Livermore Council Considers Regulating Airbnbs

LIVERMORE, CA — The Livermore City Council will consider an ordinance to regulate short-term vacation rentals, such as Airbnbs and Vrbos.

The council asked the city at its meeting Monday evening to draft an ordinance regulating short-term rentals, or stays in residential units for less than 30 nights. The average short-term rental cost in Livermore is $89 per night, the city wrote in a report to the council.

"Safety and quality of life in residential neighborhoods is a top priority, and if unregulated, short-term rentals have the potential to impact existing residential neighbors and could also negatively influence the long-term rental housing supply," the city wrote.

Some testifiers expressed concerns about short-term rentals that are not hosted, meaning guests are not supervised by a homeowner. Councilmember Robert W. Carling said he was sympathetic to fact that requiring hosted rentals could be uncomfortable for guests.

Livermore tourism groups and Livermore Valley Wine Country support short-term rentals because they provide guests more options to visit the city's wine region, the city wrote.

Short-term rentals can be a path to home ownership, said Councilmember Bob Woerner, and an ordinance would help the city keep track of short-term rental activity.

Mayor John Marchand said he supported requiring guests to provide contact information so they could be contacted if things got out of hand.

"I think it's important that we protect the neighborhoods that we have," he said.

The move comes months after a mass shooting at a Halloween party hosted at an Airbnb in Orinda. The platform banned party houses in response.

Watch the meeting here.