Residents urge Simi Valley to ban or strictly regulate short-term rentals; council schedules further work

Several Simi Valley residents used the public-comment period to press the City Council to act on unhosted short-term rentals (STRs).

Heather Moss, a Simi resident and business member, said the city memorandum on STRs omitted liability and neighborhood impacts and recommended requiring a city-issued STR permit, limiting STRs to primary residences with an on-site host, mandating commercial-grade safety inspections and ADA compliance, and holding platforms liable for listings without permits. Moss said Simi’s hotel occupancy rate—cited in the city memo as 72.5% last year—suggests STRs may siphon lodging revenue and that generic “good neighbor” policies without enforceable penalties are insufficient.

Multiple speakers followed. Alene Eason urged a total ban and described repeated appearances at council meetings in favor of prohibition. Anthony Eason presented signed petitions and enumerated ten reasons to prohibit unhosted STRs, including incompatibility with residential zoning, neighborhood disruption, and perceived threats to long-term housing stock. Several speakers asked for greater community input such as neighborhood-council review, town halls, or ballot measures.

Council members acknowledged the volume of public input. Councilmember Rhodes thanked Heather Moss for a constructive email and said staff will bring a draft STR ordinance for council review at the next meeting. Councilmembers also referred to state legislation (SB 346 referenced in public comment) and said that state rules create conditions that require or enable a local ordinance for notification and registration if the city seeks certain data from platforms.

No ordinance was adopted at the meeting. Council directed staff to continue work on the STR matter and to present a draft ordinance and public outreach at a future meeting.