Millbrae set to discuss short-term rental rules

The proposals to ramp up the city’s ability to collect fees on the rentals while also preserving community safety and neighborhood quality of life come in the wake of a raging party hosted at an online rental property which ended in gunshots.

While no one was injured in the incident, fears shared by residents alarmed over the threat of another similar party occurring compelled officials to take action and draft more stringent regulations.

Mayor Gina Papan suggested she felt some of the proposed policies would work toward ameliorating the concerns raised by residents after the party last month on Lombardi Lane.

“It appears that we will be able to have greater public safety measures on the books that will allow law enforcement to respond in a stronger manner,” she said, while noting she had not yet reviewed the entirety of the proposal.

Under the policies up for approval, councilmembers may broaden the city’s capacity to generate revenue by seeking business and rental permits as well as transient occupancy taxes from those listing their properties for rent online.

Councilmembers will also examine an opportunity to require property owners to keep an agent locally who can respond to reports of an emergency at a Millbrae listing within an hour. The representative could allow police onto a property, if there was reasonable suspicion that a crime was being committed, according to a city report.

Such an authorization would address concerns raised by residents frustrated that their repeated reports of the unruly party yielded no intervention from police, who were limited in their power to enter the property.

Following the incident, police officials said they could not shut the event down because they could not reach the property owner and the occupants would not allow officers to enter the house. They could not force entry because there was no visible sign of illegal activity, and action could only be taken after shots rang out.

The proposed policy would extend to offer parking restrictions, limitations on the amount of renters, property maintenance requirements and prohibitions on commercial events hosted at the properties which could result in additional nuisances, among other efforts.

While beefing up the city’s regulations, the proposal stops far short of the calls from some frustrated residents for banning all online home rentals in Millbrae.

Papan said the measured approach is borne from an interest among officials to enhance their ability to monitor the industry while also observing the property rights of responsible hosts.

“We have to be able to protect the rights of these homeowners who I think have a right to, given the cost of living in our region, access additional revenue,” she said. “As long as they are not negatively impacting their neighbors and we are able to assure public safety overall, I don’t see that as a problem.”

Papan’s perspective recognizes the concerns raised at a previous discussion of the issue by Millbrae residents who hosted short-term rentals and were willing to adhere to enhanced regulations, but opposed bans on the industry.

Ban critics claimed the services offered by Airbnb or other similar websites allowed them to supplement their income by renting additional spaces in their home. An Airbnb representative also previously added attempts to disallow short-term rentals are often ineffective, as the variety of outlets available to interested property owners are too vast for most municipalities to track.

For the company’s part, Airbnb said it is committed to working with Millbrae officials in an effort to draft a set of regulations best designed to meet the needs of the local community.

“Home sharing is very important for many Millbrae residents who use their earnings from Airbnb to supplement their income and get by in an ever more expensive city,” said Airbnb spokeswoman Jasmine Mora in an email. “We want to continue working with the city of Millbrae to ensure there are fair rules that help locals share their home while protecting neighborhood quality of life.”

Meanwhile, Papan said she believes officials will ultimately approve a policy designed to address Airbnb, and the variety of other websites offering similar services.

“We are going for a global approach to all the companies out there,” she said.

The Millbrae City Council meets 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, in City Hall, 621 Magnolia Ave.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 105