To: Rick Cole, Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation

Dear Mr. Cole,

At a recent American Planning Association conference, you voiced your views on regulating the sharing economy in Los Angeles. We would appreciate clarification of your position on this important issue.

When asked how Los Angeles should regulate the sharing economy, you suggested that the City "experiment on some pieces of Los Angeles." You went on to explain that the city should "find the places for deregulation to take place, let it happen, and then when people call and complain just...let the phone ring."

To which "pieces of Los Angeles" do you refer? Does this philosophy represent your action plan vis a vis the proliferation of illegal and commercialized short-term rentals in Los Angeles?

For example, do you plan to let commercial users of online rental platforms operate multiple year-round short-term rentals and de facto hotels out of rent controlled residential dwellings, despite the subsequent loss of affordable housing? Is your goal to allow them to become so entrenched that regulation will become difficult, if not impossible?

Do you believe that the New York Attorney General is mistaken in pursuing litigation based on the findings of this recent report on Airbnb's impact on the affordable housing stock? 

Do you intend to foster such illegal and commercial short-term rental ventures in Los Angeles through benign neglect? If so, how do you plan to shape the dynamics of this tech economy phenomenon, given the blinding speed at which it develops?

We appreciate your time, and look forward to understanding your perspective on these issues.

Sincerely,

The Keep Neighborhoods First Team