Short-Term Rental Regulations Now in the Works for San Diego

San Diegans who have grievances about "short-term rentals" figure to be on edge a while longer.

But efforts to come up with a set of regulations are finally under way.

City Attorney Mara Elliott recently concluded that short-term rentals actually are illegal in San Diego, because they're not specifically mentioned in the city's zoning ordinance.

Even so, nobody's gotten a ticket for that.

The issue has been heating to a boil for years, mainly because a lot of people renting non-owner occupied dwellings have been noisy, inconsiderate party animals -- especially in beach neighborhoods.

While residents often complain to police and city hall, enforcement of nuisance regulations hasn't had enough impact on a large scale.

And the City Council has been reluctant to pass what would have amounted to widespread bans on short-term rentals.

Now, after many hours of meetings involving vacation-rental advocates and opponents who say the practice is a disruption to communities, City Council members are weighing options for a regulatory scheme that Mayor Faulconer is looking forward to this summer.

β€œIt's time not just to engage in dialogue, but to get it done," Elliott said during Friday's recording session for Sunday's edition of NBC 7’s "Politically Speaking" program, which airs at 9 a.m.

β€œIt is one of those issues where you're going to have people unhappy on either side of it, so I think there's been a reluctance to act,” Elliott added. β€œBut I do think we have a Council that's very anxious to resolve this issue. So I'm very optimistic. And we have a team of lawyers in the office who are standing by, ready to help."

Otherwise, without formal regulations to use, city inspectors can only crack down on nuisance complaints.

Short-term rental issues also are testing other cities in the area, especially coastal communities.

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