Will You Come Wearing White? Laguna Beach City Council to Discuss Short-Term Lodging Tomorrow

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Is white your color, Laguna Beach? Opponents of Short Term Lodging will be at Aug. 30's City Council Meeting in force wearing white t-shirts and their anti-Short Term Lodging buttons, according to a letter from the Laguna Beach Republicans.

A pro-Short Term Lodging group is reportedly asking the city council to renege on having Consent Item 16 on their consent calendar for tomorrow's vote. The summary states:

"The ordinance provides that short-term lodging is not allowed in residential zones, that currently approved permits for short-term lodging are grandfathered and run with the land, that short-term lodging is allowed in certain commercial zones, that regulations and standards for the operation of short-term lodging are added, and that new permits for short-term lodging do not run with the land. In approving the first reading of the ordinance, the City Council made specific amendments to the ordinance."

Now, in a plea to their members, the Laguna Beach Republicans are crying for their voice to be heard yet again.

"On August 30 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers, the City Council will be making the final decision about what to do about short-term lodging (STL) in Laguna Beach," the email from the Laguna Beach Republicans stated. "Last August 9, the Council voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the Planning Commission restricting short-term lodging in residential neighborhoods. Yet, under tremendous pressure from the short-term lodging industry, we believe the Council will be asked to re-consider their prior vote and pull the matter from the consent calendar. That means we have to be prepared to speak once again."

The primary concerns of the Laguna Beach Republicans are:

• Enforcement
• Violation of the General Plan
• Attraction of transients into neighborhoods
• Two week Rentals Still Not Enough for Proponents
• Home Exchange is Allowed
• Cuts Down on Affordable Housing Stock
• May lower Housing Values
• Many other Cities have Total Bans
• Planning Commission Has Researched This for Months
• Encourages Toxic Neighbors
• Intensifies Water Usage

"We didn't bargain for short-term neighbors when we bought or rented our homes," the email stated. "We chose to live in quiet, peaceful neighborhoods where we know our neighbors."

If you stand with the Laguna Beach Republicans, wear your white and come out to City Hall tomorrow night, Aug. 30.

Are you for or against Short Term Housing in Laguna Beach? Tell us about it in the comments section.

For more information on this issue, visit: www.lagunabeachgop.net

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