Council of the District of Columbia

Committee of the Whole

1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

 

 

TO:                      Nyasha Smith, Secretary to the Council

                

FROM:               Phil Mendelson, Chairman

                                                           

DATE:                June 13, 2019

 

 

               This is a request that the following measures be placed on the agenda for the June 18, 2019 Legislative Meeting:

 

• Short-Term Rental Independent Analysis Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2018
• Short-Term Rental Independent Analysis Emergency Act of 2018

 

               In 2018, the Council adopted the Short-Term Rental Regulation Act of 2018 (D.C. Law 22-307) to regulate short term rental dwellings in the District of Columbia.  The law is scheduled to take effect as of October 1, 2019.  Administrative costs of the law were funded in the FY2020 budget.  Under existing zoning regulations, short term rental units are not permitted in residential zones in the District.  Law 22-307 does not change this prohibition because zoning regulations can only be amended by the independent Zoning Commission.  

 

               On October 17, 2018, all Councilmembers signed a letter to the Chairman of the Zoning Commission urging the Commission to initiate a text case, as well as emergency rulemaking, to permit homesharing.  In response, a special meeting a few days later, the Commission asked OP to conduct an analysis of short-term rentals in order to inform a possible text amendment by the Commission.  The Office of Planning has yet to issue the report requested by the Zoning Commission.  In April, I wrote to the Zoning Commission asking it to insist that the Office of Planning submit its analysis by a date certain.  At the Commission’s next meeting, OP declined to give any timeframe for completion of its analysis.

 

               The Zoning Commission could act in response to a report with the same information from a source other than the Office of Planning and the proposed emergency act would make clear that the Office of Zoning may procure such a report.  Given the planned October 1, 2019 applicability of the new law, it is essential that the Office of Zoning procure the necessary analysis to allow the Zoning Commission to consider any possible changes to the Zoning Regulations it sees fit in response to the new law and the proliferation of homesharing services.  Funding for this has already been approved by the Council.

 

               Draft