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Sen. Feinstein Goes to War Against Airbnb
Townhall.com ^ | November 16, 2014 | Debra J. Saunders

Posted on 11/16/2014 7:41:29 AM PST by Kaslin

In her mind, Dianne Feinstein will always be mayor of San Francisco. She may be a high-ranking U.S. senator with more than her share of clout in Washington, but she never forgets her roots as onetime mayor and supervisor in the city by the bay. As Ess Eff's mayor emerita, Feinstein recently inserted herself into the city's regulation of Airbnb and other short-term rental concerns. Last month, DiFi wrote a piece for the San Francisco Chronicle urging Mayor Ed Lee to veto compromise legislation written by Supervisor David Chiu. The senator sees Airbnb as a neighborhood killer. Lee failed to heed Feinstein's advice, and now she apparently is withholding her endorsement for his re-election.

Living in stately Pacific Heights, Feinstein no doubt wants to keep trade out of her neighborhood. Alas, she does so at a cost to everyday San Franciscans who rely on Airbnb and similar platforms to make ends meet. San Francisco's economy is dynamic, and many residents have to hustle to afford a roof over their heads in the Special City.

As a Republican, I am loving watching an old-guard Democrat take a stand against one of the most popular startups in the sharing economy. Airbnb is an apple-pie platform for many millennials. Feinstein wrote that Chiu's measure will "destroy the integrity of zoning through San Francisco." She sees her role as protecting residential neighborhoods from "commercialization."

Young voters, take note. This is what happens when governments get too big and too self-important. People who rent out a spare bedroom or a backyard cottage become expendable.

Architect Kepa Askenasy of Potrero Hill found that renting out a guest room helped her pay medical bills after she was in a car accident. Askenasy likes Feinstein. She voted for Feinstein. She considers herself representative of locals who are "just trying to survive in this beautiful city and do it in a way that's positive for everybody."

Askenasy doesn't see how renting her spare rooms reduces what activists refer to as the city's "scarce housing stock." She wouldn't want a permanent roommate. In the plus column, Askenasy sees the peer-to-peer economy as contributing to making basic resources go further and allowing the city to be "more sustainable" -- another tenet of the left. "It's something that's beneficial," she stressed. "There's nothing wrong."

To me, the strongest argument against Airbnb involves fairness. How can hotels and bed-and-breakfasts compete with dabblers who don't have to pay a hotel tax? That's one of the stronger parts of Chiu's law: It requires hosts to pay a 14 percent hotel tax, register with the city and get insurance. Only residents who live on a property for three-quarters of a year qualify to be hosts. Askenasy welcomes the compromise and the protections.

So what about all those tourists who, according to numerous anecdotes, knock on the wrong door in the wee hours? Chiu trumpets the city's ability to yank registration from bad hosts.

The mayor's spokeswoman, Christine Falvey, told me that Hizzoner has discussed the issue with the senator and that he is open to refining the rules. "It's a balance."

For its part, Airbnb was willing to forfeit its on-the-fly spirit to keep city regulators at bay. Being sucked into the establishment is the price of success.

A little bird told me to phone real estate investor Doug Engmann, who has DiFi's ear on short-term rentals. Engmann told me he never discussed Airbnb with Feinstein until after he heard she opposed the Chiu measure. Engmann and the senator share a distaste, he told me, for Airbnb's "seemingly willful decision to encourage people to break the laws."

The thing is I don't think it should be against the law to rent out a room in your own home. And if that's what zoning is for, then zoning laws need to change.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; US: California
KEYWORDS: airbnb
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To: mosesdapoet

Mike Savage discussed this on his show. He pronounced it “air benub”. Lol. His take was disgust and amazement that people would let complete strangers into their homes for a few bucks. Have to say I agree with him


21 posted on 11/16/2014 10:59:04 AM PST by pluvmantelo (Democrats:the party of moral hazard, the IRS, the NSA and the heckler's veto)
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To: Kaslin

Short or long term rental in R-1 zones should be illegal everywhere except where the entire property is rented long term!

That’s what hotels and motels are for!


22 posted on 11/16/2014 10:59:18 AM PST by dalereed
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To: Kaslin

If she were concerned with deteriorating neighborhoods, then Hunter’s Point would not exist as it is.

She’s a democrat. It’s all about collecting more taxes.


23 posted on 11/16/2014 11:26:15 AM PST by DPMD
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To: Kaslin

“This is what happens when governments get too big and too self-important.”

It’s also what happens when we fail to purge the ancient geezer/career pols from yesterday to continue their rule over us.


24 posted on 11/16/2014 11:28:18 AM PST by DPMD
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To: pluvmantelo

“. His take was disgust and amazement that people would let complete strangers into their homes for a few bucks. Have to say I agree with him”


It’s not something I would care to do but it was very common years ago.

I see no problem with it at all.

.


25 posted on 11/16/2014 11:36:11 AM PST by Mears
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To: Kaslin
I did this both in Los Angeles and up in Washington, and it always worked out great.

In L.A. we had a separate wing on the house with it's own entrance. We had some unremarkable short rentals, then got one for 3 months... a gorgeous young violinist who was at the time touring with Josh Grobin. Sometimes she would come out and ask if it's ok for her to practice her violin for a while, and we were like "please do!! your music is absolutely beautiful!".

Up in WA we had an outbuilding which we converted into a vacation rental. We charged $100/night, and it was full most of the time... ofter times repeat customers. It paid for our property taxes and more, and we met a lot of great people. We counted the income on our taxes and did pay tax on it... just to be on the safe side.

26 posted on 11/16/2014 11:54:02 AM PST by Cementjungle
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To: Kaslin

Richard Ramirez could not be reached for comment but can generally be relied upon to support the actions of DiFi.


27 posted on 11/16/2014 2:28:06 PM PST by Organic Panic
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