The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 106, No. 45 - November 9, 2017
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................14
Classifieds............................4
Community Briefs...............3
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................6
Halloween Frolic.................7
Legals............................ 12,13
Police Reports.....................2
Real Estate...........8-11,15,16
Sports.............................. 5,14
Weekend
Forecast
Fun-Filled Frights at the Frolic
Even though the Dodgers played in game six of the World Series the evening of October 31, the community still came out in droves for Main Street’s popular Halloween Frolic. All types of animals in the
Bland Family. For more photos, see More Halloween Highlights on page 7. Photo by Marcy Dugan. •
City Council Looks at Short-Term
Rental Issues, Possible Permitting
By Brian Simon
Short-term residential rentals (i.e. Airbnb,
HomeAway and VRBO) and how to potentially
Affordable Housing Authority
Stays Under City Council Control
By Rob McCarthy
The nation’s high court sees no legal
problem with California cities and counties
requiring builders to make some houses
and apartments in new developments
affordable to people who’ve been priced
out of the market. The justices rejected
a Southern California developer’s argument
that affordablehousing quotas are
unconstitutional.
In a case pitting California cities and
counties against developers, justices last
month refused to take up a West Hollywood
developer’s challenge to inclusionary zoning.
This type of zoning gives city councils
and boards of supervisors the authority
to adopt ordinances and set policies that
force new developments to include some
affordable homes for sale and apartments
for rent. Inclusionary zoning is considered
by urban planners and government agencies
an effective tool for adding to the limited
availability of affordable housing units.
“People shouldn’t have to the leave the
state in order to find affordable housing
or achieve the American dream of home
ownership,” said State Senator Steven
Bradford (D-Gardena.)
The zoning power gives local officials
the dual powers to approve new developments
while extending some rent relief to
a small number of residents and families
with low or moderate incomes. The U.S.
See Affordable Housing, page 13
regulate them spurred lengthy discussion
at Tuesday night’s El Segundo City Council
meeting. Over the last year, City of El Segundo
staff sought input from the Southern
California Council of Governments (SBCOG),
other cities, the Chamber of Commerce and
the general public (via a survey) on the matter.
On Tuesday, City Principal Planner Eduardo
Schonborn presented options to the Council
for dealing with short-term rentals including
banning them altogether, keeping things as
they are today, or allowing them through a
permitting process.
Several South Bay cities have already instituted
bans on short-term rentals with various
penalties imposed on violators. However,
Schonborn noted that enforcement doesn’t
tend to work well. He pointed out that one
city reported that it had reduced the number
of short-term rentals from the hundreds to just
three—and yet a recent website search still
revealed 87 listings.
A further disadvantage to banning short-term
rentals is the lost revenue opportunity for both
business license and transit occupancy tax
(TOT) collection, Schonborn explained. He
added that doing nothing also creates unfair
competition with the local hotel industry that
already pays those taxes.
Under a permitting system (which the Planning
Commission recently recommended),
applicants would undergo a screening process to
verify ownership, ensure they have no outstanding
debt to the City and show their properties
are safe (e.g. have working smoke and carbon
monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers).
Property owners would also sign an affidavit
for operational conditions such as the number
of guests on the premises and onsite parking
availability. Qualifying units would include
houses, accessory dwelling units, condominiums
and apartments (but only one in a building so
as not to create a hotel-like situation).
Revenue Manager Juliana Demers provided
an overview of potential City yields from the
program. Applicants would pay a one-time
registration fee of $250 (and $150 in subsequent
years), a business license tax of $103
and then the City’s 12 percent TOT. Based on
an estimate of 150 days of the year at $150
per night, a typical short-term rental garners
about $22,000 annually. Owners would pay a
total of $3,053 in year one ($2,953 thereafter),
of which $2,700 is the TOT. With roughly 100
short-term rentals in town, the City could expect
to earn in the vicinity of $300,000 in additional
yearly tax revenues, according to Demers.
The prospect of allowing short-term rentals
did not sit well with several residents who addressed
the Council during the public hearing on
the topic. Neighbors of a particular property at
416 Virginia Street complained about continued
problems at that location from short-term renters
and worried that permitting the entire process
would exacerbate issues across town. Gary
Schumnk spoke of “loud parties” and “drunken
fights” at the Virginia site, stating that it is
like “living next door to a fraternity house.”
Mona Eisman warned that the financial appeal
of short-term rentals is “tremendous” and that
if El Segundo is the only beach community
Friday See City Council, page 4
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