Redding’s Proposed Short Term Rental Ordinance Update Doesn’t Take Into Account City Housing Data: Here’s Why That Matters

On Tuesday, February 21, the Redding City Council will consider again whether to change the City’s zoning rules for short-term rentals, which include vacation rentals and hosted homestays. It’s an update that’s been in process since mid-2022.

Staff say the new zoning policy will better support the City’s tourism industry, tax revenue, and the character and livability of residential neighborhoods.

But they haven’t considered how the updated policy might affect the City’s “limited housing inventory,” words used to describe Redding’s affordable housing situation in another part of this week’s Council agenda.

How limited is the City’s affordable housing inventory? And how likely is the short-term rental ordinance to affect it?

Responding to questions from Shasta Scout by email last week, Redding’s Director of Development Jeremy Pagan said both questions would be difficult to assess.

He confirmed that City Planning staff had not looked at data related to the City’s housing shortage or discussed with City Housing staff how Redding’s affordable housing shortage might be impacted by changes to Redding’s short-term rental ordinance.

Publicly accessible documents confirm Redding’s significant lack of affordable housing.

To meet State affordability standards housing should cost families no more than 30% of their income.

But as of 2018, more than 8,000 Redding families were paying more than that, the City’s General Plan Housing Element indicates. Families faced challenges including low income, poor credit or rental history and a lack of affordable units.

But rather than relying on this and other readily available data, City Planning staff took a more general approach to protecting housing stock by proposing an update that includes capping the overall number of short-term rental units and limiting how densely they can be spaced.

Those are two steps, Pagan said, that will “help ensure the availability of housing stock for the unsheltered or those looking for long-term housing.”

It’s an approach that fails to consider the spectrum of housing affordability within the City and specifically address how increases in short-term rentals might impact the City’s most affordable units. Even though, As Pagan acknowledged on a City podcast last week, any increase in short-term rentals at all will “certainly impact the availability and affordability of homes.”

Short-term rentals have exploded within the City over the last few years, Pagan explained on the podcast, to about 300 registered properties accounting for a total of 700–800 available rental units.

Proposed updates would cap short-term rentals at no more than 400 units but would still permit up to 33% more short-term rentals across the City. That’s about 100 properties.

It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the more than 8,000 families that already lacked affordable housing in Redding as of 2018. But still a huge number compared to the seventeen affordable rental units the City hopes to build or rehabilitate between 2020 and 2024, numbers provided in the City’s Annual Housing Action Plan.

Redding used its podcast to promote short-term rentals, saying they’re good news for the economy and citing positive impacts to the local tourism industry and City taxes. They didn’t mention that a 33% increase in short-term rental properties could also have the unintended side affect of forcing some of Redding’s lowest-income community members out of housing, particularly those who rely on a fixed income of about $1,000/month in Social Security Income.

The Redding City Council will consider whether to approve proposed zoning updates for short-term rentals or form a committee to further consider the issue on Tuesday, February 21 at 6 pm at Redding’s City Hall. You can contact the City Council here.

Resources:

Staff report regarding proposed update to Redding’s short-term rental ordinance.

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