Post on 04-Feb-2016
description
9 coutyr
~~P̀ ~'~~x SAN FRANCISCOPLANNING
lbdsn,n 0~5~~
September 10, 2015
Casa Luna SF LLC
816 Everett Avenue
Oakland, CA 94602
DEPARTMENT
NOTICE OF DECISION
SF Administrative Code Chapter 41A Short Term Residential Rental
Site Address: 406017th Street
Assessor's Block/Lot: 2623/015
Zoning District: RH-3 (Residential- House; Three Family) Zoning District
Complaint Number: 2015-007583ENF
Hearing Officer: Adrian C. Putra, (415) 575-9079 or adrian.~utra@sfgov.or~
DECISION
1650 Mission St.Suite 400San Francisco,CA 94103-2479
Reception:415.558.6378
Fax:415.558.6409
PlanningInformation:415.558.6377
The Director's appointed hearing officer, Adrian C. Putra, has determined that Casa Luna SF LLC, the
owners of 4060 17~ Street have violated Administrative Code Chapter 41A for illegally offering four
dwelling units for rent as a Tourist or Transient use (a.k.a. short-term rental). The details of the violation
and decision are discussed below.
This decision is based on the entirety of the record before the hearing officer, including but not limited to
testimony of witnesses and the responsible party and information submitted by Planning Department
staff, the responsible party/ies, and other witnesses. The record may be found at 1650 Mission Street,
Suite 400, San Francisco. Although factual information from the record is summarized below, this
decision is based on the record as a whole.
DESCRIPTION OF VIOLATION
The subject property contains four dwelling units (main building containing three legal units plus a
carriage unit at the rear of the property). The Planning Department received a complaint on June 24,
2015, alleging that the property was being used for short term rentals and doing business as "Casa Luna: '
UNLAWFUL CONVERSION
Chapter 41A of the San Francisco Administrative Code prohibits the offering of residential units for
Tourist or Transient use (which is a rental for less than 30 days), unless the units are registered on the
www.sfpianning.org
406017t" Street
Complaint No. 2015-007583ENF
Chapter 41A Notice of Decision
September 10, 2015
Short-term Residential Rental Registry. Under Administrative Code Section 41A.6, if the Hearing Officer
determines that a violation has occurred, an administrative penalty shall be assessed as follows:
1. For the initial violation, not more than four times the standard hourly administrative rate of
$121.00 for each unlawfully converted unit, or for each identified failure of a Hosting Platform to
comply with the requirements of subsection (g)(4), per day from the notice of Complaint until
such time as the unlawful activity terminates;
2. For the second violation by the same Owner(s), Business Entity, or Hosting Platform, not more
than eight times the standard hourly administrative rate of $121.00 for each unlawfully converted
unit, or for each identified failure of a Hosting Platform to comply with the requirements of
subsection (g)(4), per day from the day the unlawful activity commenced until such time as the
unlawful activity terminates; and
3. For the third and any subsequent violation by the same Owner(s), Business Entity,. or Hosting
Platform, not more than twelve times the standard hourly administrative rate of $121.00 for each
unlawfully converted unit or for each identified failure of a Hosting Platform to comply with therequirements of subsection (g)(4) per day from the day the unlawful activity commenced until
such time as the unlawful activity terminates.
COMPLAINT AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
On June 24, 2015, Planning Department staff received a complaint that the subject property was operating
as an unauthorized short-term residential rental. Staff located listings on the websites VRBO(www.vrbo.com), Agoda (www.agoda.com), Trip Advisor (www.tripadvisor.com), and
www.casalunasf.com, which offered the dwellings units at the property as short term rentals.
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT AND APPARENT VIOLATION
On June 30, 2015, staff issued a Notice of Complaint to the property owner by certified and non-certified
mail.
On July 1, 2015, staff posted a notice at the subject property notifying the property owner of the hearing.
While posting on site, staff observed people .exiting the property. Upon questioning from staff, these
people confirmed to staff that they were visiting and staying at the site. Staff also witnessed pin padlocks on the property.
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING
On August 12, 2015, the hearing officer convened the administrative hearing. All testifying witnesses
were sworn in and the hearing was audio recorded. The hearing was attended by the following people:
• Mr. Adrian Putra, hearing officer
• Ms. Laura Lynch, staff planner
• Mr. Christopher DeWys, attorney representing the owners
• Mr. Robert Pyburn, member of the public
• Ms. Sue Hector, member of the public
• Mr. Gregory Reynold, member of the public
SAN FRANCISCO ~ 2PLANNING DEPARTMENT
406017th Street Chapter 41A Notice of Decision
Complaint No. 2015-007583ENF September 10, 2015
Ms. Lynch, staff planner gave the following testimony:
• On June 24, 2015, staff located the listing on both VRBO and www.casalunasf.com advertising
short term rentals at the property for all four units.
• On July 3, 2015, staff found that the listing on VRBO was removed, and the listings on
www.casalunasf.com were altered to only accept 30 day minimum rentals.
• On July 14, 2015, the listing on VRBO resumed with the title of the listing stating a 30 day
minimum booking; however, in the description of the listings there was a monthly and daily rate
available and the statement "3-day minimum." Staff also found guest reviews on the property
dated as recently as July 2015.
