: Swartz, Kevin; Klassen, Rachelle Subject: Fwd: Short Term Rentals -Thank you! Sent ‘ is the Sain, un�� Galax) So) 5 mini. an AT&T 4G I."I'1•: smarthhune Original message From: Martha Osborne <uualitymgmt20030_/'yahoo.conn> Date: 11/5/2017 5:03 PM (GMT-08:00) To: "Aylaian, Lauri"<Iaylaian(`cityofnalmdesert.on!> Subject: Short Term Rentals -Thank you! Dear Mayor and City Council Members, I wanted to take a moment to thank you. Thank you for protecting the residential nature of our neighborhoods within the City of Palm Desert by passing the first reading to restrict short-term rentals in non -association controlled residential neighborhoods. I don't think I could describe how happy I am to know that very shortly there won't be a parade of transient residents coming and going across the street from me. Thank you again for bringing back our neighborhoods! Warm Regards, Martha A. Osborne 75525 Dempsey Drive Palm Desert CA 92211 760-413-8988 1 Swartz, Kevin From: sarahjones <sarahjones@shaw.ca> Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 4:21 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Palm Desert Short Term Rental Ordinance November 2, 2017 VIA EMAIL (kswartz@citvofgalmdesert.oro) City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz Dear Mr. Swartz: Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance We own a home in the City of Palm Desert. We do not typically rent out our home to vacationers. However, we do know of many homeowners throughout Palm Desert who do rent out their properties as Short Term Rentals. We support STRs throughout the City of Palm Desert, in every neighborhood, not just in planned residential communities. STRs have revived the City of Palm Desert and keeps the economy going year- round. We have re -gained beautiful, vibrant neighborhoods that we did not have during the recession. If there are problems with noise and parking, then what is required is simply better regulation and better enforcement. The goal is to eliminate the renters who are here to party, not to turn away the great renters who come to Palm Desert because they love our neighborhood. Increasing the minimum nights for rent to 4-7 nights from the current proposed 2 nights would solve many of the problems that we understand some residents complain about. These renters spend their money in our city and sustain local businesses. We are greatly concerned for the property values in the R1 and R2 zones if this ban goes into effect. In the current economic climate, people want the flexibility to be able to rent out their homes for short periods of a week or so to supplement their incomes or to cover their costs. If they do not have this opportunity, they will purchase elsewhere, thereby decreasing property values. This ordinance is contrary to the best interest of all of Palm Desert and we strongly urge the City Council to reject it on second reading. We intend to attend the meeting on November 16, 2017 when the second reading is supposed to happen , we will express our strong opposition to this ban. Please forward this email on to the City Council. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Sarah and Rob Jones 267 Castellana North Palm Desert, CA 92260 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Donna Ault <DonnaAult@msn.com> Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 1:48 PM To: Harnik, Jan; sjohnathan@cityofpalmdesert.org; Kelly, Kathleen; Swartz, Kevin; Stendell, Ryan; Weber, Susan Marie; Aylaian, Lauri Subject: Thank you, thank you, thank you! Dear EVERYONE involved! Thank you so much for your decision to remove Short Term Rentals from our R-1 and R-2 zones. Your work on this issue is very much appreciated. I am very proud to have so many thoughtful, capable people working for my community. You have not only shown foresight and courage, but have shown the entire Coachella Valley how to lead! Thank you again, for showing such care and concern for your constituents! It won't be forgotten! Kind kcsford', Donna Ault 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Lori Ergas <aergas@shaw.ca> Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 1:02 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Cc: Lori Ergas; Alfonso E Ergas Subject: Fwd: Short Term Rental Ordinance November 2, 2017 VIA EMAIL (kswartz@citvofoalmdesert.orq) City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz Dear Mr. Swartz: Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance I own a home in the City of Palm Desert, in an area, which is deemed single family zoned. I am so astonished and appalled that the City can make such an Ordinance and that it is actually legal to do this. I do NOT rent out my home and had no plans to do so in the past. The City making a decision that I can not rent out my home if I decide want to -or need to, as a Short-term rental, and allowing other homeowners in the same city to do so, seems very unfair and I am shocked at this decision for so many reasons. I know the "pro neighborhoods are for neighbors" group are very strong and loud, but honestly I have never been bothered by any renters in my area, and I know a few homes around me that are constantly rented. There are the owners in my neighborhood who expect complete silence and who are so worked up about renters that at any little noise they make a complaint. A year ago on a Saturday night we were with our six of our neighbors (all owners) on our street at a neighbor's house 2 doors down. It was before 11 pm and we were outside talking by the fire pit with music on low, and someone called the police on us. Honestly, neighborhoods are also for people to use and enjoy the homes and not to be a bunch of empty houses and have no life either. I do understand the bothered groups being upset at "party houses", so a 7 day minimum rental should do the trick and solve many of the problems of renters just coming to party on a weekend. i We have many friends who rent homes in the desert in our neighborhood whom are either with their families or with friends for golf or holiday weekends. We are in our 50's. Our friends love to come to Palm Desert and spend money in the city at your businesses and restaurants. They come to relax, enjoy the sun, hike, attend tennis tournament, Modernism week, film festival, and spring break with their kids. My parents, in their late 70's, also have many friends who rent homes in the area as they love being close to El Paseo and do not want to be in a gated community. Neither of these groups' falls into the party homes, that the anti short term rental group describes as being more the norm than it actually is. I am also greatly concerned for the property values in the R1 and R2 zones if this ban goes into effect. In the current economic climate people want or need to be able to be flexible to cover their costs and if this option is taken away they will just go to another city where they can supplement their home operating costs. Having people own the homes in the R1 and R2 areas greatly supports all Palm Desert business operators as the costs of home services and maintenance which is serviced by the community is vital and important. If homes stay empty and vacant the air conditioning specialists, plumbers, painters, roofers, contractors, etc etc will not get the business, which now is back in the desert due to a growing economy. This wasn't so 7 years ago and everyone, including retail , grocery stores and restaurants were starving for business. The ordinance is really contrary to the best interest of Palm Desert and I am really urging the City Council to reject it or amend it on its second reading. I support Short- term rentals throughout the City of Palm Desert, in every neighborhood, not just in planned residential communities. Amending Ordinance for a 7-night minimum would eliminate the weekend party renter and we can have the great renters who come to our neighborhoods because they love Palm Desert and enjoy our area and want to add to our economy. I would like to attend the meeting on November 16, 2017 when the second reading is supposed to happen. Please forward this email on to the City Council and please advise if there will be speakers at this meeting and if sign up is necessary. Thank you so much for your consideration, appreciate your time in reading this letter. Sincerely, Lori Ergas 46311 Golden Rod Lane Palm Desert, CA 92260 604 760 3003 2 Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 10:17 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: RE: STR FW: We Love this Community Blind copied to the City Council Original Message From: Jan Clementjmailto:ianclement535(Wgmail.com) Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 10:07 AM To: CityhallMail Cc: Donna Ault; DAN FORBUSH; Mary Jenney; Jan Roemmick; Cook E J; Vicki Lord Subject: We Love this Community Honorable Mayor, My name is Jan Clement. My husband Dan and I are full time residents here since 2011. Our address is 73134 Loma Vista Lane. Before this, we owned a condo in the small Palm Desert Tennis Club community, having come here for the first Indian Wells Tennis Tournament, held at the new stadium in 2000. We were looking in La Quinta, briefly, but the minute we drove into Palm Desert, and began staying at the International before we bought, we both fell in love with the community. But going back a ways, to my girlhood days, I fell in love with the desert when my Aunt Bea would take my cousin and I into her home in the high desert of Apple Valley, summers. My aunt, a teacher, was an ardent ambassador for the desert, and at that time, a big developer named Newt Bass, was creating visitor interest. Sort of in the way that Frank Bogert (God rest his soul) did for Palm Springs, in his day, bringing in visitors with his collaboration on a new airport towards the end of his long civic service to the area. I bring this up because I have always seen the desert as a very welcoming, hospitality -oriented place. As well as one which offers health benefits, which was the focus of the original developments of Sun City communities. And I love that quality of our Coachella Valley. That is why I have mixed feelings regarding my involvement with the ProtectPDNeighborhoods grassroots project. I wish we did not have to make a stand which looks so obviously like one which is against our long standing attitude of welcome and hospitality here in our desert. But, my love of what has created the very fabric of our community, our neighborhoods and the people, is what makes me join such a cause. And my belief that, we