The Department of City Planning report says that the Mello Act requires the City to do two things: Preserve and create affordable housing.

This is right, but incomplete. There's a very important third thing required under the Mello Act: that residential uses in the Coastal Zone cannot be changed unless very strict conditions are met.

According to the Interim Administrative Procedures, a residential use can only be converted to a non-residential use if 1) the City determines a residential use is no longer feasible on site OR 2) the proposed use is COASTAL DEPENDENT. This means that the use can only be done on the coast, such as a Marina or harbor. [If you can do it in Palm Springs, it's not Coastal dependent.]

Keep Neighborhoods First is very concerned with the widespread, un-permitted conversion of residential housing into AirBnB-type short-term rentals / hotels, and Venice is ground-zero. We've seen approximately 2,000 units converted without permits.

Within the Coastal Zone, the Mello Act would help us preserve our valuable residential housing stock at a whole range of affordability levels, and will help us reclaim our residential neighborhoods. Conversions to hotels or STR's cannot be permitted on residential sites according to the Mello Act.

As we do the important work of creating and preserving affordable housing, please do not lose sight of the Mello Act's prohibition on converting any residential uses to non-residential uses that are not Coastal Dependent, such as a hotel.