On Short-Term Rentals, San Diego Needed Leadership, Not Easy Answers

Few issues in San Diego have been as complex, or as politically charged, as short-term rentals.

For nearly a decade, San Diego has grappled with balancing neighborhood protections, housing, property rights, tourism, and public access to our coastline. There were no easy answers, and I learned there never would be.

Before becoming Council President, I watched the city try multiple approaches to this issue. In 2018, Council adopted a restrictive ordinance championed by then-Councilmember Barbara Bry to largely limit whole-home rentals. The short-term-rental industry responded by qualifying a referendum, which puts power directly into the hands of voters through a ballot measure. The Council ultimately repealed the ordinance.

When I took up the issue in 2021, I knew that simply choosing another side would not solve the problem.

We engaged short-term rental hosts, the tourism industry, homeowners, renters, community leaders, and the Mission Beach community, which asked us to reduce allowable whole-home rentals to 30 percent. We met with the Labor Council and UNITE HERE Local 30, working toward an MOU with Expedia. We also considered housing advocates and residents who have experienced the impacts of poorly managed vacation rentals.