• On August 10, 2015, staff discovered that as of July 14, 2015, the listings on VRBO resumed with
the listing's title stating a 30 day minimum booking; however, in the description of the listing
there was a monthly and daily rate available and the statement "3-day minimum:' On the same
day, staff contacted Danfoura Law Offices to inform them that the listing on VRBO are still has
language advertising stays of less than 30 days.
• On August 11, 2015, staff found that the property's listing on VRBO and Homeaway
(www.homeaway.com) were altered to remove references to 3-day minimum stay and nightly
and weekly rates.
Mr. D.eWys, representing the property owners (who were not present at the hearing) gave the following
testimony:
• That it was a clerical error that the VRBO listing was not in full compliance with Chapter 41A
following the issuance of the Notice of Complaint, because the title of the VRBO listing still said
"Not taking anything less than 30 days" and that the listing was changed to comply once this
issue was brought to their attention.
• That he was unfamiliar with the website, Agoda and said that he would look into the matter with
the owners after hearing.
• That the owners previously believed that Administrative Code Chapter 41A only applied to
buildings with four or more units and thus did not apply to the subject property.
• That the property was operating as a vacation rental property and claims that when the owners
purchased the property in December of 2012, it was already being used for short-term rentals.
• That no tenants have ever been evicted from the subject property by the owners.
• T'hat the owners were confused by the Notice of Complaint and were under the impression that
the purpose of the administrative hearing was to help the owners comply with the law rather
than to be assessed penalties by the City.
Additionally, Mr. DeWys submitted documentation of upcoming reservations that were cancelled by the
owners in response to the Notice of Complaint.
Mr. Pyburn stated that he is a neighbor living at 4050 17~ Street and testified that he believed that short-
term rentals occurred at the property due to his frequently observing people arriving and leaving the
property with suitcases.
Ms. Lynch read an email she received, from Ms. Judith Hoyem into the record, in which Ms. Hoyem
states, "I am a long-time resident at 4042 17~ Street, a few doors from the property, and have had ample
opportunity to observe that the 3 units of the property have been in constant use for short-term rental for
SAN FRANCISCO 3PLANNING DEPARTMENT
4060 17~ Street
Complaint No. 2015-007583ENF
Chapter 41A Notice of Decision
September 10, 2015
the past year or even two years. I do not believe that there is anyone in long-term residence at theproperty. Everyone I see going in and out is dragging a suitcase. I am concerned that this propertyseems to have been converted exclusively to short-term rental. I do not know if the owner is violation theShort-term Rental law in operating this property exclusively for Short-term Rental, but I am definitelyinterested in making sure that the law is enforced so as to prevent the undue removal of long-termhousing units from the general residential housing market."
Mr. Reynold stated that he has lived at 4050 17~ Street since 2001 and that he has also observed the sameactivity at 4060 17~ Street as described in Ms. Hoyem's email.
POST-HEARING SUBMISSION
The representative for Casa Luna, Mr. DeWys, submitted a packet of additional information on August24, 2015. A summary of the submittal is below:
• A statement from the property manager Jeff Wyatt.• Screenshots of listings from Homeaway, Vacation Home Rentals and VRBO showing 30 day
minimums.
• Email correspondence with Agoda.com showing the removal of the listing.• Email correspondence with booking.com showing cancelation of existing bookings.• Cancellation emails with individuals.• Spreadsheet of cancellation of 40 upcoming reservations.• ~ A photo of a sign on the property that stating that Casa Luna is closed.
FINDINGS
Based on the review of the record as a whole, the hearing officer finds as follows:
1. That four dwelling units at the subject property were offered for Tourist or Transient use until atleast July 2, 2015.
2. The property owner's representative Mr. DeWys has provided evidence that the four dwellingunits at the property were no longer being offered for tourist or transient use as of July 3, 2015,including that the VRBO listings had been removed and then modified to state "30 day minimumbooking" in their titles, and the listings on www.casalunasf.com were also altered to only accept30 day minimum rentals.
3. Although the propert~s listings on VRBO after July 3, 2015, still noted a three night minimumstay along with nightly and weekly rates in their descriptions, the owners resolved the matterafter being notified by staff.
4. The property owners's representative has provided evidence that outstanding reservations orrequests to book units at the property after July 2, 2015, were either cancelled or denied by theowners.
SAN FRANCISCOPLANNING DEPARTMENT 4
406017th Street
Complaint No. 2015-007583ENF
CONCLUSION AND ORDER
Chapter 41A Notice of Decision
September 10, 2015
Based on the above findings and the evidence in the record as a whole, the hearing officer determines that
four dwelling units at the property were offered for Tourist or Transient through July 2, 2015 in violation
of Administrative Code Chapter 41A. Because this is an initial violation, the hearing officer may assess
administrative penalties from the date of the Notice of Complaint (here June 30, 2015) until the date the
violation is cured (here July 3, 2015) on both a per diem and per unit basis. Thus, by this determination
the hearing officer assesses administrative penalties against the property owners for a total of 12 days
(three days per each unit) at a rate of $484 per day. Accordingly, administrative penalties for the total
amount of $5,808.00, is now due to the Planning Department. Please submit a check for the total
amount of $5,808.00, payable to "Planning Department Code Enforcement Fund" immediately.
Sincerely,
Adrian C. Putra
Hearing Officer
Cc: Danfoura Law Offices, Attn: Christopher DeWys, 1303 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122
Messrs. Pyburn &Reynold, 405017 Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
Laura Lynch, Planner, San Francisco Planning Department
SANFRANgSCO jrPLANNING DEPARTMENT