Airbnb-type rentals now prohibited

By Alejandra Arevalo
Special to The Friday Flyer

The Canyon Lake City Council unanimously passed an ordinance last week prohibiting short-term leasing in response to neighbor complaints toward disruptive short-term tenants who have no investment in the community.

“People move to residential neighborhoods to raise families and be community members,” Special/Code Enforcement Supervisor Gina Dickson said. “They don’t want to be next to a party house or concert venue.”

Short-term rentals are those that are leased for less than 30 days, often rented by people from outside the community for as few as one or two nights. Before the passing of the new ordinance, many Canyon Lake short-term rentals could be found on Airbnb, one of the more popular resources for booking a few-day vacation stays.

The city received 22 service calls regarding short-term rentals in the past two months, with marijuana odors infiltrating to nearby properties as one of the main complaints, Gina said.

Violators will either be charged with a misdemeanor or an infraction once the law goes into effect on August 7. It is the discretion of the City Attorney as to which penalty will be assessed. The misdemeanor would most likely be assessed on the most serious offenders and carries with it a fine of up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment of up to six months. Infractions carry a fine of up to $100 for the first violation, up to $200 for the second within a year and up to $500 for the third within a year. A fourth violation will automatically result in a misdemeanor charge.

The negative impacts of short-term tenants as reported by neighbors include loud noises, increased trash, excessive cars and parking issues. The city had previously issued a moratorium on rentals that were less than 30 days, and since then, they investigated what Gina referred to as “problem homes.” These illicit vacation rentals weren’t required to pay the Transient Occupancy Tax, which hotels and camping sites pay to operate.

Enforcement officers monitored rental sites such as Airbnb and FlipKey to collect evidence of illegal short-term rentals, but Gina said these efforts are “time consuming and a disservice to our taxpayer dollars.” In support, CIty Manager Chris Mann said aiming to regulate, instead of ban, this issue would lead to more investigative work for the already stretched enforcement staff.

“Short-term commercial use of these rentals is extremely hard to investigate because everyone is coached on what to say when we get there,“ Gina said.

In the long run, she said these rentals raise median rent prices and drive away families that would be valuable community members.

Zoning laws forbid residential areas to host hotels, but these short-term rentals ignore those restrictions and lead to the inevitable disruption of tourists. In response, the city council decided to ban short-term property leasing to preserve the community of Canyon Lake.

“Canyon Lake is a resort type community for the members,” Chris said. “It’s not for other people to pick a vacation here and make this a destination.“