here still welcome our visitors cordially, and in a very neighborly way, when we welcome family and friends into our homes and communities on a personal basis. As well as when we offer hotels and other business held opportunities for their stay, within the appropriately zoned areas of our community. We just recently developed what appears to be a 3 story hotel off of Shadow Mountain for this purpose. I am well aware that municipalities, their leadership councils, are now grappling with a new phenomenon, arising over the past 10-15 years, and now becoming an ubiquitous, falling -between -the -cracks, un-brick and mortar business, which 1 has yet to be formally named as such. Yet, we all know, it is a Big business now, and growing. I am referring, of course, to Airbnb and Homeaway. It's focus and intent will now have to be fully defined by you and your council members, and other municipalities. I thank you for siding with your neighbors in this first round of votes by the council on October 26th. It is a good start, and I know that there will be more considerations made in this process. I still believe that we can maintain our overall goal of welcoming hospitality towards our ardent and enthusiastic visitors. I believe that the business hospitality industry can still be relied on to roll out that welcoming mat. Please hold true to your decision to keep the Zoned Bland R2 parcels as non business zones as the neighborhoods that build the fabric of this wonderful community we all love. Thank you for listening, Jan M. Clement Daniel Forbush 73134 Loma Vista Lane Palm Desert, Ca. 92260 Sent from my iPad 2 Swartz, Kevin From: Mary Parmakszian <maryedp@telus.net> Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 10:24 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Palm Desert rental ban Sent from my iPad Mr. Kevin Swartz City Planning Department City of Palm Desert Dear Mr. Swartz, I have just learned that the City of Palm Desert passed a first reading of an ordinance on October 26, 2017 to ban Short Term Rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert as of July 1, 2019. Apparently there is a second reading of this ordinance on Thursday, November 16, 2017 at City Hall. If this was to be passed there will be no more places to stay close to El Paseo which will be detrimental to all! I am writing you to express my opposition to ban the perspective of a repeat renter of Short Term Rental properties in the residential areas of Palm Desert close to El Paseo. Short Term Rentals in every area of the City of Palm Desert are positive for the community and the economy of Palm Desert. If Palm Desert proceeds with this ban, I will choose to rent properties in Palm Springs instead and Palm Desert will lose my vacation dollars. I would like to propose that the City implement a minimum of 7 nights for Short Term Rentals as most working people can only take 7 days holidays. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please forward this letter to the City Council on my behalf. 1 Thank you for your attention to this matter. Mary Parmakszian 2 Swartz, Kevin From: Shannon Taylor <shannon.taylor@telus.net> Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2017 4:33 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Cc: traceyjackson@telus.net Subject: Short Term Rentals in Palm Springs Dear Mr. Swartz, I have just learned that the City of Palm Desert has recently passed a first reading on an ordinance to ban short term rentals in residential areas in Palm Desert as of July 1st, 2019 with a second reading of this ordinance scheduled for Thursday, November l6th, 2017 at City Hall. My husband and I are regular visitors to Palm Desert and the area around El Paseo Drive is the most attractive area in the region. There are wonderful housing options, a tennis club, shopping, restaurants and hiking. Everything we want is just a walk or bike ride away! We have been responsible visitors and the houses we have stayed at have been managed with the utmost care and respect for the neighhorhood. Palm Desert is a favorite location for us and our Canadian friends and we depend on short term rental accommodation. When we come to Palm Desert we tend to stay in the neighhorhood and spend our tourist dollars in Palm Desert and plan to do so for many years to come. I write to express my opposition to the ban on short term rentals in the residential areas of Palm Desert. I believe that it would have a negative impact on the various revenue streams that Palm Desert enjoys from Canadians. A reasonable compromise would he a 7 night minimum stay. Thank you for your consideration. Please forward my correspondence opposing banning short term rentals in Palm Desert to City Council. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Shannon Taylor 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Tracey Jackson <Tracey@dunnawayjackson.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2017 2:50 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: [SPAM] - Ordinance opposition in Palm Desert Mr. Swartz, Thank you very much for taking my call this morning. I am grateful that you took the time to listen to my concerns. I am a STR permit holder in Palm Desert and I am very concerned about this ordinance and the impact that it will have on the Palm Desert community, the economy of Palm Desert, the city revenues and the property values. As mentioned, I have been inundated with calls and emails regarding the Ordinance that was passed by the City on first reading on October 26, 2017 [hereinafter the "Ordinance". STR permit holders, guests and other persons in the neighborhood are very concerned about the adverse impact of these extreme measures on the entire Palm Desert community. I do not believe that there was sufficient opportunity given to the STR permit holders to make submissions to the City Council as we were not provided with notice of the actual proposed ordinance that was passed. Most of us received some kind of an email through VRBO, but nothing from the City. I am hearing from many residents of Palm Desert who hold STR permits that had they known of the proposed ordinance or that there was any possibility that STRs might be banned, they would have written and/or attended at the meeting. I have reviewed the documentation that was before the City Council as well as viewed the entire video recording of the 6 %2 hour City Council Meeting. I am concerned about the process that resulted in the passing of the motion. It was proposed very late in the day after over 6 hours of meeting time and all members of the City Council were visibly (and admittedly) fatigued. The Mayor herself expressed concern that the Council had insufficient information and that she did not feel comfortable voting on that day. Other members of the Council expressed an interest in giving the new penalties and enforcement tools an opportunity to work before taking such a drastic move as banning STRs in zones R1 and R2. The Council engaged in no discussion of the benefits of ensuring that the City of Palm Desert adopts policies that are in line with other desert communities so as to ensure even similar regulation of STRs across all desert communities to avoid pockets where different rules apply. The proposed motion was put to a vote very late into the evening without full discussion of the various options that could have been enacted to produce a more measured response. There was also no discussion of the inevitable negative consequences of this Ordinance on the price of housing in the R1 and R2 zones of Palm Desert, the discriminatory nature of the Ordinance against homeowners in those 2 zones, or of the solutions that could be adopted to resolve the key complaints about STRs raised by members of the community. I will be preparing a formal written submission to the City Council fully articulating my concerns as an experienced and responsible STR permit holder. You have asked that I send them through you and I will do so. I expect that I will have those submissions prepared and sent to you by the end of this week. I will also be forwarding a written request to appear before the City Council to make submissions on the 16`h of November 2017 and I expect that many other Palm Desert residents who are opposed to this Ordinance will also be doing so. The responsible STR permit holders of Palm Desert were not properly represented at the City Council meeting on October 26, 2017 and it is imperative that our voices are fully heard by the Council. What follows is a brief summary of the points that I raised on the telephone with you this morning. Kindly pass this email onto the City Council in the interim while I prepare more fulsome submissions. Thank you. A) Key complaints raised by members of the community who are concerned about STRs can be resolved by the measures set out below. 1 1. Eliminate the party house by: a) Increasing the minimum stay to 5-7 nights would significantly reduce, if not eliminate the party house. Most STR Owners are compliant and do not want partiers and we know from experience that requiring a longer stay of 7 nights will solve this problem. When renters stay for a week, they are not there to party. When they stay for 2 nights, that is their sole purpose. b) Decreasing the number of extra daytime guests to 2-4 instead of up to 6. c) Decrease the number of total persons permitted per house to 2 persons per bedroom to a maximum of 12 regardless of the size of the house (eg. Even if it is a 7 or 8 bedroom house, the maximum number is 12) d) Maintaining the higher penalties set out in the Ordinance. e) Disallowing outdoor music after 9pm for all neighbors on weekdays and lOpm on weekends — not just STRs. We disable our outdoor speakers in compliance with the current by-law by using a WIFI program that we control remotely. All STR owners could do this. 2. Improve enforcement of the by-laws by: a) Requiring the STR permit holders to belong to a Homeowners' Association (the current STR permit holders in the R1 and R2 zones in Palm Desert will form an HOA) in order to obtain a permit. b) The HOA will be required to provide security to supervise the neighborhoods to ensure compliance with City By-laws. c) The R1 and R2 Palm Desert residents will have to establish their own HOA which HOA will provide security during the hours of 5pm to 9am and on weekends and holidays to improve enforcement and to act as a first responder to complaints. This will reduce the pressure on the City to increase the enforcement officer staffing. 