Dear Neighbors,
I wanted to send you a quick note regarding yesterday's ANC 4A regular public meeting. I was only able to make the end of the meeting, so really I am just reporting on the status of the Airbnb bill.
To recap (for those of you who don't study and memorize every email we send out!), Commissioner Black and the Association discussed the proposed
Short-term Rental Regulation and Affordable Housing Act of 2017 at the last Joint SMD 4A08/CCA meeting, and online in a discussion forum. We listened to and heard your comments. A summary of the majority of the comments that we received are as follows:
- We are concerned about "party houses." The proposed bill protects against that.
- The rental limitation to 15 nights is too low.
- Residents should be able to rent out their homes if they go away for the summer or winter, or for example a 2-4 month or more range.
At yesterday's meeting, Commissioner Black proposed a Resolution supporting the proposed bill, but with a 30-day limit on "vacation rentals" (as defined in the proposed bill). I appeared before the ANC yesterday and conveyed that Crestwood residents support the proposed bill, but agreed that the 15-day limit on "vacation rentals" is too low and should be raised to 30 days.
I also conveyed that my understanding of the bill is that it only prohibits "short term" rentals, defined as under 30 days. My reading of the proposed bill is thatit does not prohibit a homeowner from renting out their home, on Airbnb or VRBO, etc., for more than 30 days under a single rental (as opposed to, for example, multiple 4 week rentals). What this means is that if you go away for the summer and want to do a house swap, and enter into a 3 month rental agreement with someone, that would not be prohibited. And, under the "vacation rental" provision, you could do short term (say one-week) rentals of your home while you are away for up to 30 days.
And, if the homeowner is present at the property, they can rent out a room or basement apartment for as short or long as they want.
I believe that the change to 30 days and this reading of the bill would satisfy the majority of the concerns raised by Crestwood residents.
The ANC passed the Resolution. However, I believe that there is a lot of confusion over what this bill means. I was told yesterday that the DC Council will be hearing additional testimony regarding the proposed bill in the coming months. We'll keep you posted.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN AN ANC PASSES A RESOLUTION?
ANCs can make recommendations that city agencies have to give “great weight” to when making decisions. Great weight requires a government agency to respond, in writing, to concerns raised by an ANC. While great weight demands that agencies explain their course of action, it doesn’t actually require an agency to change its course of action.
WHAT'S AN ANC?
An ANC is a non-partisan, neighborhood body made up of locally elected representatives called Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners. They are a unique feature of the District's Home Rule Charter.The ANCs' main job is to be their neighborhood's official voice in advising the District government (and Federal agencies) on things that affect their neighborhoods.
ANC Single Member District (SMD) 4A08 covers all of Crestwood and is the equivalent of census tract 26.
-Pavan Khoobchandani, Crestwood Citizens Association President