*********Just Say No To BC short-term rentals! ********Boulder City NV Residents Only!!
*********Just Say No To BC short-term rentals! ********Boulder City NV Residents Only!!
The Issue
August 8, 2023
THE BC TOWN COUNCIL WILL VOTE SOON. Let them hear your voice by signing this petition. Please pass this to your BC friends and neighbors who feel the same…Thank you
JUST SAY NO 2 BC SHORT TERM RENTALS (STR’s)
justsayno2bcshorttermrentals@gmail.com
PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION:
Boulder City Residents Only:
Short-Term Rentals (STRs) called Airbnb’s, VRBO’s, or Vacation Rentals are not allowed in BC, nevertheless; we have about 20 operating in town now. Just because you can get away with something doesn’t make it legal. In 2021 NV State passed Assembly Bill 363 which mandated cities with populations over 25,000 to adopt an ordinance; license and regulate STRs by July 1, 2022. Clark County has over 10,000 STRs but will only issue 2,800 licenses through a lottery system.
The County rules and restrictions have already been challenged by the Greater Las Vegas STR’s Association (GLVSTRA), (with the help of Airbnb), and represented by the LV law firm Hutchison and Steffen, the law firm founded by ex Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison. They filed a lawsuit against Clark County, Clark County Commissioners, and the State of NV. As Southern Nevada governing bodies standardize regulations surrounding STR’s in compliance with new state law, local officials have been clear — no one is truly happy with the new system.
BC is exempt from this because our population is under 25,000. We have a controlled growth ordinance, no gambling, and no marijuana dispensaries; BC does not need to copy the LV area; we do not need STRs and the subsequent problems they cause in residential neighborhoods.
STR owners state they have property rights, so they can operate their home as a STR hotel in a residential neighborhood. Why then can't these same owners use their homes to operate as a gift shop or as a candy shop? Because our local government is granted the legal authority to regulate land use within their jurisdiction by police powers and/or zoning regulations. In BC hotels are safety inspected, they pay taxes and fees to operate within the business district, not the residential area. STRs do not. Other cities are trying to regulate STRs after the fact and it has proved extremely difficult to put the genie back in the bottle.
If STRs are allowed to operate here in BC, we would have to ensure taxes, fees, rules, and restrictions are in place. You say fine, let’s do it. If you read and research what other cities have done you’d be shocked at how much trouble and cost to the town it will be trying to regulate them. The LVGSTR Association will sue our city if they feel our restrictions are overly restrictive which will then tie us up in court and cost thousands of dollars. They have deep pockets and are backed by Airbnb, a billion-dollar Corporation, and will make us pay for trying to mess with their profit.
A look at Las Vegas STR Application and Rules is shocking. There are so many restrictions, however; LV has the manpower to enforce their regulations and codes. Code enforcement takes police, fire, bookkeepers, or administrative staff. The taxes or fees BC STRs may pay would be eaten up by code enforcement activities. One controversial restriction is the buffer distance rule. In other words a STR cannot operate within a distance area of 600 - 1000 feet of another STR. One neighbor objected. He could not operate his property as STR because his property is next door to one. He feels his property rights are being violated and he may sue for the right to start his own STR business even though his would be right next to another STR.
STR safety is essential as the safety of these renters is not only the responsibility of the STR owner but also our city. If we cannot prove how effective we are in policing these STRs and documenting their code enforcement, we could open ourselves to a lawsuit. Remember the shooting and murder on June 1, 2021? Memorial Holiday party drunks got into a fight and shot each other. One died in the street on Fairway Dr. and one was injured. What if they had been at a STR? Since STRs were not legal, would BC be at fault for not shutting down an illegal STR? We do not have many STRs now, but we will have to enforce all the taxes, fees, rules, restrictions, and inspect these businesses, and document code compliance. The one thing all areas agree on is not to place restrictions on STRs if you do not plan to enforce them.
Major problems that occur within the Airbnb STRs are transferred to an Airbnb internal safety team. These Airbnb agents have had to hire body-fluid crews to clean blood off carpets, arrange for contractors to cover bullet holes in walls, and deal with hosts who discover dismembered human remains. Rapes, pedophilia, murders, and assaults are handled by this team as well. In addition, hacking of hosts' and guests' information also occurs.
Airbnb Agents are encouraged to get a payout agreement signed as quickly as possible. Every agreement has a nondisclosure clause that bars the recipient from discussing what happened. Airbnb spends an average of about $50 million annually on payouts to hosts and guests, including on legal settlements and damage to homes. The Agents say the hardest part of the job, was making peace with their role in keeping cases quiet and ensuring that victims & their families didn’t blame the company.