3. Improve by-law compliance by the Renter: a) Require STR permit holders to obtain a refundable By -Law Enforcement Deposit of $1000-$1500 [hereinafter the "Deposit" ] for each reservation. This way the Renter will be held responsible for violations, will be more accountable and the fines will be easily enforced. The Renter will be notified in advance that this By-law Deposit will be drawn from to cover any fines levied during that reservation. The Renter will receive a refund of the Deposit if no fines have been issued within 7 days of the departure. b) Require STR permit holders to evict guests who breach the Rental Rules. Anecdotally, we evicted one renter who breached our rental rule by having 20 persons total during the day in a house that permitted 12 (although this is allowed by the City By-law, we do not allow extra guests). This renter admitted to having 15 persons sleep at the property. Upon receipt of that information, we immediately instructed our property manager to evict the renter. They complied. That was the one and only complaint we ever received at that property. 4. Maintain the residential neighborhood in a tourist community: a) While no neighborhood in any desert city can be property characterized as "residential" because this is a tourist destination, and because Month -long Rentals are permitted everywhere, the residential neighborhood is best maintained by limiting the total number of STRs in each neighborhood, not by eliminating them in only certain neighborhoods. This "cap" is what has been adopted on the island of Maui in Hawaii. The Island has not singled out one or two zones and refused to permit STRs, which has a discriminatory effect. Rather, with a limitation on the total number of STRs in each neighborhood, the City can ensure that no one particular area becomes an unintended 'tourist rental zone". Through attrition, the City of Palm Desert could disallow further STRs in zones R1 and R2 until the total number fell below the 2 maximum number in each zone (eg. 100 per zone). This would be far more equitable than the complete ban as set out in the Ordinance. B) The proposed Ordinance does not solve the key complaints raised by the anti-STR lobby: 5. Different neighbors all the time: a) Banning STRs in zones R1 and R2 does not ensure that the neighbors will be consistent. Even with the ban, homeowners in zones R1 and R2 are permitted to rent to any person for 28 days or longer without being governed by the STR rules [hereinafter the "Month -long Renter". The Month -long Renter often hosts a series of different friends and family who come to stay for a few days or a week within that month. Therefore, the Anti-STR lobby will still experience different neighbors all the time. In addition, STRs will be permitted in the planned residential communities, which means that whatever "benefits" are intended to arise (we say that there are no benefits) from the complete ban on STRs are only accruing to those Palm Desert residents who own homes in planned residential communities. 6. Party House: a) Banning STRS in zones R1 and R2 will not eliminate the "party house". All planned residential communities will continue to have STRs. Party houses are eliminated by increase fines for noise violations and by-law infractions and by the methods set out above. C) The proposed Ordinance does not address the problem of the "nuisance complaint": 7. We have received unreasonable complaints by neighbors who have made it very clear that they do not like STRs. One neighbor complained because she could hear children playing in the pool during the day. Another complained because of noisy pool equipment that was specifically permitted by the City. We are of the view that unnecessary and irrational complaints should also be fined so that they are discouraged. Palm Desert is a resort city and tourists keep this economy going. Residents have elected to reside in a resort community. We all must adopt a level of tolerance for the normal noise that arises from the reasonable enjoyment of a home and property. If we do not wish to tolerate normal usage, then we should reside in a remote location away from other persons and properties. We all have to have a respect for the day to day lives of other people. The Ordinance does not address this issue. In Rancho Mirage, nuisance complainants are fined. The same policy should be adopted in Palm Desert. D) The proposed Ordinance will have unintended negative consequences for the whole City of Palm Desert and its residents. The shared economy is here to stay. Every other city in the desert is passing by-laws to regulate the STRs in recognition of this reality. This Ordinance will create an undesirable enclave in south Palm Desert, zones R1 and R2 where homeowners do not share the same flexibility to supplement their incomes as do their neighbors in planned residential communities. No other city has made the mistake of creating such an enclave that will become undesirable because of the prohibition on STRs. What follows is a summary of the unintended negative consequences of the Ordinance: 8. Decrease in property values in South Palm Desert. a) All of the STR permit holders who I have spoken to since this Ordinance passed first reading have informed me that they will have no option but to sell their residences with this new Ordinance. This will mean that over the next 18 months, south Palm Desert will experience a significantly increased number of houses on the market. Such an influx of inventory will have a negative effect on the value of all properties in the South Palm Desert residential area. The very people who are complaining about the STRs will experience a 3 decrease in the value of their properties. In my submission it is the obligation of the City Council to recognize the inevitability of this negative consequence and to reject any Ordinance that will cause a decrease in the property values. The desert has just recovered from the mortgage crisis of 2008 and should not suffer another economic downturn. b) The ability to obtain an STR permit is a selling feature for a property -owner. Property purchasers in a tourist area such as all the desert cities wish to have the flexibility to be able to rent out their properties to supplement their incomes and to cover their costs. With the limitation to only Month -long Rentals in only the South Palm Desert area, purchasers will choose other areas on the desert over South Palm Desert so that they can increase their range of rental options. They will buy in Rancho Mirage or Palm Springs, where they can be close to commercial amenities while enabling them to rent their properties for 1-2 weeks at a time in between their personal use. Ultimately, this Ordinance will result in a decrease in property values just in the R1 and R2 zones. c) In essence, South Palm Desert will become an enclave of undesirable properties. I am confident that the residents who are now complaining about the STRs would much prefer to have well -regulated STRs operated by responsible homeowners rather than to suffer a significant and enduring decline in their property value. 9. Decrease to business revenue in South Palm Desert: a) Vacation renters who wish to stay in homes will stay in other desert cities such as Palm Springs. They will spend money in Palm Springs instead of in Palm Desert. The businesses along El Paseo will suffer economic losses and many may close down as a result. In the last recession, El Paseo had innumerable retail vacancies. It looked undesirable. It was salvaged by the injection of capital into the region by new homeowners who purchased second homes to enjoy and to rent out. Those same residents of Palm Desert who are complaining about STRs do not see the benefits that STRs brought to the entire community of Palm Desert. Without the STRs, purchasers would have gone elsewhere to buy (as they now will) and El Paseo would have suffered. Without the STRs in zones R1 and R2, there is no question that the businesses along El Paseo will suffer losses. All the residents of Palm Desert will suffer in turn as a result. b) STRs bring summertime revenue to businesses. We rent our properties throughout the year and for approximately 8 weeks on average during the summer months. These are families coming to stay in South Palm Desert for their summer vacation. They shop along El Paseo and provide much -needed revenues to the business in the off-season. These renters will take their business to Palm Springs with this Ordinance in place. 10. Unfair Discriminatory impact of the Ordinance on the STRs in only 2 zones: a) While City Council member Sabby Jonathan, Mayor Pro Tem, was content with the proposed Ordinance as it "maintained 80% of the STRs" the fact is that the proposed Ordinance unfairly discriminates against the homeowners who have purchased homes in R1 and R2 zones. If these zones are the location of the majority of the complaints, then the solution is to take steps to eliminate the cause of those complaints with regulations and enforcement instead of by unfairly discriminating against the homeowners in zones 1 and 2 by completely disallowing STRs in those 2 zones. The Ordinance is a disproportionate and discriminatory action taken in an effort to resolve problems that can be readily and practically solved by other means set out above (7 night minimums, improved security, Renter deposits and limits on total number of STR permits per neighborhood) that are proportionate and consistently applied throughout the City. 11. Loss of employment to Palm Desert workers: 4 a) We have made significant improvements to our properties in south Palm Desert, and we maintain them in exceptionally beautiful condition. There is no question that our financial contribution to the community of Palm Desert has been positive and significant; we have increased the value of the homes in our areas by improving our property. The whole community benefits from this. We employ several desert residents such as gardeners, pool maintenance workers, electricians, plumbers, painters, handymen, craftsmen, tilers and the like to keep our properties well -maintained. If this Ordinance were to be passed on second reading, many of these workers will be unemployed. This will be the case for all 276 STRs in zones R1 and R2. Having operated STRs for the past 5 years in South Palm Desert, we have gained valuable experience in how to avoid problematic renters and neighbor complaints. Here are a few of the policies that we have adopted that we strongly believe are responsible for our problem -free rentals, our 5-star ratings, our repeat customers and our lack of neighbor complaints: 1. We have a property manager who has worked with us for 5 years who personally greets every single renter and shows them around the property. He has a list of who is staying — the number of persons and the ages so that he can ensure the group matches the contract. 