Committee narrows interim-housing-for-hotels ordinance, adopts first amendments and continues item for further review

The Land Use and Transportation Committee adopted a first set of amendments March 10 to an ordinance that would allow tourist hotels and motels to be used for interim housing without abandoning their hotel land-use designation, then continued the ordinance to allow more time for review and referral on additional changes.

The ordinance, as originally drafted, amends the Planning Code to authorize interim housing at hotels and motels without discontinuing their hotel classification, amends the Building Code to permit interim housing without changing occupancy classification, and removes an Appendix P restriction that emergency housing be located only on City-owned or leased land. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) said the tool is intended to encourage more hotel owners to partner with the City to open…