Housing and Human Services Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Housing and Human Services Commission Wednesday, July 22, 2015 7:00 PM West Conference Room, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CALL TO ORDER Chair Gilbert called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chair Gilbert led the salute to the flag. ROLL CALL Present: 4 - Commissioner Diana Gilbert Commissioner Dennis Chiu Commissioner Chrichelle McCloud Vice Chair Barbara Schmidt Absent: 2 - Commissioner Younil Jeong Chair Patti Evans Council Liaison Patrick Meyering (absent) Vice Chair Younil Jeong (unexcused absence) Commissioner Patti Evans (excused absence) PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 1.A 15-0472 Draft Minutes of the Housing and Human Services Commission Meeting of May 20, 2015 Chair Gilbert asked if anyone wanted to pull an item from the consent calendar for discussion. No one did. Chair Gilbert asked for a motion to approve the consent calendar. Commissioner Chiu moved and Commissioner McCloud seconded the motion to approve the consent calendar which is comprised of the Draft Minutes of the City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Housing and Human Services Meeting Minutes - Final July 22, 2015 Commission Housing and Human Services Commission Meeting of May 20, 2015. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4 - Commissioner Gilbert Commissioner Chiu Commissioner McCloud Vice Chair Schmidt No: 0 Absent: 2 - Commissioner Jeong Chair Evans PUBLIC COMMENTS None. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 15-0664 Public Hearing: Study Issue CDD 15-12: Regulating Short-term Residential Rental Units (i.e., AirBnB) Principal Planner Andrew Miner gave a presentation on the topic. He explained that the concerns about short-term residential rentals revolve around the impact that they can have on the cost of housing and availability of long-term affordable rental units in the area; parking, traffic and safety in the neighborhood; as well as the regulatory and zoning incompatiblity of what would essentially become a hotel in a residential area. During the presentation the commissioners asked about the type of insurance that hosts are required to carry, type of fees being considered, parking concerns, and the permit process being proposed. Chair Gilbert opened the public hearing at 8:01 p.m. Jennifer Martin, Sunnyvale resident, shared her experience living next to an unhosted short-term residential rental. She noted that the rapid turn over causes problems because it makes the area feel unsafe, it's difficult to keep track of the different people that come and go whithout really knowing if they should or should not be there. Lorraine Heng, Sunnyvale resident, stated that she owns an unhosted short-term rental and noted that she has a permit for a rental and that she pays TOT. She shared that in her experience, longer-term renters tend create more problems for an owner than short-term renters because there is less wear and tear on the home City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Housing and Human Services Meeting Minutes - Final July 22, 2015 Commission because it is cleaned and checked for damage after each renter's stay. Linda McGahen, Sunnyvale resident, stated that she has a hosted rental. She expressed that her experience renting through AirBnB has been positive because AirBnb provides photos of the guests, verifies the information that they provide, and collects the money. In addition, most of her guests don't drive: therefore, parking has not been an issue for her or her neighbors. Dan Paustian and Terrie Pattee, stated that they own an unhosted rental and carry special insurance for it. Mr. Paustian added that Sunnyvale should embrace the short-term rental business model, let the market decide, and warned against over-regulation which prevents an owner from making decisions about the use of his own home. Theresa Heng-Penner, Sunnyvale resident, owns an unhosted rental. She spoke favorably of her experience and the advantages of having short-term guests rather than long-term tenants who tend to run the home down. She added that she posts a best practices list for the guests and by it being unhosted it reduces the parking impact to the neighborhood. She added that allowing only hosted rentals would be over-regulating the use of the home. Stacy McGowen, realtor and advocate of the free market, stated that long-tern renters and slumlords can have a worse impact in housing than short-term renters. She added that a higher turn over results in less wear and tear on the home. She suggested that homeowners of any type of rental should be taught and tested on how to be a good landlord. Chair Gilbert closed the public hearing at 8:54 p.m. After a lengthy discussion and more clarifying questions of staff, Chair Gilbert asked for a motion. Commissioner's opinions on appeals were split. Two commissioners felt that there should be an appeal option, while two felt it was not needed. Commissioner Chiu moved and Commissioner McCloud seconded the motion to: 1. Allow hosted and unhosted short-term residential rental units 2. Not limit number of days allowed per year 3. Not limit the type of residential properties 4. Require payment of transient occupancy tax (TOT) City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Housing and Human Services Meeting Minutes - Final July 22, 2015 Commission 5. Require permit fee (staff can determine the amount that will aid in enforcement) 6. Codify the requirements 7. Require the property owner's signature on the short-term rental application 8. Make the permit available over-the-counter 9. Issue the permit in perpetuity 10. Not notify of permit issuance The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4 - Commissioner Gilbert Commissioner Chiu Commissioner McCloud Vice Chair Schmidt No: 0 Absent: 2 - Commissioner Jeong Chair Evans 3 15-0618 Election of Officers for FY 2015-2016 Chair Gilbert suggested a short break at 9:51 p.m. Chair Gilbert called the meeting back to order at 9:58 p.m. Chair Gilbert asked if anyone was interested in serving as Chair and opened the floor for nominations. Commissioner McCloud nominated Commissioner Evans for the office of Chair. Chair Gilbert closed the floor for nominations and opened the floor for discussion. Commissioner Evans was elected to the Office of Chair for FY 2015-16 by acclamation. Chair Gilbert asked if anyone was interested in serving as Vice Chair and opened the floor for nominations. Commissioner Chiu nominated Commissioner Schmidt for the office of Vice Chair. Chair Gilbert closed the floor for nominations and opened the floor for discussion. Commissioner Schmidt was elected to the Office of Vice Chair for FY 2015-16 by acclamation. City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Housing and Human Services Meeting Minutes - Final July 22, 2015 Commission NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioners thanked Chair Gilbert for her service as Chair during FY 2014-2015. -Staff Comments None. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS 15-0573 Revised Council Policy 7.2.19 ADJOURNMENT City of Sunnyvale Page 5