Slashdot Mirror
Detroit Decides Against Banning Airbnb -- For Now (detroitnews.com)
Building officials say they will not enforce an apparent city ban of some Airbnb rentals until there is a legal review of an ordinance that went into effect this week. Detroit News reports: The ordinance, approved by the Detroit City Council in November, prohibits an owner-occupied-unit to be used for paid overnight guests. According to information listed online in the Detroit City Code, the rule went into effect Feb. 6, catching some city officials by surprise.
"Detroit homeowners have been able to rent out a room in their homes for more than 100 years, and we don't believe the new ordinance was intended to take away that right," said David Bell, director of the Buildings, Safety Engineering & Environmental Department for the City of Detroit, in a statement Friday. "The ordinance as written appears to ban all homeowners from having even their own friends and relatives stay at their homes if that friend or relative is paying them rent. The public was never told that was intended. I have asked the law department to review this question and give (the department) guidance." "Until the law department review is complete, (the department) will not be ticketing homeowners for renting out rooms in their own residence, whether through Airbnb or otherwise," Bell said. "(The department) and the administration will be working with City Council to resolve these issues."
"Detroit homeowners have been able to rent out a room in their homes for more than 100 years, and we don't believe the new ordinance was intended to take away that right," said David Bell, director of the Buildings, Safety Engineering & Environmental Department for the City of Detroit, in a statement Friday. "The ordinance as written appears to ban all homeowners from having even their own friends and relatives stay at their homes if that friend or relative is paying them rent. The public was never told that was intended. I have asked the law department to review this question and give (the department) guidance." "Until the law department review is complete, (the department) will not be ticketing homeowners for renting out rooms in their own residence, whether through Airbnb or otherwise," Bell said. "(The department) and the administration will be working with City Council to resolve these issues."
Pols: This is to protect our votes (when it's really a sop to some special interest...)
Voters: Like hell it is!
This is a little tongue in cheek but Detroit is not high up on my list of places that I would want to visit anyway. If I did go there, I would stay in a hotel versus in someone's house.
As demonstrated by this ordinance, approved by the Detroit City Council.
A bullet may have your name on it, but artillery is addressed to " Whom It May concern"
Can we not get modern 'appy app' business ideas that HELP neighborhoods in some way instead of causing problems for them?
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
That's clever. Detroit doesn't ban Airbbnb, but they might ban Airbnb.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Flim Springfield
because this is way, way too much of an about face for anything else.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
I, for one, am shocked that Detroit's city council is filled with short-sighted idiots. Shocked!
They passed an ordinance without holding public hearings where all interested parties could weigh in. Had they done that, they might still have passed a ban, but with many exclusions for customary (pre-Airbnb) arrangements.
Nothing says I suck rich dick more than standing up for the hospitality industry in your town
Because who visits Detroit by choice? If you're visiting Detroit it is probably because of work. In that case work better be paying for you to at stay at something at least in the class of an Embasy Suites.
I'm assuming that this was pushed through by lobbyists acting on behalf of Hotel's.
Airbnb is great, cheaper than hotels and spreads people throughout the city (when there is a big event on, and I imagine Detroit has some large automotive conferences), it reduces congestion and reduces business's ability to hike prices on those days.
This law to me, seems to want to place that money in big corporations and conglomerates, rather than people that actually live in the city.
If it's a Taxis, Hotels, Space Travel, Banks or Supermarkets it's time we stopped feeding those fat cats, and as a consumer pick the things which send our money to the most people!
"I have asked the law department to review this question and give (the department) guidance."
Translation: We've gotten enormous blowback and are scurrying for some face-saving way to roll this back before the torch-and-pitchfork crowd descends on us.
Can't wait! My trip back to beautiful Detroit with it's many tourist sites is back on!
To the city of Detroit: Do you want to die? Then continue onto my property without my permission. I will utilize whatever means are at my disposal to defend myself and my property against uninvited persons and government(s). I don't know where you live- but here in New Hampshire I have every right to defend myself from rouge uninvited parties who trespass on my property. I have every right to *DENY* government entry and our legal system backs that up in law. Governments here tried to fuck with our constitutional rights after a terrible supreme court ruling years ago that decided that governments can mandate inspections and the like of private property. Fortunately New Hampshire saw the light and in part thanks to Free State Project participants we got the law changed to fix that so the city governments could come into our homes without warrant to "inspect".
See Subject.
https://youtu.be/bVDDYQlmq0w
Strat
Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
Government controlling businesses is Fascism. Just saying... "Pursuit of happiness" my tail.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Remember a few years back they were trying to entice people to buy old houses for 1k. If the ban goes through, you can be sure people will upgrade and leave those places.
Where you don't even have control over your own "property". Americans are some of the most freedom hating people on earth.