Malibu Planning Commission Debates Short-Term Rental Ordinance

MALIBU, CA — The Malibu Planning Commission held a meeting on Monday to discuss parties and large gatherings occurring in short-term rentals. Members of the Planning Commission said that they have gotten complaints from residents, and voiced their support for amending the city’s short-term rental (STR) ordinance to prevent large gatherings violating the stay-at-home order.

“If there’s a message you can send to the City Council is that the commission wants [a STR ordinance] to move forward. I’d like to vote [on it]. I’d like to see it moving forward. I think this has been dragging on for a long time,” Planning Commissioner Steve Uhring said. For the time being, the local sheriff’s department is enforcing noise and social distancing regulations, but Planning Commissioner Chris Marx said that he’s heard that the sheriff’s department has not been as responsive to complaints as some residents would like.

In December 2019, the Council unanimously approved steps to regular STRs by adopting provisions similar to Santa Monica’s 2015 home-sharing ordinance. According to Planning Director Bonnie Blue, the City Council elected not enact an interim ordinance on the topic.

Blue added that City Council and City Manager felt that it would be better to postpone larger, controversial legislative items like an STR ordinance until after in-person meetings can resume at City Hall and videoconferencing technical concerns don’t prevent residents from contributing to the debate.

In the meantime, City Attorney Trevor Rusin said that the stay-at-home order is enforceable by the sheriff’s department, and that city government would be in touch with them to prevent any violations.