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City council directs staff to study state bill and begin steps to collect STR lodging tax
Summary
After public testimony about neighborhood impacts, the Simi Valley City Council directed staff to analyze pending state legislation on short‑term rentals and to start adding short‑term rentals to the city's Chapter 5 rules for transient occupancy tax collection, while leaving further regulatory choices for later.
Simi Valley — The City Council on Aug. 4 directed staff to study pending state legislation and to prepare code changes so the city can collect transient occupancy tax (TOT) on short‑term rentals while the council considers broader regulation.
Deputy Environmental Services Director Sean Gibson told the council that recent staff research and third‑party listings identified “a little over a 100 short‑term rentals in the city,” and that the city’s options included maintaining the status quo, adopting an ordinance to allow and regulate STRs, or adopting an ordinance to ban them outright.
Public commenters who live near short‑term rentals described party noise, parking overflow, vandalism and repeated disturbances. “Sometimes there’s 100 cars in the neighborhood. Sometimes there’s 150 cars in the neighborhood,” said resident John Burns, describing a house he said is repeatedly rented for events. Other residents urged an outright ban; some suggested targeted enforcement such as parking restrictions for affected blocks.
Council debate focused on enforcement practicality and fiscal implications. Council member Anthony Rhodes noted the scale the staff cited and did a quick comparison: “Roughly, how many single‑family homes do we have in Simi Valley? ... about 31,000. A hundred divided by 31,000 is 0.003% of our housing being offered as an STR,” he said, arguing the problem is localized but still deserving of tools for enforcement.
Council members discussed whether to require a city ordinance to collect TOT and whether the pending California bill commonly referred to in the meeting (SB 346) would change the municipal process. Staff said Chapter 5 of the municipal code would likely need updates for TOT collection and that the state bill—if enacted—could grant cities an easier mechanism to obtain operator lists and improve tax remittance compliance.
Council member Rhodes moved and Council member Pauline Litster seconded a direction that staff monitor and evaluate SB 346 (as it is enacted) and return with recommended ordinance language, and that staff also proceed immediately to modify Chapter 5 to enable collection of TOT from short‑term rentals (but not to change the Tourism Business Improvement District rules at this time). The motion passed with Mayor Ruth Kavanaugh voting no.
The council did not adopt regulatory specifics at the meeting. Staff will return with legal drafting options, fiscal estimates and enforcement scenarios that would spell out permit fees, a “good neighbor” policy and escalating fines for repeat violators if council elects to regulate rather than ban STRs.