A study finds that violent offenses rose in neighborhoods where homes were converted to short-term rentals. This is a sign, the researchers said, of a fraying social order, anti-social behavior, as well as a reduced sense of community, and the impact on local housing markets through increased prices and reduced supply.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in a June 2022 podcast pointed out that fire and safety protections may not be present in a STR. NFPA states guests in STRs get injured at a higher rate than guests in hotels. They have even come up with a number: every 44 seconds someone is injured in a STR. Injury attorneys specialize in cases of injury that occurred at hotels. NFPA points out that the home is the most dangerous place; stating that more than 50% of accidents happen in the home.
In BC noise, loud music, large UHauls or moving trucks, boats, trailers, P/U’s, and cars have been parking all over our quiet neighborhoods. STR guests have left broken glass in the gutters and dog waste in the middle of the sidewalk, all in front of a neighbor's house next to the STR, and left for the neighbor to clean up. At our town hall meeting the code enforcement officer said that he only found three complaints he had discovered involved an STR in BC. One problem that might be noted is that the code enforcement office is not open on Saturday and Sunday when no doubt 95% of the problems will occur.
However, we know of three complaints in one location alone. We attempted to check BCPD records for STR complaints. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your side of the controversy, BCPD does not seem to have a searchable records system and told us they had no complaints or they are filed differently and they would need to know the address and names of the people involved. They did not find the three complaints code enforcement claimed, nor the three complaints my neighborhood had filed. Additionally, a few years ago a resident stated he had called the BCPD on an Airbnb noisy party. He claimed that his neighbor had received a citation and had to cease running an Airbnb. That complaint also was not located in BCPD records. BCPD’s statement of no problems at STR’s is not supported since their records do are not searchable with the terms of STR, or Airbnb, or VRBO etc.
STRs are reshaping communities—pricing out local residents, and bringing chaos with them. They have contributed to the housing crisis. If we legalize STRs in BC we may face more landlords who choose to convert their long-term rentals into Airbnb which will have a detrimental effect on our community like other communities across the country. STRs reduce the number of permanent residents in neighborhoods and will impact available long-term rentals here.
Las Vegas Airbnb birthday party ends with bullets flying, hitting homes and cars
Airbnb Is Running Riot in Small-Town America. https://www.wired.com/story/airbnb-rentals-sedona-arizona/
Airbnb has sent cities scrambling to clamp down on short-term rentals. Now resort towns are feeling the pinch.
Researchers found that Airbnb “mildly cannibalizes” the long-term rental supply causing a housing crisis.
Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-06-15/airbnb-spends-millions-making-nightmares-at-live-anywhere-rentals-go-away#xj4y7vzkg
Please sign our petition: https://chng.it/Wh8DsyFQKt
JUST SAY NO 2 BC SHORT-TERM RENTALS
143
The Issue
August 8, 2023
THE BC TOWN COUNCIL WILL VOTE SOON. Let them hear your voice by signing this petition. Please pass this to your BC friends and neighbors who feel the same…Thank you
JUST SAY NO 2 BC SHORT TERM RENTALS (STR’s)
justsayno2bcshorttermrentals@gmail.com
PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION:
Boulder City Residents Only:
Short-Term Rentals (STRs) called Airbnb’s, VRBO’s, or Vacation Rentals are not allowed in BC, nevertheless; we have about 20 operating in town now. Just because you can get away with something doesn’t make it legal. In 2021 NV State passed Assembly Bill 363 which mandated cities with populations over 25,000 to adopt an ordinance; license and regulate STRs by July 1, 2022. Clark County has over 10,000 STRs but will only issue 2,800 licenses through a lottery system.
The County rules and restrictions have already been challenged by the Greater Las Vegas STR’s Association (GLVSTRA), (with the help of Airbnb), and represented by the LV law firm Hutchison and Steffen, the law firm founded by ex Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison. They filed a lawsuit against Clark County, Clark County Commissioners, and the State of NV. As Southern Nevada governing bodies standardize regulations surrounding STR’s in compliance with new state law, local officials have been clear — no one is truly happy with the new system.
BC is exempt from this because our population is under 25,000. We have a controlled growth ordinance, no gambling, and no marijuana dispensaries; BC does not need to copy the LV area; we do not need STRs and the subsequent problems they cause in residential neighborhoods.
STR owners state they have property rights, so they can operate their home as a STR hotel in a residential neighborhood. Why then can't these same owners use their homes to operate as a gift shop or as a candy shop? Because our local government is granted the legal authority to regulate land use within their jurisdiction by police powers and/or zoning regulations. In BC hotels are safety inspected, they pay taxes and fees to operate within the business district, not the residential area. STRs do not. Other cities are trying to regulate STRs after the fact and it has proved extremely difficult to put the genie back in the bottle.
If STRs are allowed to operate here in BC, we would have to ensure taxes, fees, rules, and restrictions are in place. You say fine, let’s do it. If you read and research what other cities have done you’d be shocked at how much trouble and cost to the town it will be trying to regulate them. The LVGSTR Association will sue our city if they feel our restrictions are overly restrictive which will then tie us up in court and cost thousands of dollars. They have deep pockets and are backed by Airbnb, a billion-dollar Corporation, and will make us pay for trying to mess with their profit.
