EXACTLY, Connie! The ordinance does not ban a family from sharing a home for vacation use (though that may be just as bad for a neighborhood) and it doesn’t ban children who inherit a property from using it as a second home occasionally. It bans Corporate schemes that predatorily snap homes off the market in desirable areas so that tourists can “own it” and party. (No local buyer can compete with a billion dollar company paying all cash with a 15 day close. We had a neighbor who couldn’t when Pacaso snapped up a 1950’s home in our working class neighborhood, paying 900k more than it sold for 3 years prior.) Here’s another tidbit. Not only do these people skirt TOT that hotels have to pay tosupport the locals, the actual property isnt reassessed for tax increases , at least in California, unless more than 50% of the ownership changes. So as these time-sharers buy and sell their 1/8 shares over 20 years, the neighbor’s property taxes that support schools, fire, police etc, continue to climb as homes are sold. These timeshares then become a DRAIN on the local economy in even more ways. Pacaso doesn’t sell more than 4/8 shares to any one buyer as I understand it…so likely never will more than 50% sell at one time…since the “owners” don’t know each other. It’s BAD FOR COMMUNITIES.
Pacaso timeshares are built for partying. Just look at how they write them up on their website. We have 4 in our small town. Garages are turned into extra bedrooms, pools and hot tubs are added and every square inch is designed to fit as many bodies as possible. And I am talking mid-level homes within feet of the neighbors. When sharebuyers only have 2-14 days to justify the huge bucks they are shelling out, they want to make the most of it. So expect more noise and disruption. And move fast to stop this wily, predatory company.
Please read the revised timeshare/fractional ownership ordinance that St. Helena's City Government unanimously passed in April to prevent Pacaso from buying and operating more vacation properties in residential areas. In short, it is the USE of the property, not who owns it, that determines a violation of city ordinances. Pacaso wishes you to believe it is not a timeshare, yet the "owners" must share time with the others at explicitly set stays and times. Their scheme is nothing more than unregulated, transient occupancy vacation properties, right in the middle of neighborhoods of families with young children, local workers and retirees. Cities create zoning ordinances to protect the safety, peace and security of its citizens, and Pacaso's business model should never be allowed to circumvent these local laws.
https://sthelena.civicweb.net/document/61679/Second%20Reading%20Ordinance%20Adding%20Chapter%2017.138%20.pdf?handle=499CA77709B24CD18370D22464E94CC3
In Napa where they touted their Code of a conduct, there was one Pacaca that had a woman running a yoga retreat out of it, and a new one that advertised a “third bedroom that can be locked off and rented separately.” That was an ad they placed in the local paper. Where do you know an OWNER of a property that has to sign a code of conduct from a third party company to purchase (other than a developments CCRs). It operates like a timeshare and relays on the neighbors to encore the rules via complaints to a “home manager” employed by Pacaso. It’s a transient vacation rental in the guise of ownership.
This type of fractional ownership scheme is the new Air BnB. Better stop it before it swallows your neighborhoods. St Helena was smart. It banned any scheme that limits an Owners USE of the property to less than a year. It’s about transient use and those people are not becoming part of your community at 14 day stays at a time. In Napa they took a home in a working class neighborhood and priced out a family who was renting here and waiting for an opportunity it’s to buy. They have billions. It’s the corporatization of residential neighborhoods…
The most modest of modesty panels for the most modest of their portfolio.
Chicken Little. 1236 State St.
Its not a retirement home- its a place to sleep. I laugh at “the lack of natural light/windows”- GET OUTSIDE! Go to the lagoon! Skate down DP! Walk to the UCen! The excuses!
This article says it all. Also, safe…? Right next to an airport? I wouldn’t let my kid near it.
https://archinect.com/news/article/150286731/a-jail-masquerading-as-a-dormitory-architect-resigns-from-ucsb-over-a-ludicrous-charles-munger-designed-dorm
I would like to see the Sears building turned into a luxury cinema…
This house is not an abandoned property!
People live in the studio apartment which is on the property. Please don’t trespass. These folks enjoy their privacy like anyone else. You will notice there is always a car in the uncovered garage. Please respect Mr O’Neil and his place while he is in litigation seeking due process.
Sincerely
Alison McDermit Sr
Yeah you’re 100% right. Terrible location for the pool. We need more fun rooftops in general.
Burn in hell Pacaso.
Its the perfect solution- rise up vs spread out. Its not supposed to be the Rosewood- its a safe place to sleep and store your stuff till you are finished
Great plans for that stretch of State. It's a sleepy corridor, ripe for redevelopment. There are some architectural gems but the density is very low and it would be a great area to target for rehabbing older/ugly buildings and adding in more housing in a way that few can complain about. I suspect the adjacent neighbors on the streets behind any redevelopment won't be pleased, but I've been thinking this area warrants attention for some time. Pleased to see it.
Any idea what the Golf Course will become? Is their goal to restore and upgrade or just use the land for another real estate project?
UCSB is still going through with this whole Munger monstrosity? Unbelievable…
This seems like it’s an expansion of the boring SB “style” into the funk zone. The funk zone is really just disappearing into just another part of the city. It’s losing (lost) its “funk”.
Nowhere (at least as a result of this project, which doesn't include the land Lama Dog is on).
Where is Lama dog Going?????
Agreed. It is so lacking in character as to be offensive. I thought it was a hospital when I first saw the renderings. The Funk Zone specifically, and Santa Barbara generally deserve better.
The pool in the shaded courtyard?!?!? It will get direct sunlight about 2 hours of the day, otherwise its will be shaded. Nobody will use it. How about putting it on the roof along with a rooftop bar - take advantage of the views, the sunlight and the excellent location! It works for so many other great hotels in great locations. It can work here too. Create a destination not an ordinary lodging accommodation.
Is this opposite where the Wrights had proposed an aquarium and hotel?
This is the most non-descript looking hotel. Looks more like an office building
Developers are taking all of the funk out of the Funk Zone. What’s the point of calling it that anymore?