2. We have a 7-night minimum rental period for most of the year. When we have days left in between reservations, we permit shorter rentals of 4 nights. On the rare occasion, we will permit 3 nights, but only to a family. 3. We require a completed and signed rental contract from each renter that sets out the full names and ages of all persons staying at the property. This enables us to deal with any misrepresentations about the number of guests or their ages right from the outset. 4. We have a minimum age for the renter and all persons in the rental party to be at least 28 years of age unless they are children travelling with parents. 5. We specifically state on our listings and our contract that "this is not a party house". We specifically inform the renter that they can be evicted for breaches of the rental rules. 6. We attach stringent rental rules to our contract. They are stricter than the Palm Desert Short Term Rental Rules. 7. We disallow additional persons at the property unless written approval has been obtained from us. 8. We disallow special events of any kind. 9. We disable the outside speakers at 10pm and we inform the renter of this prior to entering into the rental contract. 10. We specifically state that there is to be No outside noise after 10pm. 11. We send every renter a copy of the Good Neighbor Policy. 12. We post a copy of the Good Neighbor Policy at the property. 13. We specifically state that our property manager is permitted to attend at the property for inspection purposes. 14. We specify the noise by-laws and the parking by-laws. 15. Our property manager resides in Palm Desert and is available at all times to address any concerns. He calls us if there is a problem and we are responsive immediately. 16. Our property manager checks on the property immediately upon the departure of the guest. In summary, I am very concerned about the economic impact of the proposed Ordinance on the City of Palm Desert and its residents. Some of the Council members expressed an interest in giving the improved enforcement tools an opportunity to work over a period of time before taking the drastic step of disallowing STRs in the City of Palm Desert zones R1 and R1. Rather than taking such a punitive step that was admittedly made in a rush and without the benefit of full information, I wish to urge the City Council to move slowly and cautiously instead of quickly and severely. I will be urging the Council to not permit this Ordinance to pass on second reading. I thank you for passing on this email to the City Council members and for taking the time to hear my concerns today. In the next few days, I will be forwarding my formal and comprehensive letter with attachments and more information that I wish to bring to the attention of City Council. I will also be making a formal request to appear before the Council to make submissions on or before the second reading on November 16, 2017. 5 Sincerely, Tracey L. Jackson Dunnaway, Jackson, Ouellet & Associates Barristers & Solicitors Suite 1205 - 808 Nelson Street Vancouver, BC. V6Z 2H2 Tel: 604-682-0007 Fax: 604-682-8711 This email may be privileged and/or confidential, and the sender does not waive any related rights and obligations. Any distribution, use, or copying of this email or the information it contains by other than an intended recipient is unauthorized. If you received this email in error, please advise me (by return email or otherwise) immediately. 6 Swartz, Kevin From: Donna Turko <dmturko@shaw.ca> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2017 10:33 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Cc: Tracey Jackson Subject: Ban on short term rentals = hurt to your local economy To whom it may concern: Canadians love Palm Desert, but as our families age and our children become adults with friends, girlfriends and boyfriends, and our parents become senior citizens, hotels become a ridiculously expense or not practical. Where hotel rooms or suites were adequate years ago, now 3-4 rooms are required. But for the availability of short term home rentals, we would not have travelled to Palm Desert in recent years. This is despite the fact I am Lawyer and my husband is a Surgeon. We do not have more money than sense. The more we save on lodging the more we can spend on dining, entertainment and shopping etc. It is a very wonderful holiday for Canadian families to come down to Palm Desert and rent a house. We spend thousands of dollars on restaurants, bars and shopping in nearby El Paseo Street when our family travels together. If you ban short term rentals of homes in Palm Desert areas close to El Paseo, we will no longer be travelling there. If we want to go to the desert, we'll instead find a short term rental house in Palm Springs. Palm Desert will lose the bigger spenders - the families who can can afford to rent a home for a vacation and who pour a very large amount of money into the Palm Desert economy. But most importantly, do we harm your neighborhoods? I don't think so. We come to relax, enjoy the sunshine, shop and dine. If you don't like the rowdy renters during music festivals etc, then the solution is to limit the rentals to persons over 25 etc. or to tighten the noise by-laws etc. That would solve any problems you might have. I hope I have been assistance in your decision -making. I do have a concern that the ban will no doubt result in a decrease in property values for the families who do not rent out their homes as well for as those who do. Yours truly, Donna Turko TURKO & COMPANY Barristers & Solicitors The Marine Building 1000-355 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC V6C 2G8 Tel: 604-801-6880 Fax: 604-801-6883 CONFIDENTIALITY WARNING: This message may contain confidential information intended for the named recipient only. Any other distribution, copying or disclosure is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify Turko & Company immediately at 604-801-6880. Thank you. 1 TURKO & COMPANY Barristers & Solicitors The Marine Building 1000-355 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC V6C 2G8 Tel: 604-801-6880 Fax: 604-801-6883 CONFIDENTIALITY WARNING: This message may contain confidential information intended for the named recipient only. Any other distribution, copying or disclosure is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify Turko & Company immediately at 604-801-6880. Thank you. 2 Swartz, Kevin From: Lisa Craig <licraig@sfu.ca> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2017 9:37 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Cc: Tracey Jackson Subject: opposition to proposed ban on Short Term Rentals Mr. Kevin Swartz City Planning Department City of Palm Desert Dear Mr. Schwartz, I am writing to express my concern regarding the City of Palm Desert's consideration of a ban on Short Term Rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert. As a regular visitor of Palm Desert I have frequently availed myself of Short Term Rentals in residential neighbourhoods near El Paseo Drive. These are by far the most appealing type of accommodations for my family and I would be very disappointed if this option was no longer available to me. The housing in this area, the shopping and the beautiful natural terrain are what bring me to Palm Desert. The houses we have stayed in are managed in a very responsible manner with clear regulations insuring that neighbours are not impacted in any way by our presence. I know many other Canadians who stay in this neighbourhood for the same reasons I do. It is what draws us and our tourist dollars to the area. I urge you to reject this proposal as it will substantially reduce tourism in the area, which as you know is a critical component of the local economy. A reasonable compromise would be a 7 night minimum stay, an option I strongly support. Thank you for considering this appeal. Please forward my comments opposing this ban to the City Council. Sincerely, Lisa Craig 1382 Wynbrook Place Burnaby, BC Canada V5A 3Y6 Ph. 778-386-6938 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Michelle Cote -Dear <cotedear@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2017 10:41 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: PALM DESERT RENTAL BAN Mr. Kevin Swartz City Planning Department City of Palm Desert, California Dear Mr Swartz, am contacting you regarding the proposed ban on short-term rentals in the El Paseo area of Palm Desert. We are frequent renters in the El Paseo neighbourhood. We are loyal patrons of the many fine restaurants and up -scale shops within walking distance, as are our many Canadian friends and extended family. I'm sure the local businesses would agree that we Canadians make up a great portion of their repeat clientele. Many of us frequently tly down for a week or longer to enjoy the gem that is the El Paseo neighborhood, and we treat it as such. We are not the weekend partiers driving in from Orange County or L.A. to 'live it up' in one or two nights. If this ban on short-term rentals goes through, we will, unfortunately, no longer vacation in Palm Desert and we will take our money, our friends, and our extended Canadian families with us to Palm Springs and elsewhere. There must be a compromise that benefits the local businesses, the City of Palm Desert and us friendly Canadians! Please reject this current proposal and introduce a minimum 7 night stay for short-term rentals in Palm Desert. This would help keep the disruptive weekend partiers away and continue to welcome guests who financially support Palm Desert and the businesses of El Paseo during a longer stay. Thank you for your consideration. Please forward my concerns to City Council on my behalf. Sincerely, Michelle Cote -Dear Vancouver, BC Canada 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Moliere, Toni <Toni.Moliere@fortisbc.