Legal non-conforming use

Looks like the "Residences du Barronne" are fine to remain operating in perpetuity.



Despite what headlines say are "stricter limits" on short term rentals, operations like the Hosteeva property pictured above that have been gutting neighborhoods like Central City, are going to be grandfathered in.

New applications for such “commercial” short-term rentals would be limited to 25% of the units in a single property. There had been a last-minute push by some council members to eliminate that cap, at least in certain areas of the city, but that effort was dropped before Thursday’s meeting.

However, city staffers said those limitations would not apply to existing short-term rental units. If a property is already more than 25% short-term rentals, the units above the cap would be considered legal nonconforming uses and can keep their licenses as long as there is not more than a six-month gap in their operations.

Because this Hosteeva fauxtel is technically zoned for mixed use, there's nothing anybody can do about it now. 

There's also nothing anybody can do to protect much of the surrounding area either. Everything below Euterpe street between St. Charles and OCH is mixed use as well. (That includes the Brown's Dairy site, by the way.)  The next four months are now open season on that whole area.

Some advocates and residents remain concerned about what will happen in commercial districts between now and Dec. 1, when the cap will become law. Buildings that exceed the cap before Dec. 1 will be grandfathered in because of the city’s non-conforming use laws. Residents like Jack Steward worry that big companies like Sonder will use the next four months to open commercial short-term rentals and beat the cap. 

“Is this going to be a gold mine rush to get your permits in before December 1st?” asked resident Jack Steward at Thursday’s meeting.

The council members responsible for structuring the process this way will tell you there's nothing anybody can do about that either. “We obviously don’t know the market will do but these have always been the rules on the books, " Safety and Permits Director Zachary Smith tells The Lens in that article. We're already aware that Safety and Permits thinks everybody is stupid.  But, come on.  

Anyway that's not really who to be mad at in this case. Instead it is these folks.

Councilwoman Kristin Palmer, who has led the charge to place more restrictions on short-term rental rules, proposed a 25 percent per-building cap. Council members Jason Williams, Helena Moreno and Joe Giarrusso had considered introducing an amendment to remove that cap. The proposed amendment, however, was never formally introduced, and the 25 percent cap passed.

 No need to introduce an amendment that you have to put your name on and own when you can finagle a back door alternative that keeps your friends nice and happy anyway.