Simi Valley planning panel urges City Council to ban short-term rentals, citing enforcement and neighborhood impacts

The Simi Valley Planning Commission voted unanimously on March 4 to recommend that the City Council deny a proposed ordinance to regulate short-term rentals and instead adopt a citywide ban.

Staff presented draft amendments to the municipal code that would define short-term rentals (STRs), add them as a residential land use in Title 9, and establish permitting and performance standards in Title 5, including an annual permit limited to one per person or entity, required business tax certificates and a nuisance-response plan with three local contacts. Associate planner Alex Klingman told commissioners that staff’s platform review identified approximately 100 listings within the city and that under Senate Bill 346 the city would be able to request platform data only if an ordinance were in effect. "Short term rentals are private residences that are rented out for a period of less than 30 days," Klingman said during the presentation.

The draft also proposed occupancy and…