FRESNO (KMJ) – The Fresno City Council has moved a step closer to regulating and taxing Airbnbs in the city.
By a unanimous vote, 7-0, city councilmembers approved a package of regulations for Airbnb operators in Fresno. Councilmember Garry Bredefeld:
“This is just about making sure that any problems that arise in neighborhoods, we deal with,” Bredefeld said.
Bredefeld’s council colleagues offered a number of changes to the agenda item’s sponsors, including:
making sure any money collected in fines goes toward Airbnb enforcement, charging operators a permit fee instead of a business license, and not penalizing operators of more than one rental if there’s an incident at one of their locations.
“We want to make it user friendly, we certainly want to be friendly to the Airbnb business industry,” Bredefeld said.
According to Airbnb, Airbnb hosts in Fresno welcomed 41,000 guest arrivals in the past year – a 73% increase over the previous year.
The item comes back for final approval next week.
Click below to listen to the report by Clint Olivier:
