The sign said Neighborhoods are for Neighbors Not Vacation Rentals.
Just one of the signs held up by the dozens and dozens of people who crowded into Golden Hall Tuesday to let their feelings be known about one of the thorniest issues for the city council: short term vacation rentals.
With nothing a majority of council members could agree on, they agreed to kick the can down the road again and deal with it at some point next year.
Of course the reason the council can’t come up with a solution on what to do about short term vacation rentals that will satisfy every is because there is none.
Nothing will fully satisfy those on both sides of the issue and that’s because the issue deals with two competing interests that both deal with freedoms.
Both sides want the freedom to be able to exercise their right to the pursuit of happiness as our nation’s founders put it.
But one side will only be happy if they can pursue their happiness by making some extra income by renting out their homes to vacationers and weekenders who visit San Diego.
While the other side will only be happy if they’re able to pursue their happiness by knowing their neighborhoods won’t be turned into mini hotels and the problems associated with that.
And on top of those obstacles, there are the government roadblocks that have to be satisfied involving a sign-off from the state coastal commission for renting out homes near the beaches.
So at this point, it looks like an answer to San Diego’s short term vacation rentals problem could be a long way off.
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