Council directs staff to draft short-term rental rules after residents cite brothels, neighborhood safety concerns

National City residents pressed the City Council on April 1 to adopt new regulations for short-term rentals, arguing that unregulated short-term listings have enabled prostitution, trafficking and public-safety problems in some neighborhoods.

At a lengthy staff presentation, Martin Reeder, assistant director of community development, told the council the city currently lacks a short-term-rental ordinance and that online platforms show “around 200” listings in the city. Reeder said staff had identified multiple vendors who could manage registration, enforcement and transient-occupancy-tax collection for the city, and that a vendor-managed program typically costs the city in the low five-figure range to stand up.

Why it matters: Several residents told the council their neighborhoods are seeing repeated criminal and nuisance behavior tied to rotating short-term stays. One speaker said he was woken by 25 gunshots near his home; others alleged prostitution and underage victims, and said the rotating-tenant model reduces accountability because absentee owners do not monitor guest behavior.

Council action: After public testimony and a discussion among council members, the council moved, seconded and voted unanimously to direct staff to return with a draft ordinance regulating short-term rentals. The council asked staff to prepare materials aimed at a workshop-format discussion in early June and to include options such as limiting rentals to owner-occupied properties, requiring a local manager or 24-hour contact, imposing minimum stays, putting caps on total units, and establishing on-site posting and neighbor-notification requirements. Council members also asked staff to include a vendor-cost estimate and enforcement plan.

What residents and businesses said: Speakers represented diverse views. Some neighborhood residents described noise, prostitution, visible trafficking and safety incidents near short-term rental properties. Other speakers — including owners of legitimate short-term properties — urged measured regulation so responsible operators could continue to earn income and comply with rules.

Next steps: Staff said it will prepare a proposed ordinance framework, estimate expected revenue and administrative costs (including vendor-management options), and return to council in a workshop format likely in June. The council’s unanimous direction means a formal ordinance-drafting process will proceed, with subsequent public hearings required before any licensing or registration regime is adopted.

Ending: The council’s unanimous vote directs staff to move ahead with a short-term-rental regulatory proposal; the city now faces the task of balancing neighborhood safety, housing supply and the rights of property owners as it drafts rules.