Report Prepared by: Ellie Hamm, Planning Intern, Scott McBride, Director of Development Services
Title
SUBJECT: Review and Discussion a Possible Ordinance to Reduce Number of Nuisance Calls at Hotels and Motels
REPORT IN BRIEF
Review and discuss a potential ordinance to reduce number of crime related calls to hotels and motels.
RECOMMENDATION
Information only and possible staff direction on next steps.
Body
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
Quality of Life and City Policies - B. Explore code enforcement options for illegal activity at local hotels.
DISCUSSION
As part of the 2023-24 goals and priorities the council added “Explore code enforcement options for illegal activity at local hotels” (Quality of Life and City Policies B.)
Staff utilized the list serve provided by the League of California Cities to identify potential ordinances which may serve as templates for crafting an ordinance to address local issues.
The following examples were obtained and are attached for information.
The City of Claremont has created a system that all hotels and motels located near highways must follow. This includes a more secure parking lot, scanning IDs at check-in, surveillance cameras, and minimizing length of stay to no more than 30 consecutive days.
The City of Eureka has a tiered list of all hotels and motels organized by average number of calls, with a fine determined based on tier and number of offenses. Although this has not been in action for a long period of time, they have seen a reduced number of calls and have been able to use the fine as a threat. However, they also note that most hotels and motels with high numbers of service calls can be shut down for other violations of their municipal code.
The City of Costa Mesa has enacted fines for services calls that are determined by the city and enforced by the chief of police. This is similar to the city of Eureka’s ordinance, but there is not a tiered system.
There are potentially other ordinances which may service as a template, but these provide a good sampling of potential options.
ATTACHMENTS
1. City of Claremont Ordinance
2. City of Eureka Ordinance
3. City of Costa Mesa Ordinance
4. Calls for Service Data
5. Presentation