A city commission Thursday will consider an ordinance that would require developers of new hotel properties to replace any permanent housing lost in the process.
The Planning Commission is expected to consider the proposed law, which would also establish a uniform conditional use permit requirement for new hotels and form a voluntary housing program to place unhoused individuals in vacant hotel rooms.
The process for obtaining the permit would involve public review to consider a proposed development’s impact on the existing housing supply and require developers to replace any housing that would be demolished or otherwise lost in the neighborhood.
It would also bolster public oversight over short-term rentals, hotels and other properties that create a public nuisance when used as “party houses” or for criminal activities, and increase the supply of interim housing available to the city.
Hotels, proposed or existing, and short-term rentals would need to obtain a police permit, through a process that would screen owners and operators for prior criminal activity or any history of creating a public nuisance.
In addition, the proposed ordinance would create a voluntary registry in which participating hotels would notify the city of vacant rooms that can be made available for interim housing.
The City Council voted unanimously to adopt a motion on Nov. 7, instructing the city attorney to review the proposed draft law and work with city departments to finalize and present it to the council for final approval.
Co-authored by the office of Council President Paul Krekorian, the Unite Here Local 11 hospitality workers union and representatives of the hotel industry, the proposed ordinance is intended to replace a ballot initiative sponsored by the labor union, which was set to appear on the March 2024 ballot.
The ballot proposition will be withdrawn if the ordinance is enacted, officials previously said.
According to a report from city planners, the proposed ordinance contains “similar, but more expansive regulations related to hotel uses.”
Some homeowners, who rent out rooms or their homes short term, and mom-and-pop motel and hotel owners, have expressed opposition to the proposed law. Many were concerned about the permit process, which may involve public hearings, mandatory fingerprinting, background checks and require additional fees.
Rahul Patel, secretary of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association’s board of directors, claimed the language in the proposed law is “anti-small business and adverse to our owners’ communities.”
“We’re asking for a seat at the table,” Ray Patel, president of the Northeast Los Angeles Hotel Owners Association, told council members during the Nov. 7 council meeting. “I don’t know if we were ignored, but the fact is 75% of the hotels in Los Angeles are family owned and jointly owned by people of color. You need to hear about our operations and take our input in crafting this piece of ballot measure that now turned into an ordinance.”
Krekorian had previously said the ordinance would provide an “automatic acceptance of an application for the police permit.”
He added, “All you have to do is apply and unless there is opposition presented by someone, that application will automatically be approved.”