Vote NO Measure C. Palm Springs.

 Vote NO Measure C. Palm Springs.

s.

Dear Neighbors, for those of you who are on the fence about Measure C I would like to share another perspective on the subject. Vote No. Palm Springs.

My husband and I bought our home in Sunrise Park five years ago this August and live here full time. It was a dream come true for us. A month after we moved in, my husband was diagnosed with cancer and we were devastated to say the least. Early retirement was not an option anymore. We needed extra income.

My son suggested we host on Airbnb, something we were not familiar with at the time. I did some research and decided to sign up and give it a try. It changed our lives on many levels. We live each moment in deep gratitude.

We are not a vacation rental

We live in our home and host 1-2 bedrooms and our casita in the garden.

We have paid the city of Palm Springs taxes on every booking since day one.

We have a permit from the city since day one.

Officially according to the City, what we do is called Home Sharing.

All the rules that apply to Vacation Rentals apply to us too.

We pay for our bins to be put out for trash day.

Airbnb Super hosts who love to share our home and city with travelers from around the world.

Our guests, whom we host, are travelers here to explore Palm Springs. They choose us because they want the experience of staying in a real home, like a local. They come from all over the world and are of all ages. We have made wonderful friends and have many repeat visits from Europeans and Americans. We made a Guide -book for our guests of everything to see, do and experience.

They all take the Tram.

They Golf.

They rent bikes.

They hike the mountains and Indian canyons.

They eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in our restaurants.

They have drinks at our hotels. Coffee in our coffee shops.

They visit the Art Museum.

The Indian Cultural Museum.

The Botanical Gardens.

They come for Modernism Week

Tennis championships.

Film Festivals.

Convention Center .

Photography, Workshop Week.

Coachella

Stagecoach.

Village Fest on Thursdays.

They come stay before or after visiting Joshua Tree National Park.

They shop in our stores.

Take in a movie.

In other words they keep our economy going by supporting local businesses.

I consider us Ambassadors of the sharing economy.

Home Sharing has reduced stress in our lives and allowed us to do improvements on our property, and has restored our faith in the younger generation.

Nobody who Home Shares has people there to party.

On our street there are 15 homes.

4 of which are Vacation Rentals.

When we moved into our house there were 2 vacant lots belonging to the Bob Hope Trust across the road from us, next door to our neighbor.

A couple of years ago an investor bought the land and built 2 fabulous homes that are Vacation Rentals.

There has been only one incidence with loud music and too many cars. After a phone call to the owners, those people were immediately asked to leave and were gone within the hour.

The houses themselves will certainly raise the property values on our street.

And in my opinion that’s a good thing.

Regarding neighbors: and neighborhoods for neighbors.

After moving from Burbank where we had wonderful neighbors. We thought it important to invite our new neighbors on the whole street to our home for food and drinks to introduce ourselves and meet everyone. 6 people showed up.

We were happy to meet them, especially the older couple on the street who told some great stories about the neighborhood and who lived here back in the day.

So in our experience, our neighbors keep to themselves for the most part. A wave here a nod there.

No borrowing a cup of sugar. No giving of house keys or watering a plant while on vacation.

I feel that perhaps some of the people who are leaning toward Yes on C are not fully thinking it through, are not aware of the consequences that will occur in our city if the measure is passed.

Growth is happening whether we like it or not. Why not give the new ordinance that the city has worked hard for, a chance to work, a chance, to weed out the bad apples.

This house, our home is voting NO on measure C

Thank you for taking the time to read

Louise Lowry