Page 4 February 6, 2020 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Entertainment
By Ryan and Morgan Rojas
for cinemacy.com
Wake Up
Booksmart director Olivia Wilde and Once
Upon a Time in Hollywood star Margaret
Qualley explore the reality of technologyobsessed
culture in the branded short film,
Wake Up. Backed by computer goliath HP and
produced by Anonymous Content, Wake Up
Wake Up, Wendy, Shirley and Kajillionaire, courtesy of Sundance Institute.
is a beautifully shot cautionary tale about the
increase in isolation caused by an addiction to
technology. When a young woman (Qualley)
wakes up, alone, in a hospital with no relocation
of how she got there, she sets out to find
answers. However, everyone she attempts to
connect with is transfixed by their smartphone,
computer, or other electronic devices, ignoring
the outreach and bid for belonging from our
tech-less protagonist. Using her dance background,
Qualley gracefully moves and breezes
through New York City’s densely populated
area, literally reaching out to strangers for
connection, eye contact, and acknowledgement.
Shot by legendary cinematographer Mathew
Libatique and scored by indie artist Perfume
Genius, Wake Up is a dreamy foreshadowing
that a world devoid of human connection is
not a joyous one. Let technology aid us in
making the world a more connected place,
not act as barriers to drive us further away
from each other.
– Morgan
Wendy
After Benh Zeitlin first blew audiences away
with his debut film Beasts of the Southern
Wild back in 2012, people have long awaited
the director’s follow-up film. Eight years later,
audiences were finally treated to that film –
Film Review
Everything We Saw at the Sundance
Film Festival
See Film Review, page 8
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City Council from front page
The issue of how many guests a short-term
renter may invite over to a home or duplex
raised considerable debate. A reasonable
policy is best about guest-visitations, the
mayor said. Mayor Pro Tem Carol Pirsztuk
suggested the number be set at 12, including
children. Limiting the number of guests is a
way to prevent party houses or big occasions
at the rentals, the members agreed.
The short-term rental ordinance continues
to be a work in progress. However, the council
is standing firm on a restriction that no
accompanying dwelling unit can be rented
out short term under this new program.
A short-term rental is defined as a living
space rented out for up to 30 consecutive
days. It must be used for lodging, sleeping,
occupancy, or dwelling, per the proposed
change in city code.
The property owners must reside at the
address, though they aren’t required to be
present on-site every time they have a guest.
The city will rely on the booking sites, such
as Airbnb, to act quickly on complaints about
loud parties and disturbances at homes and
dwellings in El Segundo and agree to list
only properties that meet the insurance and
other requirements set by the city.
Police Chief Bill Whalen gave assurances
that officers can respond to daytime complaints
about noise levels at a residence. It’s
not about the decibel level, Whalen said, but
rather that occupants or guests at a dwelling
are creating a disturbance that is a nuisance
for the neighbors.
Any host who offers rooms for rent that
qualify under the short-term designation must
register with the city and obtain a permit
and a business license. Anyone who fails
to register before the July 1 launch of the
short-term rental program would receive a
warning letter. A $2,500 citation would follow
for non-compliance, followed a larger
citation of $5,000 for continued violations,
according to the draft.
The city would have an ally looking out for
cheaters who keep renting but don’t register
their dwellings after July 1. The city plans
to hire a host-compliance service to assist El
Segundo and its residents monitor the new
program. And the booking sites, including
the popular Airbnb, would disclose to the
city about short-term rental properties listed
in El Segundo each month. The cost for the
compliance service would be funded with the
permit fees and business taxes being created
along with the short-term stay pilot.
It’s estimated the city will raise $37,000
in fees and taxes and $125,000 in bed taxes
generated by the visitors who opt for a
homestay vs. a hotel room. City Manager
Scott Mitnick said he expects the revenues
to more than cover the costs of running the
pilot, and that he would come back to the
council to ask for fee changes if the program
isn’t paying for itself during the 18-month
period.
The proposed ordinance would allow shortstay
visitors to rent rooms in homes and
duplexes in El Segundo in neighborhoods
zoned R-1 and R-2. At the urging of at least
one property owner, the pilot wouldn’t rule
out short-term rental permits in R-3 zones.
However, a suggestion that El Segundo
limits the number of permits issued during
the 18-month trial period was rejected. Resident
Carrie Banks, who rents to short-stay
visitors in El Segundo through the popular
booking site Airbnb, estimated there are 80
properties in the city that rent guest rooms
for short-stay visits. She thought the council
could use 80 as a ballpark figure for how
many owner-occupants will sign up for the
trial rental program.
El Segundo’s city leaders have the option
to continue the short-term rental program
after the trial period ends in 2021. They also
may choose to change it, keep it, or close it
down if the experiment proves to be a failure.
Councilman Chris Pimentel asked for more
clarification about how the pilot program
will be evaluated.
The hosts must live on the property or
be on a lease with the owner’s permission
to participate. They are required to obtain a
city business license and a special short-term
rental permit and carry a $1 million liability
insurance policy.
Enforcement of the program has been a
concern to council members and residents
over the three-plus-years of public hearings
and workshops. The revised ordinance calls
for city code enforcement to follow up on
tips and reports of hosts in violation of rules.
Code-compliance officers will be tasked with
gathering evidence and issuing warnings and
fines, if necessary.
The police department will deal with public
nuisance calls and report any problems with
host dwellings to code enforcement for follow
up. The city Finance Department will issue
permits, maintain a list of short-term rental
properties, and check they are in compliance
and have permits and are collecting transient
occupant taxes on their short-stay bookings.
A manual of operations will be prepared and
should be ready in about 45 days.
Home-share rentals differ from the new
short-term rentals under city code, and
the city plans to review comments and feedback
from its staff and the host-compliance
company it selects. Mayor Boyles said
he’d like the council to see the data regularly.
The council would wait a year before
deciding whether to keep, change or drop
the pilot. •
Ryan Rojas Morgan Rojas
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