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2017 8:41 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Ban on short term rentals City of Palm Desert Dear Mr. Swartz, I have just learnt about the City of Palm Desert passing its first reading of an ordinance to ban short term rentals in Palm Desert. I love to come down to your City and the best place to be is in close walking vicinity to El Paseo. I am most disturbed to think that all of the beautiful houses I have previously rented will no longer be available to me and my family and I will now have to go elsewhere such as Palm Springs or Indian Wells. The excellent restaurants and shopping are most attractive and I also fear that those merchants will suffer from no longer having the business of tourists to your wonderful City. I hope that some other sort of proposal other than a complete ban can be reached such as a 7 night minimum stay would be a great compromise. I have always rented from people whom manage their properties responsibly and are very strict on their regulations regarding noise and numbers of people. Please pass this on to your City Council on my behalf and thank you for your time Antoinette Moliere unsubscribe@fortisbc.com • unsubscnbe tr,: f- „1. th • n: , `, !r• ;- F •F: 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Jamie Fleese <Jamie.Fleese@bbdemo.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2017 9:01 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Cc: Tracey@dunnawayjackson.com Subject: Palm Desert Rental Ban Dear Mr. Schwartz, I thank you for your consideration of this letter. I have learned of the potential Short Term Rental Ban in Residential Zones in Palm Desert and I am very concerned. We have spent numerous vacations in Palm Desert in short term rental houses close to El Paseo over the past 5 years. We love the proximity to the shops and restaurants along El Paseo. We can't always afford to visit for more than 5 or 7 nights and it has been a great escape for us. We absolutely support responsible Short Term Rentals in Palm Desert. The warm, welcoming, friendly owners of the local shops and restaurants have always expressed how great the mix of residents and guests are for the economy and that they struggle when the tourist season slows. We would prefer to continue being able to come to Palm Desert rather than having to vacation in Palm Springs. However, because we like to rent a house in a non -gate community that is close to shops and restaurants, we will choose instead to rent houses in Palm Springs instead of coming to Palm Desert. We believe that many other travelers will do the same and the economy of El Paseo will suffer as a result. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please forward this letter to the City Council on my behalf. Best Regards Jamie Fleese Business Developement 780.964.4714 Jamie.Fleese@ BBDemo.com -I) thfrALLY-1111,611 ,6D 12800 - 153 ST. NW, EDMONTON. AB T5V 1A9 780.452.0354 (Office) Congratulations to the whole B&B Demolition team for earning the Consumers Choice Award for another year! Click here for more details! htto://www.marketwired.com/press-release/-2190884.htm 1 I would like the City Council to know that I have exactly ZERO buyers that are interested in living here full time. It is not an exaggeration to say that EVERYONE wants the option to rent it when they aren't here. Why punish those that are following all the rules, being licensed, permitted and paying occupancy taxes? There are small management companies here and short term rentals are all they do. You would be putting many who follow ALL the rules, and those that work for them, completely out of business. How is that fair? Why not just go after the offending property owners? In addition to putting a LOT of people out of work in a valley that has very little offer in the way of living wages to begin with, you will be KILLING property values. How is that best representing your constituents? I look forward to your reply. 3 Swartz, Kevin From: Lori Rowe <lori@lorirowe.ca> Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2017 6:55 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Short Term Rentals Dear Mr. Swartz I have just learned that the City of Palm Desert passed a first reading of an ordinance on October 26, 2017 to ban Short Term Rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert as of July 1, 2019. Apparently there is a second reading of this ordinance on Thursday, November 16, 2017 at City Hall. If this was to be passed there will be no more places to stay close to El Paseo which will be detrimental to all! I am writing you to express my opposition to ban the perspective of a repeat renter of Short Term Rental properties in the residential areas of Palm Desert. Short Term Rentals in every area of the City of Palm Desert are positive for the community and the economy of Palm Desert. If Palm Desert proceeds with this ban, I will choose to rent properties in Palm Springs instead and Palm Desert will lose my vacation dollars. I would like to propose that the City implement a minimum of 7 nights for Short Term Rentals as a reasonable compromise. Thank you for your time and consideration... Sincerely, Lori Lori Rowe Personal Real Estate Corporation Macdonald Realty Ltd. 604-803-3936 MEDALLION MEMBER MACDONALD REALTY LTD. TOP PRODUCER "LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE" 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Josh Stomel <josh@neohiresouth.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2017 10:47 PM To: Aylaian, Lauri; Stanley, Jane; Swartz, Kevin; Stendell, Ryan; Vivian Stomel; Jason Fairchild; Kathleen OBrien; Information Mail Subject: Re: Palm Desert Short Term Rentals Attachments: DMI RE Group - Intro - July 2017.pdf Hi Everyone Just letting you know, I have brought in a LOT of Investor interest & money in to the City of Palm Desert over the last 5 years. I have helped turnover a lot of properties in Palm Desert Country Club, then moved to both sides of el Paseo rehabbing a handful of single family and multi unit properties. In addition, I have brought down a few institutional investors (Kevin Swartz) can attest, interested in acquiring commercial land on El Paseo to acquire and re -develop. *see the attached doc of the capital partner and their work. I have three houses now all under Zone; Residential 2 and your ruling will affect ALL OF THEM (Near El Paseo) If this continues to hold, I will be making it a priority to drive the relationships that I have built, and the investors I have brought down OUT of Palm Desert. I want EVERYONE to be aware of this. This is EXTREMELY wrong. Lauri, Per your email below. This ruling now affects 100% of the houses i own. Thanks Josh Stomel Josh Stomel ! Founder Neohire South Los Angeles I San Franc!uco I New York Josh@ ncohircuwlh.com I cell: 310.882.3759 Follow us on FACEBOOK and LINKEDIN Ci'.,lfl;l Chicago ! Austin From: <lavlaian@citvofpalmdesert.org> Date: October 31, 2017 at 5:23:40 PM PDT To: <kelley.eling@comcast.net> t Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Friday, October 27, 2017 11:49 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: FW: STR Disclosure From: Ronald Marra fmailto:rsmarra760@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, October 27, 2017 10:42 AM To: CityhallMail Subject: STR Disclosure Hello, If possible I would like disclosure of the individual zoning of all involved in the STR ordinance. Not specific address. Just what zone they live in. The Mayor disclosed she lives in an R-1 neighborhood. What zones does everyone else live in. Plus the planning commission, ad hoc committer. I am accusing the City of bias and Elitist zoning with the passage of this STR ordinance. If there is some outside agency that handles such a complaint then send it to them. Sincerely yours, Ronald S. Marra i Swartz, Kevin From: Ronald Marra <rsmarra760@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, October 27, 2017 10:11 AM To: Stendell, Ryan Cc: Swartz, Kevin Subject: STR Hello, Well, what can I say? With the discussion and action taken last night, I can see as a PR "resident" I have absolutely no voice or consideration in this at all. Gee, not even given the recognition or dignity of some discussion. Just totally cast off. This is Elitism. I thought I was retiring and here I find myself drafted to serve as an STR employee. I work for the City and my slum STR-lord neighbors who hide in their R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods where they have now managed to band STRs. Am I supposed to be thankful you are providing an extra code enforcement person to help keep us all in line? So very sorry I ever "retired" to this Dump of the Desert. This is truly one disgusting City. Sincerely yours, Ronald S. Marra, STR Employee i Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Friday, October 27, 2017 11:50 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: FW: Please Support Palm Desert Vacation Rentals From: Phoenicia Friese rmailto:Dfriese.realestateCaamail.coml Sent: Friday, October 27, 2017 10:52 AM To: CityhallMail Subject: Please Support Palm Desert Vacation Rentals Dear City Council Member, As a Palm Desert homeowner, I support vacation rentals and believe they are an important part of our local economy. I am happy to see the stronger enforcement measures the city is considering in its new ordinance. The proposed ordinance, however, is not an effective solution. It creates an unfair barrier to participation in the market, giving a special privilege to some homeowners over others. Vacation rental permits should be based on a homeowner's ability to responsibly manage the property. They should not be based on where the property is located or if the resident lives there full-time. Stronger enforcement, including additional code enforcement officers and harsh penalties, is key to protecting our quality of life. I want the city to have the tools it needs to shut down the bad guys. I do not want the city to take property rights away from those who have done nothing wrong. Please reject the current proposal and approve an ordinance that strengthens enforcement and preserves the right to operate a vacation rental for all responsible homeowners. Regards, Phoenicia Friese 73373 Country Club Dr Palm Desert, CA 92260 1 Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Friday, October 27, 2017 1:09 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: FW: Please Support Palm Desert Vacation Rentals From: Brenda Darr rmailto:boaauette701(Tamail.coml Sent: Friday, October 27, 2017 1:01 PM To: CityhallMail Subject: Please Support Palm Desert Vacation Rentals Dear City Council Member, As a Palm Desert homeowner, I support vacation rentals and believe they are an important part of our local economy. I am happy to see the stronger enforcement measures the city is considering in its new