Below is a letter to the editor I wrote to the San Diego Union-Tribune that was published on October 14, 2015. The short-term rental debate continues in San Diego and the 125 word limit forces one to choose a specific point to make. The one I address below is that short-term rentals are bringing many millions of dollars into San Diego and those monies are broadly distributed to property owners across the city (and to businesses across the city as well). I do not doubt that there are some issues caused by short-term rental tenants, as there are issues caused by tenants of all sorts – long-term renters, short-term renters, property owners, vagrants, etc.
We should not lose sight of the enormous economic opportunity that short-term rentals present for San Diego, and San Diegans, while discussing how to address problems created and other factors.
Short-Term Rentals Present Opportunity for San Diegans
Regarding “Short-term rentals pay $16.4M in taxes” (Oct. 8): The expanding tourism sector of short-term rental properties creates more than a quarter of a billion dollars of economic impact in the City of San Diego – $285 million – per a study released last week by the National University System Institute for Policy Research. The study’s author, Erik Bruvold also notes this is a conservative estimate and that additional growth is expected in future. This large, positive economic impact in a city well-known for tourism should not be banned, as some are calling for, in response to complaints of noise, trash, and other negative impacts. Millions of dollars for San Diegans is a good thing, and provides funds for code enforcement and public benefits like parks.
John Anderson
North Park
