City Council
MEETING DATE: 9/14/2016
TITLE:
Title
Vacation Rental Enforcement Services
End
FROM:
Police Chief George Crum
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
This item is presented for information, discussion and direction only.
Body
BACKGROUND:
Currently, the Vacation Rental Program consists of a 24 hr. hotline where residents can report loud disturbances or violations of the municipal code.
DISCUSSION:
U.S. Security Associates ("USA" previously Desert Security Services) provides limited response capabilities to augment the Palm Springs Police Department. Their mission is primarily to respond to loud noise/music at vacation rentals within the city of Palm Springs, but their duties have expanded to assisting police officers on major calls for service in non-hazardous areas.
Additionally, USA provides limited investigative services by identifying unlicensed vacation rentals and providing that information back to the city for enforcement. The City of Palm Springs is reviewing USA’s current duties and may expand these to include other code enforcement issues such as parking enforcement in the downtown area.
Currently, USA works to provide narrow focus code compliance duties when code compliance officers are not working. However, they do this at a lower cost. USA currently works Thursday - Sunday and in the evening hours. USA officers are contacted through a Vacation Rental Hotline, and through PSPD dispatch. The officers respond to complaints of loud music or noise, attempt contact of occupants, photograph the address and decibel readings taken and video record all contacts. At the completion of the call for service, USA officers will complete a written report with photographs taken and provide this to the city/department. USA officers will issue loud noise citations and testify if necessary. To date, USA officers have not had to testify at any proceeding. Company officials attribute this to the quality and depth of the evidence collected and reports completed.
USA is contracted to the City of Palm Springs at $28.00 per hour. The officer maintains presence within the city limits during their scheduled hours and can typically respond within 20 minutes. Company representatives are compiling basic call statistics, but report during peak times their officers have responded to as many as 20 or more calls per shift. This represents a significant time savings for sworn police officers.
According to USA, the City of Palm Springs is looking to eliminate the Vacation Rental Hotline and focus all calls to the police department. This will provide more resources to the program through fines, and eliminate issues with property managers failing to address issues with renters.
USA maintains $3 million in liability insurance, and has an MOU with the city for additional issues. No issues were reported with the police department, or with the Police Officers Association.
Currently, the City of Cathedral City has a vacation rental hotline that receives very few calls. The majority of calls for complaints are received by the police department. By the time the Police Department has an opportunity to respond, the complaint often times cannot be validated.
The City currently has 223 short term vacation rentals and is able to collect a $55 business license fee and a $60 short-term vacation rental permit fee. Our neighboring cities charge $225 to $250 as a vacation rental permit fee. Palm Springs is discussing raising their fee to as much as $600/year. Cathedral City would need to charge $250 as a vacation rental permit fee to recover the cost of administration of the program, registration and management of the collection of fees as well as the costs of responding to and documenting the complaints. As such, staff would recommend contracting with USA to respond to vacation rental complaints, enforce park rules and provide related functions for 25 hours per week, as determined by the police department, and increase the short term vacation rental permit fee to $250 per year.
Future Steps:
If Council so directs, staff will place the contract award to US Security Associates, using the Palm Springs contract, on the agenda for the September 28 meeting.
An ordinance increasing the Vacation Rental permit fee will be prepared and placed on the agenda for first reading also on September 28.
An ordinance reconciling some issues that have been identified with the noise ordinance will be prepared for Council consideration at a future meeting as soon as possible.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Staff is recommending increasing the cost of a Short Term Vacation Rental Permit fee from the current $60 per year to $250 per year. In addition, staff is recommending council authorize the contract with USA in an amount not to exceed $36,400 annually. There will be a sufficient increase in revenues collected to support this budget amendment by the increase in vacation rental permit fees. These items will be placed on future Council agendas for formal action.
ATTACHMENTS:
USA Information and Proposal