ordinance. The proposed ordinance, however, is not an effective solution. It creates an unfair barrier to participation in the market, giving a special privilege to some homeowners over others. Vacation rental permits should be based on a homeowner's ability to responsibly manage the property. They should not be based on where the property is located or if the resident lives there full-time. Stronger enforcement, including additional code enforcement officers and harsh penalties, is key to protecting our quality of life. I want the city to have the tools it needs to shut down the bad guys. I do not want the city to take property rights away from those who have done nothing wrong. Please reject the current proposal and approve an ordinance that strengthens enforcement and preserves the right to operate a vacation rental for all responsible homeowners. Regards, Brenda Darr 72715 Skyward Way Palm Desert, CA 92260 1 My name is Bruce Poynter 733907 Calliandra Street Local Fire Department Captain, Retired A little older than my brothers that were here earlier. I have 5 short term rentals within sight or sound of my property. On any given Friday or Saturday night one or more of them generate at least ten times the noise and traffic as all my neighbors combined. Loud music, car horns, car doors slamming, screaming yelling, and often fighting. No Hotel would tolerate this. Three out of the last four Saturday nights at least one or more of these required Police, Fire, or Medic response, sometimes all 3. Not one of my neighbors required Public Safety Services in that time frame. Besides supervising Engine companies and Paramedic units, I also monitored Fire and Police Dispatch Operations. The same Friday and Saturday nights that these parties are going full blast, happens to be some of the busiest for Emergency Services. Police are dealing with armed robberies, drunk drivers, and tractor trailer crashes on 110. Fire is responding to house fires or using the Jaws of Life, extricating crash victims on Hwy 111, Paramedics are resuscitating drowning victims, drug overdoses, and then enroute Code 3 to Eisenhower doing CPR. On the too loud complaints: The STR people have asked me: Have you talked to the people? Have you called the Hotline? Have you talked to the Owner? Have you talked to the Management company? Did you call the Police? UNBELIEVABLE. I'm standing in my front yard at 2 am with chest pain and I'm starting my list of phone numbers. So I am the defacto Site Manager while the business person making the money is sound asleep in Orange or San Diego County. With the turnover of these properties and the percentage that turn into loud parties I don't believe any number of code enforcement officers can control them, so the calls will rotate to Law Enforcement and Dispatch will put noise disturbance at the bottom of the list. Meanwhile the party goes on. can see both sides of this issue. I come from a large family of Real Estate Brokers and Agents. Right next door to City Hall here, is the Jude Poynter Golf Museum at College of the Desert. My uncle was in Real Estate and donated one million dollars for that facility. Some of you may have known him. I'm not anti -business. There is plenty of money to be made in Real Estate without making it on the back of Full Time Residents. Full time residents are suffering more than most are aware. Short Term tenants and out of town investors don't care. think we have by far the best City, City Council, and services in the Valley, but as a resident I feel like I have been abandoned in favor of Commercial interests. I have only one request: Please restore the original 30 day minimum, so our neighborhoods can return to the Peaceful Friendly places they used to be. Thank you Honorable City Council Cathy Forrister, 73390 Calliandra, Retired Bank Manager I have been a full time resident of the Coachella Valley for over 40 years and resided in Palm Desert for over 30 years. The desert has always been a vacation destination. We have always catered to our visitors, but had distinct areas for our residents. During my years as a bank manager, a good share of our customers were seasonal residents, many who rented for a month or more and came back year after year, and then decided to buy here for the serenity our neighborhoods have always offered. Those that came for a short time stayed in our hotels, motels, time shares and the like. It kept a nice balance for all. When looking for my permanent residence, I did my due diligence by researching the different areas at all times of the day and all days of the week. I checked the difference CC and R's and city zoning. I decided on South Palm Desert and especially the Canyon Cove and/or Silver Spur Ranch area. I finally decided on Canyon Cove because it felt like a small community with varying ages, yet quite neighborly. When the City Council changed the rental terms in March of 2012, from 30 days to as little as 2 days it changed our neighborhoods taking away they sense of community. For several years now, I have especially noticed the increase of party type rentals in the area. It's increased traffic, noise, and disturbances at all time's day or night in our neighborhoods. By injecting short term rentals into the mix, you take away that comradery, as these are people who are not here for the sole purpose of becoming part of the neighborhood and the owners become an investor for profit, not home. This basically did away with residential zoning and made those living near them the ordinance enforcers. Before coming to my opinion, I did read up on both sides of the issue. My conclusion is that no matter what regulations are placed on the short term renters and managers, unless they are contained in an area away from residential areas, are patrolled by their own security and enforcement, they will continue to disturb residents. This puts the onerous of calling and reporting on the people being disturb at all times of day and night, putting a blight on our visitors and the travel industry. As an industry, they do not belong in residential areas, but in areas zoned for business. Please restore the 30 day rental requirement for residential areas. Thank you Good Evening - My name is Sherrell Sutherland. I am a retired Assistant Chief after a 30-year career with the CHP. I am also a full time Palm Desert resident. I want to speak to you today about the problems with Code Enforcement and why Palm Desert is in no way ready to expand Short Term Rentals. I want to clarify that I have no criticism of the Code Enforcement officers in Palm Desert. The system itself is designed to fail no matter how many officers you add, or ordinances and fines you institute. Law enforcement is most successful when there is proactive enforcement. You actively look for violations to curb them before they become bigger problems. Yet the entire STR enforcement plan is reactive - to respond after someone complains. What a disservice to Palm Desert residents! We have to be bothered to the point of calling the police before anything is done. And even then, there may not be a code enforcement officer to respond based on the time of day that the violation occurs. If a code enforcement officer is not on duty, the call falls to Palm Desert PD to handle. And yet the Sheriff Department was NEVER included in any planning about how to deal with response to STR's. The next problem is that many of the new regulations in the draft plan are not enforceable. ✓ How would we ever know if new tenants are greeted by a responsible party and briefed about good neighbor policies? ✓ How would we ever know if an STR responsible party responds to a complaint within the required timeframe? ✓ How can we enforce any parking restrictions without knowing what cars belong to the tenants of short-term rentals? These new ordinances are setting up our code enforcement officers for failure! I have heard the argument that we might as well make it legal because they'll do it anyway and the STR's will just go underground. My thoughts on that are: 1) Why would you want to get into business with an industry that has that set of standards? And 2) If you don't think you can enforce a few non -permitted STR's how do you think you can handle a vast expansion of permitted ones? Here is one quote from a news article describing Short Term Rentals in LA - "the city can't handle enforcement on thousands of units, and so the whole scene is pretty much lawless." I can see that this is a big decision for you. Keep in mind that - I'm pretty confident - the majority of your residents DO NOT WANT STR's. I, along with many members of our group, am willing to help be part of the solution. Don't hesitate to reach out to us for planning, committee's, etc. Thank you for your time. Swartz, Kevin From: susieonwillowst@aol.com Sent: Monday, October 30, 2017 6:46 PM To: SusieOnWillowSt@AOL.COM Subject: Thank you City Council and Staff for your vote on STR's Dear Mayor Harnik, Mayor Pro Tem Johnathan, Council Member Weber, Council Member Kelly, City Manager Aylaian, Director of Community Development Stendell and Associate Planner Swartz, Thank you all for your hard work and consideration of the incredibly important short- term rental issue. I applaud the four Council Members who made a sage yet difficult decision to ensure our neighborhoods and residents receive the best treatment possible in the best city in the desert. Thank you. I wanted to write a hand-written note to you all instead of an email. However, as I was educating myself on the STR issue, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I have been swamped with medical appointments but the prognosis is good. I apologize for a Tess than personal note to you. I feel comfortable sharing with you as I have known some of you personally for many years and others more recently due to my neighborhood communications. I am grateful to you all for your participation in these efforts and appreciate that the Chamber of Commerce will bestow a POPS award my way -- a big compliment indeed! As I begin my cancer treatments, I am comforted that I have my neighbors. We care for each other like family and they have offered support to David and me at this tough time. Thank goodness for them! And thank goodness for your vote. I really appreciate the time you invested in learning about the difficulties neighborhoods incur with short-term rentals. Bravo to you all! I close with my altered sign in my front yard, at my home that I know I can continue to improve. Almost done! The 10 year plan to update