And now we do the real politics

This is the part of the short term rental regulation saga where the rubber really meets the road. All the landlords who have been profiting from the practice the new regs are intended to put a stop to are going to ask if they can all keep doing it anyway. 

New Orleans city planners are warning against proposals to allow all residential short-term rentals that have previously had licenses to operate to remain open even if new, more restrictive regulations are adopted this summer.

In a study released this week, the planners also poured cold water on suggestions to create areas of the city with laxer regulations so as to spur economic development there — at least until there’s a chance to see the impact of the new rules.

The Planning Commission says it's a bad idea. But they aren't the decision makers. The City Councilmembers are. And several councilmembers have stated at several points during this process that they are interested in either grandfathering in some existing uses or making use of special overlay districts and "opportunity zones" to do precisely what CPC is saying they shouldn't.

So far this year the council has been pretty good about following CPC recommendations but this question of grandfathering in or creating special exceptions is the tricky part. This is when the wealthy people who actually fund the elected people start to call in the favors they are owed. And in doing so they could undermine the entire effort.

Update:  This is being passed around town and it seems like an appropriate thing to include in an STR post.

Information on how to report, and hopefully destroy, an illegal Airbnb. Included in our most recent issue. Have fun 🏴🏴 pic.twitter.com/BKgciQUNA9

— The Shotgun (@shotgunpaper) June 14, 2019