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<br />250 East 1st Street, Suite 1201; Los Angeles, California 90012 <br />213.336.5900  betterneighborsla.org <br /> <br />December 3, 2024 <br /> <br />City Council <br />City of Santa Ana <br />20 Civic Center Plaza <br />Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br />eComment@santa-ana.org <br />Via Electronic Mail <br /> <br />Re: Better Neighbors LA Comment Letter –Agenda Item #15 Second Reading of Ordinance <br />Amendment (OA) No. 2024-04 Repealing and Reenacting in its Entirety Article XXI to <br />Chapter 8 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC) Prohibiting Short-Term Rentals– <br />SUPPORT <br /> <br />Dear Councilmembers, <br /> <br />Better Neighbors LA writes to you in support of adopting the Ordinance Amendment <br />(OA) No. 2024-04 that will repeal and re-enact in its entirety Article XXI to Chapter 8 of the <br />Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC) prohibiting Short-Term Rentals (STRs) and adopting <br />enhanced fines for violations of the Short-Term Rental Ordinance. As residents across Southern <br />California continue to face a housing affordability and homelessness crisis, precautions must be <br />taken to protect housing stock for long-term residents. It is crucial to codify Santa Ana’s <br />prohibition on short-term rentals within the City, and in the process, further safeguard housing <br />for long-term residents. <br /> <br />Better Neighbors LA is a coalition of hosts, tenants, housing activists, hotel workers, and <br />community members working to curb illegal short-term rental activity with the intent to protect <br />housing and neighborhoods impacted by the short-term rental industry.1 We conduct data <br />analysis and research on the short-term rental industry and its impact on affordable housing. <br />According to our analysis of AirDNA data, the vast majority of short-term rentals in the City of <br />Santa Ana are unhosted, meaning they are whole home rentals that are not primarily used for <br />long-term housing, unlike hosted rentals.2 Since 2019, the number of unhosted short-term rental <br />listings has increased by 294% and grown to over 509 units. Hosted units, on the other hand, <br />have risen by 169 listings, or 134%. The number of unhosted STRs aligns with the staff report <br />findings on enforcement notices and citations. Staff identified that the majority of properties with <br /> <br />1 https://www.betterneighborsla.org/ <br />2 AirDNA data on file with Better Neighbors includes VRBO and Airbnb listings within the City of Santa Ana through March <br />2023. https://www.airdna.co/