will end up being 20 years after all. :) Thank you, Susie Peat 1 NEIGHBORHOODS--'� ARE FOR NEIGHBORS^rT 2 Swartz, Kevin From: Stanley, Jane Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2017 7:53 AM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: RE: STR FW: Thank you From: Jann Buller [mailto:iannb774©Qmail.coml Sent: Monday, October 30, 2017 7:07 PM To: weber Subject: Thank you October 30, 2017 Dear Ms. Weber, Thank you for your service as a Council Member. And thank you for your vote restoring integrity to the city's General Plan and quality of life to Palm Desert's residential neighborhoods. In my opinion, the ordinance approved by Council achieves a balanced approach to STRs that benefits Palm Desert's business interests, the interests of residents and the city alike: • On -site owner STR permits in R1/2 are a win -win: We have an actual neighbor among us who can earn income and address any STR problems directly; and the city avoids some enforcement costs. • There are nearly 1,000 STRs permitted and operating in R3 and PR today. They will continue to produce income to their owners and serve short-term visitors. New STR growth can flourish in R3 and PR as soon as the moratorium is lifted, contributing additional TOT while enabling STR owners and operators to expand their business there. Uncertainty about the moratorium has been hard on everyone. Passage of the ordinance, as approved by Council on October 26th, can end that uncertainty. I support you and your colleagues in achieving this goal and look forward to the 2' reading on November 16th. Yours sincerely, Jann Buller 73110 Somera Road Palm Desert, CA 92260 1 N Dear Palm Desert City Council: November 1, 2017 Z .-< t r"� a` < The ability to share vision proves leadership. It's is not easy, but necessary because in a city i ANo n where there is no vision the city suffers. A city not progressing is a city regressing, and it c �� appears Palm Desert is struggling with its vision. I moved to Palm Desert twenty years ago fr "' La Quinta. Palm Desert was a destination resort that combined wonderful programs and a vacation desert flower worth visiting. I believe we still want to be that flower but we have made that more difficult denying the short term rentals. Fear is powerful. The force behind "Neighborhoods for Neighbors" used it well. Fear of three weeks in April drove this movement and decision. Five years ago we were thankful for those three weeks just as we were thankful for the snowbirds coming to our town. The benefits increased over the years as they gave the city cash and helped support the shops around town. The rentals cleaned up property, provided jobs, gave us more taxes, and brought more people in to visit and see this destination resort town. Now, those "neighbors" promoted the fear of the partier, and personally I believe it unfounded. Further research should have been conducted to note the age of the renters and the number of complaints that were justified calls where renters did not follow the city restrictions. Did we also look at the length of residency of the "neighbors" to see if there protest was legitimate? Even so, we do know that "Neighbors" moved to Palm Desert knowing that it was a destination resort. Years ago a Gang Task Force leader came to visit the school of my employment. He made the point, "Catch the small crimes, and you prevent the big ones." In essence, "Pay attention to the small details, and the big details become so much simpler," as revealed by John Wooden. The small things make a city. In a destination resort litter is prevented and cleaned; graffiti is policed, petty crime stopped, and every attempt is made to fill stores and restaurants with visitors to show off a beautiful place. The economic stability relies on the businesses and the citizens working together with the supervision of government to proudly display their home. Today we have over 40 shops empty on El Paseo between Monterey and Portola streets. We have increasingly been filling the stores with parlors, discount shops, and second hand stores. We have homeless camps along the trails behind Target where the litter, fast food containers, cups, beer cans, mattresses, cardboard, toilet paper, and human defecation accumulates. Graffiti runs the wash, and has started to appear on our bridges. I am convinced petty crime is on the rise. And yet, we patrol our streets with motorcycles collecting citations, debate which legal dope shops we should open, and turn down renters all the while missing the details that make a city prosperous. Yes, the new hotel on El Paseo will help alleviate some of the economic Toss felt. However, it has not opened and with no track record or results one must speculate as to what it will provide. A longer study as to the hotel and its renters and the short term rentals and its renters would have seemed wise. That kind of leadership does not cater to fear and leads its citizens with vision. We cannot run a city well if the vision is lost or worse. It is my sincere hope that we find that leadership and begin to focus on our common vision. Sincerely, / 2k,Robert Anthony Harvey P.S. I do not own any short term rentals. I am a school teacher at a charter school where we rely on tax driven programs. f1,-\/-j 15.p-ih,v1 HAi 81 :1 Wd 8 ' AON LLOZ V:J id3S3a 1.41Vd 301130 S,X21310 A110 03A1338 • //N7 Sri 0 L./4 ,J1-4" r'14-1 ,t V, Jes - M _ • November 8, 2017 VIA EMAIL (kswartz( citvofgalmdesert.ora) City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz Dear Mr. Swartz: Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance I write to express my support for Short Term Rentals throughout the City of Palm Desert, and dismay in learning of the City's consideration of banning same. As a young professional early in my career, I look for vacation destinations where I can stretch my dollar, yet also enjoy my time away and experience the city that I am visiting. Short Term Rentals in Palm Desert have provided exactly that option, and have provided a destination that I would not have otherwise considered. The properties that I have stayed in have always been well maintained and managed very responsibly. There are clear regulations in order to ensure that the residents of the neighborhoods that we stay in are not impacted by our presence, and we take no issue with abiding by same. Should Short Term Rentals no longer be an option in Palm Desert, I would have to look elsewhere for holidays, thus not bringing tourism dollars into the City of Palm Desert. While I understand the City's concerns with irresponsible guests staying in communities, I believe that banning Short Term Rentals would be detrimental to the economy of your City. I believe a reasonable compromise would be a 7-night minimum stay. This would stave off "party going" guests, yet allow the responsible and respectful tourists the ability to experience the beautiful City of Palm Desert. Thank you for your consideration. Kindly forward this letter to the City Council on my behalf. Sincerely, Robert & Carol Renke 46351 Golden Rod Lane Palm Desert California 92260 760 423-6063 Rob mobile 760 408-8648 Carol 760 408-2040 November 8, 2017 City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz via kswartz@citvofpalmdesert.orq Dear Mr. Swartz: Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance We have been full time residents in South Palm Desert since 1999 and actively run a medical practice also in the City. We are committed to the community. We strongly opposed the ban being contemplated for a host of reasons: By permitting and collecting tax on STRs, the City effectively (in spirit) amended the R1 zoning. Instituting a total ban is misrepresentation and unmeasured leadership by the City for both the property owners and visitors who come to our fair community. Our understanding is that the STR property owners are offering to work with the City to find solutions. This process of collaboration has not been given a chance to work so the ban in extremely hasty and reactionary. If our desert community needs one thing it is some fresh blood. Younger and working middle age people who love the desert should feel welcome here. We need to diversify our population which is overly slanted to retirees. Indian Wells is an example of a "no fun" community we do not wish to emulate. We have had no issues with noise or other problems from the many renters who stay in South Palm Desert. The City has extra funding from taxation then those funds should be used to enforce noise ordinances etc. There are many home owners who need the ability to rent out their home for supplemental income. We all know many older people who have seen their investment portfolio wiped out by the Great Recession of 2008. In the spirit of American freedom, they should do as they please with their property within zoning guidelines as long as it does not impact the neighborhood in a negative way. We do not rent out our home. We have no intention of doing so but we sure would like our visiting friends and family to be able to otherwise we are stuck with hosting them full time!!! If the City does impose a ban, please send us a complimentary cook and maid. Thank you for your consideration. Please contact us if you have any questions. Sincerely, Robert Renke Carol Renke, MD Swartz, Kevin From: Sonja Johnson <sonjajohnson@shaw.ca> Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 8:52 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Palm Desert Short -Term Rentals November 7, 2017 City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 VIA EMAIL (kswartz@cityofpalmdesert.orq) Attention: Kevin Swartz Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance Dear Mr. Swartz; We have recently become aware that the City of Palm Desert has passed the first reading of an ordinance to ban Short -Term Rentals in Palm Desert residential zones and that the second reading is scheduled for November 16, 2017. Our understanding is that if the second reading passes, the ban will be in effect as of July 1, 2019. We are reaching out to you today to express our opposition to ban Short -Term Rentals in Palm Desert residential zones. We are strong believers that Short -Term Rentals benefit the local community by attracting and hosting vacationers to the area. These vacationers not only boost the economy while they are here; the rental properties create employment, tax revenue, betterment to the properties, and create global exposure for Palm Desert through social media. Positive exposure results in further economic