AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF AVALON AMENDING
THE PLANNING CODE TO ESTABLISH
PROVISIONS FOR THE APPROVAL AND
CONDITIONS OF OPERATION FOR
TRANSIENT RENTALS AND AMENDING
THE AVALON MUNICIPAL CODE
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AVALON DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1.
This ordinance is adopted based upon the following findings:
Section 2.
Section 9.3613 ("M" Definitions) of the Avalon Municipal Code is hereby amended by adding the following in appropriate alphabetical order:
"Managing agency or agent" shall mean a person, firm or agency representing theowner of a transient rental property, or a person, firm or agency owning morethan one property which are used for transient rental, and includes a person orentity which is both an owner and a "managing agent" of the same property.
Section 3.
Section 9.8.404 of the Avalon Municipal Code is hereby amended by adding thefollowing thereto:
(d) Additional Considerations for Transient Rental Uses
In addition to the foregoing, the Planning Commission shall consider the following in connection with an application for a conditional use permit for transient rental use:
(1) Year-Round Rental Status. In the absence of adequate mitigating measures proposed by the applicant, the application should be denied where the subject property is or has been rented for periods of more than 30 consecutive days to the same occupant during the two years preceding the application.
(2) Neighborhood Impacts.
The Planning Commission shall consider the objections of the owners and occupants of neighboring properties in determining whether the proposed use is consistent with the surrounding properties and the extent to which such impacts may be mitigated by the imposition of the standard conditions listed below or by the imposition of additional conditions. The Planning Commission may consider objections previously made in connection with applications for transient rental use at other properties located within the same general area as the subject application; however, the Planning Commission should consider the time between the prior application and the subject application, the geographical proximity of the subject application to the prior application, any differing circumstances, and additional mitigating measures proposed by the applicant and changes in the general area in determining the weight to be given such prior objections.
(3) Single and Multiple Unit Properties.
In the absence of other Negative findings, (a) where the property is the only unit owned by the applicant in the City and the applicant proposes to use the property himself from time to time; or (b) where the subject property contains multiple units or the applicant owns other separate properties in the City of Avalon which are utilized for year.around rental, the Planning Commission should approve the application.
(4) Condominium Associations Having Ten (10) or More Units.
In the case of an application concerning property located within a condominium or similar congregate housing project consisting of ten (10) or more units, the applicant shall only be required to demonstrate that (1) the subject property is not or has not been
rented for periods of more than 30 consecutive days to the same occupant during the two years preceding the application, and (2) that the governing body of the association has consented to the proposed transient use.
(e) Conditions to be Imposed Upon Conditional Use Permits For Transient. The conditions of approval shall include the following, plus any additional conditions which the Planning Commission determines are appropriate to mitigate impacts of the use:
(1) Approval shall automatically expire within two years of approval;
Smoke detectors shall be installed in all bedrooms;
Only the occupants of the rental unit may use the vehicle permitted for such unit;
(4) The owner or managing agent shall provide a notice to the renters of the unit regarding consideration for neighbors; Unenclosed areas shall not be used after 12:00 a.m.
All transient rentals shall be subject to collection of transient occupancy tax as required by the Municipal Code, and each managing agency agent, owner and property manager of a transient rental shall collect and make payment to the City of the transient occupancy tax for their transient rental;
Requirements and Standards Applicable to All Transient Rentals.
The following requirement shall apply to properties used for transient rental:
(2) Sign Requirements. Except for units in condominium projects which prohibit such signs in the conditions, covenants and restrictions, each transient rental unit shall be posted during all times that the unit is being used as a transient rental, one (1) sign, available for purchase at a reasonable cost through the City of Avalon Finance Department; the sign shall not exceed two (2) square feet in size, in lettering of sufficient size to be easily read from a place accessible to the public, and shall be attached to the unit in a location which is clearly visible from outside of the property (except where prohibited by the conditions, covenants and restrictions adopted by a congregate housing project) and shall clearly contain the name of the owner or managing agent and a telephone number at which the owner or managing agent may be reached on a 24.hour basis, and the legal street address or number of the transient rental unit. The sign shall be posed, maintained and readable from the outside of the unit.
Section 4. Section 9.8.411 of the Avalon Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 9.8.411Termination of a Variance or Conditional Use Permit. Except as provided in subparagraph (a) below, a variance or conditional use permit shall cease to be of any force and effect if the use has ceased or been suspended for a consecutive period of one or more years.
(a) With respect to conditional use permits for transient rentals, the permit or legally non.conforming use shall not terminate if the use has ceased or been suspended for a minimum period of one year and all of the following: (1) the property is rented (or made available for rental) for a minimum one year period; (2) prior to suspending the transient use, the owner, agent or managing agency notifies the Planning Department in writing of the intention to cease or suspend transient rental in order to rent the property for a minimum one year period; and (3) the owner, agent or managing agency provides the Planning Department with a copy of a lease agreement for a minimum one year period.
Section 5.
Section 9.8.802 of the Avalon Municipal Code is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows:
9.8.802 Penalties
A. Except as provided in subsection (B) below, the filing fees and deposits specified in Section 9.8.801 of this article may be increased by the Planning Commission, in its discretion, after notice and hearing, up to a maximum of five (5) times, when work requiring a permit has been started or carried on prior to obtaining all required permits.
With regard to a conditional use permit for transient rentals pursuant to 9.8.804 (et seq.,) the filing fees and deposits specified in Section 9.8.801 of this article and applicable thereto may be increased by the Planning Commission, in its discretion, after notice and hearing up to a maximum of ten (10) times, when such use has been made, advertised, started or carried on prior to obtaining all required permits and other approvals. In addition, any person making, advertising, starting or carrying on transient rental use prior to obtaining all required permits and other approvals shall submit to an audit, pay to the City the cost thereof, and pay all amounts found to be due after such audit. No permit for transient use shall be issued until the provisions of this section and any penalties assessed and all audit requirements have been fully satisfied.
Section 6.
Section 9.8.901 (b) of Title 9, Chapter 8, Article 9 is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows:
(b) Cause such notice to be mailed by first.class mail, postage prepaid, to the applicant and to all persons whose names and addresses appear on the latest available assessment roll of the County of Los Angeles as owning property within a distance of three hundred feet (300') from the exterior boundaries of the area actually to be occupied by the use for which an application for a variance or conditional use permit is filed, or, in the case of a zone change, from the exterior boundaries of the property for which a petition for a change of zone is filed, and to such other persons whose property or interests might, in the judgment of the Commission or its designee, be affected by the establishment of the variance, zone change or conditional use permit requested. In the case of an application for a conditional use permit for transient rental, the Commission shall also cause to be posted on the subject property in a location clearly visible from the street, a notice which measures at least eleven inches (11") by fourteen inches (14") and which contains the information included in the notice as set forth in subsection (a) above; and
APPROVED, ADOPTED AND ENACTED this ______ day of
_____________________.
______________________
Hugh T. "Bud" Smith, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Shirley Davy, City Clerk