Placentia council adopts 45‑day moratorium on new short‑term rental permits after heated study session

The Placentia City Council voted unanimously on Sept. 2 to adopt a 45‑day urgency moratorium on new short‑term residential rental permits, citing enforcement gaps and widespread public concern about noise, parties and neighborhood impacts.

Director of Development Services Joe Lambert presented a study session summarizing the city’s existing STR framework (adopted in 2019), eligibility rules (local contact, liability insurance, no ADU rentals), and current administrative tools including a director’s discretion to deny new permits within 300 feet of another STR. Lambert said the city currently tracks 71 permitted STRs and contracts with Avenue Insights to identify unlicensed listings; staff listed roughly $236,000 in STR‑related TOT revenue for the last fiscal year and noted a budgeted hotels+TOT figure of approximately $1.9 million.

Residents described repeated disruption from a single property on Nano Avenue—reports of late‑night parties, motorcycles and multiple police visits—while STR operators argued licensed, responsible hosts support local businesses and generate transient occupancy tax revenue. STR proponents asked the council to retain the 500‑foot separation rule and focus on enforcement of unlicensed operators rather than an outright ban.

Councilmembers discussed a menu of regulatory options: increasing the separation radius from 300 to 500 feet, an overall cap tied to housing units (staff suggested half‑of‑one percent as an example), required site plans and inspections (initial and occasional or annual), minimum stay requirements, higher application and annual fees, and a tiered sanctioning system (suspensions then revocations). Multiple councilmembers supported higher fines and faster administrative sanctions for repeat violators; staff described an existing pathway to escalate fines and revoke licenses after repeated violations.

Mayor Pro Tem Vanka moved and the council seconded an urgency ordinance putting a 45‑day pause on issuing new STR permits while staff returns with ordinance amendments reflecting council direction. The moratorium was approved 5–0; the moratorium clock begins immediately. Staff was directed to return with drafted ordinance language addressing the council’s priorities within the moratorium period.

The council also asked staff to produce an accurate inventory of licensed and suspected unlicensed STRs, consider whether partial (room) rentals count toward any cap, and to evaluate higher application fees and a tiered enforcement regime.