benefit to the community. We are opposed to the Short -Term Rental ban in Palm Desert and if it comes into effect we will look for properties to rent in other communities either within, or outside of the Coachella Valley. We hope council will determine there is a compromise between a complete ban and additional guidelines that benefit everyone. Such guidelines could include setting the minimum night vacation rental to 5 — 7 days, noise curfews and other safeguards for residents. Thank you for your time. Please forward this letter to City Council on our behalf. Regards, Sonja Johnson and Rudy Wartlik 2622 Limestone Place, Coquitlam, BC, Canada 604-838-3272 1 City of Palm Desert NOV 07 2017 The Salon Community Development HAIR CARE • SKIN CARE NAIL CARE MAKEUP SERVICES November 1, 2017 To: The City of Palm Desert The Mayor and City Council Members From: Meg Firestone Owner J Russell ! The Salon Re: New City Neighborhood Regulations for VRBO Dear Sirs and Madam, 8C:hNd 9—AONllai I am a local business owner that has enjoyed the year round business growth that the VRBO residents have brought to our Beauty Salon,Spa and all of our fellow merchants here in our shopping center. We are located on the corner of El Paseo and Hiway 111 in Palm Desert. I certainly do understand the problems that some neighborhoods have experienced with inappropriate and out of control short term renters; however, I have had the privilege of working with excellent landlords who have invested in their neighborhoods and not only run an excellent business but require their tenants to uphold all of the rules of the City of Palm Desert as it relates to noise and nuisance issues. With the proper regulations imposed by the City and insisted upon by the homeowner I am hopeful that the VRBO rentals will be allowed to continue. The people that I work with do have their city permits, they do have a contract with their tenants, they do not rent to anyone under 25 years of age, and they personally meet their guests at the home upon their arrival and review the rules of the City of Palm Desert and their home. I do hope that the City of Palm Desert will consider the GOOD landlords that do follow the rules as it is so helpful to all of our businesses here in our center in Palm Desert, Ca. Sincerely, _ Meg Firestone, Bus 72-996 EL PASEO • PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA 92260 P 760.341.4641 • F 760.773.4756 • www.jrussellthesalon.com Swartz, Kevin From: sam K <samanthaknott@hotmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 3:45 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Short Term Rental Ordinance Dear Mr. Swartz: It has been brought to my attention that the City of Palm Desert passed a first reading of an ordinance on October 26, 2017 to ban Short Term Rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert as of July 1, 2019 with a second reading of this ordinance on Thursday, November 16, 2017 at City Hall. I am writing you to express my opposition to ban Short Term Rentals in the residential areas of Palm Desert close to El Paseo. I have rented in this area and spent a considerable amount of time enjoying everything the community has to offer over the past few years. If this ban passes, as a renter I will be forced to reconsider if Palm Desert is a place I want to spend my time and money in the future. Short Term Rentals in every area of the City of Palm Desert are positive for the community and the economy of Palm Desert. If this was to be passed there will be no more places to stay close to El Paseo which will be devastating to the surrounding shops and restaurants. I would like to propose that the City implement a minimum of 4-7 nights for Short Term Rentals as a reasonable compromise. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please forward this letter to the City Council on my behalf. Sincerely, Samantha Knott 2622 Limestone Place Coquitlam, BC V3E 2V1 i > Sincerely, > Sonja Parkinson. email: soniaoarkinson@icloud.com > 2 Swartz, Kevin From: Mary Parmakszian <maryedp@telus.net> Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 3:34 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: City of Palm Desert Sent from my iPad > > November 6th, 2017 > > > City of Palm Desert > 73-510 Fred Waring Drive > Palm Desert, CA 92260 > kswartzPcitvofoalmdesert.org > > Attention: Kevin Swartz > > > Dear Mr. Swartz: > > Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance > > I am writing because I believe that short term rentals should continue to be allowed throughout the City of Palm Desert. I have been vacationing in Palm Desert with my family several times per year for approximately ten years and hope to continue to be able to do so. When we come, we stay at rental houses in the Palm Desert area close to El Paseo. We regularly eat out at Mama Gina's, Mastros, The Daily Grill and II Corso. We don't like to drive once we've arrived, which is why this area is perfect for us. We come with extended family members, cousins, aunts, uncles and the like. We are always responsible guests at our short term rental homes and treat them as we would our own. > > I understand your desire to keep out renters who are disruptive to the neighborhood, but to increase the minimum rental length to 28 days would also keep out those of us who seek to travel to Palm Desert for a relaxing break. Myself, my family, and my friends cannot take 28 days out of our lives to travel and so we would be forced to seek out vacation properties in other areas. Typically, we come for 4-10 days at a time. If this Ordinance were passed, my family and many of my friends would no longer be stay in Palm Desert, spending money at local shops and restaurants, which would be detrimental for the Palm Desert economy. It is short-term renters who eat out frequently and spend their time shopping because their vacations are a small break from regular life while long-term renters are making their time in Palm Desert a part of their regular life and are less likely to spend more than they would on average at home. I believe that there are other ways to deal with the noise concerns expressed by full-time residents, such as harsher regulations on Short Term Rentals. I hope that the City Council will reconsider the Ordinance because Palm Desert has become a special place for me and my family and we would be distraught to have to vacation elsewhere. > > > > 1 Swartz, Kevin From: McLachlan, Catherine <Catherine.McLachlan@fraserhealth.ca> Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 4:14 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: Propsed ban on Short Term Rentals in Palm Desert November 7, 2017 VIA EMAIL (kswartz@citvofpalmdesert.orp) City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz Dear Mr. Swartz, This is regarding the proposed ban on Short Term Rentals in residential areas of the City of Palm Desert. I understand there is a second reading of this ordinance on Thursday, November 16, 2017. If this is passed, there will be no more places to stay close to El Paseo, which will be very disappointing, not only to vacationers like myself but to the local businesses. Short Term Rentals are positive for the community and the economy of Palm Desert. If Palm Desert proceeds with this ban, I and others 1 know who enjoy vacationing in Palm Desert will have to take our vacation dollars to Palm Springs and elsewhere. 1 would suggest that the City implement a minimum of 4-7 nights for Short Term Rentals as a reasonable compromise, rather than banning them altogether. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please forward this letter to the City Council on my behalf 1 Sincerely, Catherine McLachlan 2526 Cable Court, Coquitlam, BC Canada V3H 3E9 Tel: 604-469-9757 Swartz, Kevin From: Jeannie Park <park2082@shaw.ca> Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 4:57 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: RE: Short Term Rental Ordinance - Palm Desert November 7, 2017 City of Palm Desert 73-510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 Attention: Kevin Swartz Dear Mr. Swartz: Re: Short Term Rental Ordinance Dear Mr. Swartz, It has come to my attention that the City of Palm Desert passed a first reading of an ordinance on October 26, 2017 to ban Short Term Rentals in residential zones in Palm Desert as of July 1, 2019. I understand there is a second reading of this ordinance on Thursday, November 16, 2017 at City Hall. If this was to be passed, there will be no more places to stay close to El Paseo which will be very disappointing for myself and many other Canadians. Please accept this letter as my opposition to ban the perspective of a repeat renter of Short Term Rental properties in the residential areas of Palm Desert close to El Paseo. Short Term Rentals in the City of Palm Desert are positive for the community and the economy of Palm Desert. If Palm Desert proceeds with this ban, I will choose to rent properties in Palm Springs instead. I hope that at the very least, the City will implement a minimum of 4-7 nights for Short Term Rentals as a reasonable compromise. I look forward to being able to enjoy family vacations in El Paseo, Palm Desert. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please forward this letter to the City Council on my behalf. Sincerely, Jeannie Park 6715 Churchill Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada 604-250-1020 i Swartz, Kevin From: Stendell, Ryan Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 4:57 PM To: Swartz, Kevin Subject: FW: THANK YOU Ryan Stendell Director of Community Development Ph: 760.346.0611 Direct: 760.776.6386 rstendell@cityofpalmdesert.org From: desertcat4Caiuno.com fmailto:desertcat4@iuno.coml Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 2:41 PM To: Stendell, Ryan Subject: THANK YOU Mr. Stendell I want to Thank You for all the hard work you put into the Short Term Rental ordinance. Your guidance, knowledge, and professionalism showed in the understanding of the issue and how it effects everyone differently. When dealing with a continuous matter it is never easy. As a Bank Manager I often had to give different options to a customer or employee to make sure we were compliant with the laws and rules we are governed by. The compromise of removing the STR's from R 1 /R2 zones was a very good one. Thank You again for all your effort, time, and hard work. Palm Desert is lucky to have you working for us. Sincerely, Cathy Forrister Retired Bank Manager How To Remove Eye Bags & Lip Lines Fast (Watch) Fit MOm Daily 1