As stated in a recent Seaside Signal, almost one third of Seaside’s homes are vacant, being used as second-homes or vacation rentals. 

We have a dire need for low-income, middle-income and high-income permanent housing because of the Airbnb effect that is devastating our community character by turning our town into an amusement park for tourists, while our residents are booted out of their rentals.

Our local government has been granted a magic wand to erase any zoning laws that stand in the way of erecting apartments, especially low-income, wherever they can stuff them, ignoring existing communities, traffic issues, sewer overloads, or most important the quality of life for the existing homeowners and residents.

Specifically, the proposed 69-unit 3-story apartment complex being quietly rubber-stamped by our council and planning department — with its entrance and exit onto N. Holladay Drive in a quiet single-story residential neighborhood.

Airbnb began as a way for a homeowner to make some extra money by renting out a room in their home to a vacationer, but it quickly morphed into a multi-million dollar business as wealthy investors bought up whole blocks to convert them to vacation rentals. 

Cities from New York to New Orleans, Durango, Colorado to Irvine, California have cracked down on this blight by requiring that the owner reside in the home itself while renting a room. This law has corrected the problem, and now there is plenty of housing in their towns and cities.

We must do this, too. Yes, it requires a real estate attorney, but it is possible, and it’s working all over the country right now.

LINDA ILES MARTIN

Seaside