Agoura Hills Passes Short-Term Rental Restrictions Amid Complaints

AGOURA HILLS, CA — Following complaints from residents about wild parties and naked dancers in the yard, the Agoura Hills City Council on Wednesday approved preliminary restrictions on short-term rentals in the city. The move is part of an effort to protect residential neighborhoods from excessive noise and disruptive activity.

The city cracked down on so-called "party houses" and rentals in the city for 30 days or less with an ordinance to regulate property ownership, noise levels, occupancy and minimum stays. Agoura Hills is one of many local cities to take action to restrict such rentals in an effort to preserve its available housing stock and minimize disruption to residential neighborhoods.

"This is a very long time coming," council member Deborah Klein Lopez said. "Our neighbors have been asking us for something like this for a while. ... I'm very much in favor of having an ordinance, very much in favor of protecting our residential neighborhoods and the vibe of our residential neighborhoods."

The ordinance, which passed unanimously, will enforce a 3-day rental minimum on short-term stays in the city, enforce quiet hours between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. daily, and create strict requirements for property owners. They include having someone available to respond to complaints within 30 minutes and obtaining and renewing a business permit.

The city currently has 47 short-term rental properties in operation in the city, which represents about 0.6 percent of the city's housing stock, according to Senior Planner Robby Nesovic. Additionally, 97 percent of these rentals are in single-family homes, and 83 percent of owners are renting out the entire property as opposed to single rooms. The city previously had no explicit regulations on short-term rentals.

Even though the existing number is relatively small, city leaders said the restrictions are needed as a proactive response to residents' complaints of dangerous and noisy gatherings in the area. One public commenter, Old Agoura resident Kathy Creech, said she lives near a house frequently rented for parties and has seen fire jugglers and other outlandish behaviors in the backyard.

"We share property with one of the big 'party houses' and we have had naked pole dancers in the back and we've had, multiple times, fire jugglers," Creech said. "So, these things do happen."

City officials confirmed that some short-term rentals have proven to be problematic, although many noted that most renters do not cause issues for their neighbors — the policy would be targeted toward a few 'bad apples,' according to Lopez.

“The city has received numerous complaints from the public regarding two or three short-term rental operators, prompting us to consider imposing regulations to limit nuisance impacts,” Nesovic said.

Council members considered a number of restrictions and potential loopholes, mulling how to effectively set standards like rental minimums and occupancy maximums while striking a balance between preserving city feel, accessibility to lodging and property rights.

City staffers were particularly concerned with enforceability on a number of proposed regulations, including a cap on the number of days a property could be rented out in a year. Such a regulation would be staff-intensive and difficult to measure, city staff argued. Things like lighting and decorations, certain fire regulations and signage would also be difficult to measure. Council members similarly expressed concern about loopholes for rules such as only allowing one rental property per owner in Agoura Hills as well as rental minimums.

Representatives of Unite HERE Local 11, which represents many of Agoura Hills' hotel workers, were also concerned with enforcement and encouraged the council not to pass the existing restrictions until they were more readily enforceable.

"[Short-term rentals] are particularly insidious for our members, most of whom are immigrant housekeepers, dishwashers and cooks who are increasingly impacted by the housing crises, getting pushed further and further away from their jobs. [Short-term rentals] take away housing from them while unfairly competing with their hotel jobs," said Layal Bata, a representative of Unite HERE Local 11.

The ordinance is a good first step to regulation, Lopez said. In six months the council will be able to review the ordinance after collecting data and finding practical complications. Other public speakers, like a representative of the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, expressed support for the ordinance.

"Residential short-term rentals have generally not been subject to the same requirements [as hotels]. We think that this ordinance is not so overly burdensome that it would hurt the short-term rental business, but it does have the effect of leveling the playing field for similar business types — that being hotels and residential short-term rentals." said Adam Haverstock, Director of Government Affairs & Tourism for the chamber.