AH_224_Dec-Jan-2024
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www.asianhospitality.com
6 ASIAN HOSPITALITY DECEMBER/JANUARY 2024
A
ballot measure in Los Angeles that
would have required hotels in the
city to house the homeless along
with paying guests has been officially
withdrawn from consideration. However,
the Los Angeles City Council also passed
an ordinance to replace the ballot measure
that some local hoteliers also protest.
The ballot measure, sponsored by
Unite Here Local 11 hospitality workers
union, would have required hotels to
house homeless voucher holders with
regular guests, spurring protests by
AAHOA, the American Hotel & Lodging
Association and others. On Dec. 5, Unite
Here agreed to withdraw that ballot
measure, which was going to go before
voters in March.
At the same meeting, the council
approved the Responsible Hotel Ordinance
to replace the ballot measure and that
would allow hotels to voluntarily make
vacant rooms available for interim housing
for the homeless. It also would require
developers of new hotel properties to obtain
a conditional use permit through a public
review of the proposed development’s
impact on the existing housing supply
and to replace any housing that would
be demolished or otherwise lost in the
neighborhood.
Also, hotel developers and owners of
existing hotels, as well as owners of short-
term rental properties, would be required
to obtain a police permit that would screen
owners and operators of those properties
for prior criminal activity or any history of
creating a public nuisance. The ordinance is
now awaiting the signature of Los Angeles
Mayor Karen Bass.
Several hoteliers and short-term rental
property owners attended the meeting in
early November during which the new
ordinance was introduced and took issue
during public comments, particularly with
requirement for a police permit. Ray Patel,
president of the Northeast Los Angeles
Hotel Owners Association, was among
them.
“I am not happy with the new ordinance,”
Patel said. “The association will continue to
fight the new ordinance which imposes a
police hotel permit section.”
The protest continues
AHLA and AAHOA both praised the
withdrawal of the Unite Here ballot
measure.
“[The] vote by the council removes
Unite Here’s ridiculous homeless-in-hotels
proposal from the ballot, and the union’s
consent to this vote makes clear that its
irresponsible demand was just a bargaining
chip, rather than a serious attempt to
address the homelessness crisis gripping
L.A.,” said Chip Rogers, AHLA president
and CEO.
AAHOA said in its statement the
voluntary housing component of the new
ordinance is an improvement over the
previous ballot measure. At the same time,
the association said it also thinks some
changes should be made to the police
permitting section of the ordinance are
recommended.
The police permitting requirement also
would lead to uncertainty for hoteliers
because they will not know each year if
they will receive the permit or not, AAHOA
said. Banks might avoid renewing hotel
loans and demand immediate full payment
of loans from hoteliers and hoteliers may
be discouraged from investing in their
properties due to the uncertainty.
“This section imposes an onerous
process that, among other things, could
potentially lead to the denial of a hotel
permit for up to five years with no rights to
appeal if a hotel is ‘found’ by an unspecified
adjudicator to have violated any federal,
state, or local employment laws,” AAHOA
said. “It also generally references prohibited
activities that are broadly worded and
nonspecific and might arise because of
unruly guests’ activities that a hotel owner
has worked hard to prevent.”
AAHOA is asking that the Los Angeles
Planning and Land Use Management
Committee consider the impact the police
hotel permit on the local hotels, especially
the limited-service hotels owned by
minority and immigrant hoteliers.
Paul Krekorian, L.A. Council president
responded to concerns about the police
permit requirement during the first meeting
in November. Specifically, he addressed his
response to short-term rental hosts who
were concerned that police would inspect
their properties.
“The draft ordinance that's before us
today would already provide for automatic
acceptance of an application for the police
permit. All you have to do is apply and
unless there is opposition presented by
someone that application will automatically
be approved,” Krekorian said.
L.A. homelessness ballot measure
withdrawn, new ordinance passed
AAHOA, local hoteliers opposed to new permit’s requirement of a police permit for hotels
The Los Angeles City Council accepted the withdrawal of a ballot measure proposed by hospitality
labor union Unite Here Local 11 that would have required hotels in the city to house the homeless
alongside paying guests. AAHOA and the American Hotel & Lodging Association protested the ballot
measure, and AAHOA remains concerned about a requirement in the city’s new Responsible Hotel
Ordinance that requires hotels to receive a permit from the police department to operate.
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