SAN DIEGO — The San Diego City Attorney said they are trying to shut down an Airbnb in the 2900 block of Second Avenue in Bankers Hill after neighbors complained to the police about loud noise and large crowds gathering at the luxury home.
The City Attorney filed a civil enforcement action to shut down the rental, citing more than 20 violations.
Raising concerns for months, Pam Adler, a Bankers Hills resident of seven years, said gatherings at the short-term rental home at 2nd Ave. and Quince Street got out of hand.
"It's very much an outdoor, party venue house. The parties have been large and noisy,” Adler said.
And once COVID-19 public health orders came down, Adler said the parties during a pandemic went up.
"We even expressed our concerns to the police that they were having to come and break up these parties, which were full of non-masked people who weren't socially distancing,” she said.
When the police department received enough complaints, it sent word to the City Attorney’s Office. Police said in May, they saw 30-40 people gathered for a party and more trying to find parking. That is despite the stay-at-home order and the state and county orders that prohibit large gatherings.
"From packing a party house during a pandemic to illegally renovating an entire property, the conduct of the defendants in this case is egregious and unacceptable,'' San Diego City Attorney Mara W. Elliott said. "No neighborhood should have to put up with such dangerous behavior.''
The listing for the home shows that for $930, you get five rooms for 12 people complete with an indoor/outdoor sound system, jacuzzi, pool and BBQ. According to the City Attorney, the owner of the home never got a business tax license, transit occupancy tax certificate and did not pay the rental business tax.
When city inspectors attempted to look at the property, the City Attorney’s Office said the owner made excuses for them not to go inside. At one point the owner said a tenant had been infected with COVID-19.
News 8 reached out to the owners David Contreras Curiel and Alexander Mendez, but so far News 8 not heard back from them.
Also listed in the complaint are a series of violations relating to illegal modifications that have been made to the home. Some of them include:
- converting the garage into an illegal second dwelling with a full kitchen and bathroom without permits
- installing an in-ground pool without permits
- installing an in-ground jacuzzi, gas-line, and fire pit without permits
- construction of two additional bathrooms without required permits
- installing interior lighting circuits, electrical outlets, and an HVAC
system and water heaters and more.
The property owners could face steep fines up to 1 million dollars, but it is a process.
"This is will take a little bit of time because the courts right now are struggling to stay open, as we know, however, we are pushing for an injunction to close this home immediately," Elliott said.
The push to shut down the home is not just because of noise violations, but Elliott says owners have been operating as a business with ticketed events, but aren't paying the proper business tax.
Elliot says in the future, the City of San Diego needs clear, stringent short-term rental rules on the books.
"It could take us months and months to get relief from the courts, what we really need are reasonable regulations for short-term rentals," Elliott said.
Airbnb policy says it "expressly prohibits 'party houses' and we have suspended this listing as we investigate further."
Alongside the party house ban, Airbnb announced a 24/7 Neighborhood Support Hotline where neighbors can call anytime.