The hotly debated future of Airbnb and short-term vacation rentals in San Diego came into the spotlight this week with a public hearing before City Council. So many folks turned out, in fact, the hearing’s scheduled for a continuation May 29.
We had two guests on either side of the Airbnb debate on our podcast this week to weigh in on the pros and cons. Omar Passons, a local attorney, has been heavily involved in defending what he says is the right of residents to rent out their homes – or portions of them.
The most frustrating thing to come out of Wednesday’s hearing, Passons said, was the city announcing short-term room rentals are not allowed. “I think that’s going to create a lot of confusion and allow a lot of neighbors to ring up code enforcement and essentially deputize them to be telling on their neighbors,” Passons said.
On the other side of things is Scott Gruby, a founding member of SaveSanDiegoNeighborhoods.org, who’s advocated for banning short-term rentals. “What is more important, my quality of life, or the person next door basically making money?” Gruby said.
Also on the show: how schools stack up in attracting neighborhood kids and what the district says are the major factors influencing parent decisions, a Super Bowl reality check and why the city of Carson is a Hero while Poway school execs earn this week’s Goat.
Listen to the podcast here, on Stitcher or on iTunes.
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