Community groups and unions urge removing short-term rental items from budget, warn of housing loss

Numerous speakers during public comment urged the Budget & Finance Committee to remove proposed budget items tied to short-term rental policy (identified by speakers as Exhibit H items 13 and 14). Speakers said those items — which they characterized as loosening restrictions or enacting city-sanctioned programs — would incentivize conversion of long-term housing to short-term rentals and further reduce housing availability.

Union representatives and community advocates told the committee that enforcement of existing rules, not expansion, should be the focus. "More than 60 percent of STRs are illegal," one interpreter-identified speaker said; multiple union speakers said the items represented a "pay-to-play" approach that would favor corporate platforms over residents.

Speakers asked the committee to prioritize enforcement — collecting existing fines and penalties — and to remove the two items from the proposed budget rather than endorsing them as budgeted programs. The committee received the comments and did not take a formal vote during the public-comment portion.