A look at Las Vegas STR Application and Rules is shocking. There are so many restrictions, however; LV has the manpower to enforce their regulations and codes. Code enforcement takes police, fire, bookkeepers, or administrative staff. The taxes or fees BC STRs may pay would be eaten up by code enforcement activities. One controversial restriction is the buffer distance rule. In other words a STR cannot operate within a distance area of 600 - 1000 feet of another STR. One neighbor objected. He could not operate his property as STR because his property is next door to one. He feels his property rights are being violated and he may sue for the right to start his own STR business even though his would be right next to another STR.
STR safety is essential as the safety of these renters is not only the responsibility of the STR owner but also our city. If we cannot prove how effective we are in policing these STRs and documenting their code enforcement, we could open ourselves to a lawsuit. Remember the shooting and murder on June 1, 2021? Memorial Holiday party drunks got into a fight and shot each other. One died in the street on Fairway Dr. and one was injured. What if they had been at a STR? Since STRs were not legal, would BC be at fault for not shutting down an illegal STR? We do not have many STRs now, but we will have to enforce all the taxes, fees, rules, restrictions, and inspect these businesses, and document code compliance. The one thing all areas agree on is not to place restrictions on STRs if you do not plan to enforce them.
Major problems that occur within the Airbnb STRs are transferred to an Airbnb internal safety team. These Airbnb agents have had to hire body-fluid crews to clean blood off carpets, arrange for contractors to cover bullet holes in walls, and deal with hosts who discover dismembered human remains. Rapes, pedophilia, murders, and assaults are handled by this team as well. In addition, hacking of hosts' and guests' information also occurs.
Airbnb Agents are encouraged to get a payout agreement signed as quickly as possible. Every agreement has a nondisclosure clause that bars the recipient from discussing what happened. Airbnb spends an average of about $50 million annually on payouts to hosts and guests, including on legal settlements and damage to homes. The Agents say the hardest part of the job, was making peace with their role in keeping cases quiet and ensuring that victims & their families didn’t blame the company.
A study finds that violent offenses rose in neighborhoods where homes were converted to short-term rentals. This is a sign, the researchers said, of a fraying social order, anti-social behavior, as well as a reduced sense of community, and the impact on local housing markets through increased prices and reduced supply.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in a June 2022 podcast pointed out that fire and safety protections may not be present in a STR. NFPA states guests in STRs get injured at a higher rate than guests in hotels. They have even come up with a number: every 44 seconds someone is injured in a STR. Injury attorneys specialize in cases of injury that occurred at hotels. NFPA points out that the home is the most dangerous place; stating that more than 50% of accidents happen in the home.
In BC noise, loud music, large UHauls or moving trucks, boats, trailers, P/U’s, and cars have been parking all over our quiet neighborhoods. STR guests have left broken glass in the gutters and dog waste in the middle of the sidewalk, all in front of a neighbor's house next to the STR, and left for the neighbor to clean up. At our town hall meeting the code enforcement officer said that he only found three complaints he had discovered involved an STR in BC. One problem that might be noted is that the code enforcement office is not open on Saturday and Sunday when no doubt 95% of the problems will occur.
However, we know of three complaints in one location alone. We attempted to check BCPD records for STR complaints. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your side of the controversy, BCPD does not seem to have a searchable records system and told us they had no complaints or they are filed differently and they would need to know the address and names of the people involved. They did not find the three complaints code enforcement claimed, nor the three complaints my neighborhood had filed. Additionally, a few years ago a resident stated he had called the BCPD on an Airbnb noisy party. He claimed that his neighbor had received a citation and had to cease running an Airbnb. That complaint also was not located in BCPD records. BCPD’s statement of no problems at STR’s is not supported since their records do are not searchable with the terms of STR, or Airbnb, or VRBO etc.
STRs are reshaping communities—pricing out local residents, and bringing chaos with them. They have contributed to the housing crisis. If we legalize STRs in BC we may face more landlords who choose to convert their long-term rentals into Airbnb which will have a detrimental effect on our community like other communities across the country. STRs reduce the number of permanent residents in neighborhoods and will impact available long-term rentals here.
Las Vegas Airbnb birthday party ends with bullets flying, hitting homes and cars
Airbnb Is Running Riot in Small-Town America. https://www.wired.com/story/airbnb-rentals-sedona-arizona/
Airbnb has sent cities scrambling to clamp down on short-term rentals. Now resort towns are feeling the pinch.
Researchers found that Airbnb “mildly cannibalizes” the long-term rental supply causing a housing crisis.
Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-06-15/airbnb-spends-millions-making-nightmares-at-live-anywhere-rentals-go-away#xj4y7vzkg
Please sign our petition: https://chng.it/Wh8DsyFQKt
JUST SAY NO 2 BC SHORT-TERM RENTALS
143
Petition created on August 8, 2023