Outraged California residents successfully petitioned to ban short-term rentals in their neighborhood after reaching breaking point with partying neighbors.
Andy Oliver, 50, formed a coalition to end homeless rentals in his Long Beach neighborhood when a shooting victim staying in a rental next door crawled into his house seeking shelter on the 2nd. from January.
She launched the Long Beach Neighborhood Coalition and began petitioning her census block group to restrict unhoused short-term rentals in the College Estates section of her neighborhood.
Members of the group spoke at a city council meeting in April, where officials voted to begin considering greater restrictions on short-term rentals.
‘Imagine you buy your dream home and suddenly your next-door neighbor turns his house into an Airbnb. “You spend over a year putting up with loud parties, marijuana smoke wafting from your vents, movie shoots, hourly rentals, strangers coming and going all the time and many other problems,” Oliver said.
Andy Oliver (pictured), 50, formed a coalition to end vacant rentals in his Long Beach neighborhood when a shooting victim staying in a rental next door crawled into his home.
Outraged California Residents Successfully Petitioned to Ban Short-Term Rentals in Their Neighborhood
Airbnb rentals in the quaint College Estates neighborhood range from $179 to $433 per night. Pictured: A $433-per-night rental in the College Estates neighborhood
“Then, on a sunny Tuesday morning with children playing outside, a 21-year-old tenant who is the target of this Airbnb is chased by a masked gunman and shot right on his porch.”
‘The victim jumps your fence, tries to break into your house for protection, spilling his blood all over your property. “Your house becomes a crime scene, you miss work, families are traumatized forever, and new tenants arrive that same night,” Oliver said.
Melissa Rakiey said tenants staying at her neighbor’s Airbnb often block their entrance and threaten residents.
“On March 16, short-term rental customers hosted a birthday party that escalated and resulted in Long Beach Police breaking up a group of 52 people at a three-bedroom home,” Rakiey said.
“The Airbnb brought a large group of thugs into my neighborhood, throwing them into the streets with open containers, smoking marijuana and racing cars.”
Melissa Rakiey (pictured) said renters staying at her neighbor’s Airbnb often block their entrance and threaten residents.
On Friday, Oliver was informed that his request had been approved. According to the Long Beach Community Development Department, of the 735 petitions submitted, 375 came back signed, meaning they were approved with 51 percent support.
“I don’t have the final count, but there are about 755 houses and we just got enough signatures,” Oliver told the Los Angeles Times.
“I heard it was close and I don’t have confirmation of the final vote, but I was informed (last week) that we made it.”
“There were two previous petition drives that failed, so I wasn’t sure if we would be successful,” he said.
There are now eight other census tract block groups with pending petitions to ban short-term rentals without lodging in Long Beach.
Long Beach banned short-term rentals without accommodation in 2020, but eased restrictions to allow people to use their second properties as Airbnb. Pictured: College Estates neighborhood
According to the Department of Community Development there are 626 short-term non-primary rentals registered in the city. Pictured: A $350-per-night rental on the edge of the College Estates neighborhood
Airbnb rentals in the quaint College Estates neighborhood range from $179 to $433 per night.
Long Beach banned short-term rentals without accommodation in 2020, but eased restrictions to allow people to use their second properties as Airbnb.
According to the Department of Community Development there are 626 short-term non-primary rentals registered in the city.
Jean Young, 67, is one of those short-term rental owners who told the LA Times that she understands the backlash from the shooting at Oliver’s home, but would be sad to lose the ability to make money from renting.
“I’m a part-time writer and the rental income just smoothes out the rough edges and has been wonderful,” she said.
‘Since then, my son moved away to university and my mother passed away, so I have all this space in my house to share. “It would be sad to lose that ability.”