There’s still a lot of confusion and frustration surrounding vacation rental rules.
For years, people who make money from vacation rentals, and those who live in homes next to them, have been at odds. One side wants clear rules to follow. Another wants a strict crackdown and limit and yet another side just wants the city to clear out all vacation rentals with a ban they say all ready exists.
But just when it looked like the City Council was poised to finally pass a comprehensive plan, it abruptly canceled its meeting.
Our Lisa Halverstadt put together a clear FAQ on the whole dilemma, explaining the bombshell memo from the city attorney’s office that questioned the legality of some proposed regulations and prompted the meeting’s cancelation, reminding us what short-term vacation rentals are and the two types of them, detailing the plans on the table and more.
It’s essentially everything you need to know in advance of the vote on vacation rental rules, which has been rescheduled for Dec. 12.
• One of the vacation rental plans being considered is championed by Councilman Chris Ward. Along with colleagues Mark Kersey, Scott Sherman and David Alvarez, he submitted a memo outlining an ordinance to regulate short-term vacation rentals, and – boy oh boy – the vocal anti-vacation rental crowd sure doesn’t like it.
In his latest, VOSD’s Scott Lewis explains how those pushing hard for an outright ban on vacation rentals in San Diego have now pointed their ire at Ward.
“One-time allies are turning on him,” Lewis writes. That includes the hotel-workers union, which has mobilized on the issue.
Building a Successful Battling Biz
Diana Ocampo was one of the only female mixed-martial arts promoters in the nation. The business she built around the sport – both in Tijuana and San Diego – became a big financial success.
But then she got cancer right when she was at the top of her career, and lost everything.
A boxer since she was six years old, Ocampo didn’t stay down for long. In a new episode of I Made it in San Diego, Voice of San Diego’s podcast about the stories behind the region’s businesses, Scott Lewis talks to Ocampo about how she picked herself back up and built another business in Barrio Logan centered around the thrill of friendly combat.
Homeless Service Providers Seek Budget Boost
To get funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, homeless service providers must follow the “housing first” model that says it’s best to first get homeless people in stable, permanent housing, then provide them with wraparound social services to address what might’ve made them homeless.
Homeless service providers that don’t follow that model don’t get the funding from the feds. In the latest North County Report, VOSD contributor Ruarri Serpa explains how two providers that have refused to follow the housing first model are filling their budget shortfalls by asking North County cities to help.
Also in Serpa’s roundup of North County news: the proposed new soccer stadium in Oceanside isn’t exactly a slam-dunk deal, new beach access points in Carlsbad and more.
Categate Continues
San Diego City Councilman Chris Cate might have to give a sworn deposition about his leak of a confidential memo from the city attorney about the SoccerCity initiative earlier this year.
KPBS reports that attorney Cory Briggs filed a motion last Friday asking Cate and others to testify under oath as part of his civil lawsuit against the city of San Diego asking it to lift the confidentiality of the memo.
A judge is scheduled to weigh in on the issue on Jan. 19.
Quick News Hits
• San Diego Gas & Electric wants to replace its outdated computer system with a $253 million new one that the company says will help save ratepayers money, but first the California Public Utilities Commission has to approve the deal. (Union-Tribune)
• In a postscript to his latest column, the Union-Tribune’s Logan Jenkins says he’s retiring as a full-time writer and will now only be writing one piece a week instead of three.
• CityBeat says the next chapter of the former Central Library building is probably not as a homeless shelter, despite local business leaders who are pushing hard for it.
The city recently put out a new request for proposals for the old Central Library. It did the same thing a few years ago and ultimately tossed out the three proposals it ended up getting.
• San Diego Coastkeeper is suing the state Water Resources Control Board for failing to identify and clean up polluted stretches of waterways across the state, including 30 in San Diego.
• The city is trying to toughen up a rule requiring businesses that contract with the city to disclose the names of everyone involved in the business. (Times of San Diego)
• What stanks? Oh, just another cross-border sewage spill that poured into the ocean waters off the southern coast of San Diego County last week. (KPBS)