Resolution Opposing City of Santa Cruz Eliminating Vacation Rentals

WHEREAS, the city of Santa Cruz has allowed and regulated short-term vacation rentals within its city limits for decades, supporting tourism in the city, and generating nearly one million dollars in tourism tax revenue in 2016, and

WHEREAS, on July 20th, 2017, ignoring the Subcommittee and City staff recommendations, the planning commission voted to eliminate ALL Santa Cruz non-owner-occupied vacation rentals and heavily restrict all other properties in the City with a new proposed ordinance, and

WHEREAS, the City Manager’s office nonsensically now claims these 200 properties could become housing for City employees, and banning their use as vacation rentals will make the other 23,435 City housing units more affordable, and

WHEREAS, this proposed ordinance will cost the City nearly $1 million per year in TOT tax losses, will require the City to hire several new administrative staff members, and

WHEREAS, restricting an already tight supply of tourism housing could cost local businesses over $18,000,000 a year in total tourism revenue losses, and

WHEREAS, the proposed ordinance would force existing, legally permitted and operating vacation rentals to cease operations forcing the owners to sacrifice their investments in their property and lose vital income (City staff stated, “Owners should plan on making other family or life decisions with their Property”). 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Santa Cruz County Republican Central Committee opposes this proposed ordinance and calls on all Republicans to do their part to oppose this measure with these actions:

• Educate themselves by learning more at www.SCCRVA.com
• Contact the Santa Cruz City Council to voice their opinion by talking with their council member, or emailing them at [email protected]
• Attend the next City Council meeting at 7pm on September 26, 2017, to voice opposition to this ordinance and advocate for sensible solutions to our current housing crisis that cooperate with property owners, rather than take their rights away.

ADOPTED this 24th day of August 2017, by the Santa Cruz County Republican Central Committee.