whats up, Seattle leaders: Let's adjust greater than just Airbnb and VRBO - GeekWire

Why cease at regulating short-time period rentals? (Shutterstock).

guest Commentary: Two years ago, after the Seattle city Council voted 9-0 to cap the number of UberX, Lyft and Sidecar drivers on our streets, I wrote that the metropolis Council may agree with different caps on technology to give protection to the reliable interests of Seattle residents. even if the city finally eliminated caps on ridesharing organizations, happily we didn't should wait long for our intrepid city leaders to suggest an extra new cap on disruptive know-how.

Greg Gottesman

Mayor Ed Murray and metropolis Councilman Tim Burgess are now proposing to cap, at 90, the variety of nights that some property owners can present on websites like AirBnB, HomeAway and VRBO to tackle the shortage of long-term leases for families, enrich housing affordability and assist our hospitality industry.

[Clarification: The proposed 90-day rule wouldn't apply to all homeowners, just those that are renting out a second property. In other words, if a property isn't the primary residence of its owner, it could be rented for no more than 90 days per year on short-term rental sites.]

Frankly, I don't keep in mind why the metropolis Council would stop at simply limiting the variety of nights Seattle householders can supply online, when there are so many different pressing concerns we might solve by regulating new expertise.

Let me imply a couple of other proposals the metropolis might entertain.

1. To clear up the site visitors issue on our freeways, we may still restrict the variety of online searches residents could make for brand new automobiles to at least one per month. If we make it greater elaborate to buy a new vehicle, residents will be forced to personal older automobiles that they gained't want to drive as a good deal. these residents will then be extra prone to take the bus or perhaps hire a motorcycle from Pronto, the bike-sharing application the metropolis simply bought for $1.four million.

2. To cure overcrowding at SeaTac, we may still limit the variety of online reservations that Seattle tourists can book. If we make it extra complex to book go back and forth, Seattleites will reside domestic longer and universal local agencies throughout holiday time, expanding our tax revenues. With this plan, we'd not deserve to build a brand new airport, which could retailer many millions of taxpayer greenbacks.

3. To curb weight problems in our metropolis, we should still limit the number of OpenTable reservations Seattleites can make to one monthly. people in our metropolis eat out too a good deal at fancy eating places that use too tons butter of their recipes. by using regulating online reservations, we will drive our residents to undertake a more match subculture and restrict the variety of emergency room visits.

4. To increase the look at various rankings of our Seattle Public faculties, the city must limit the period of time Seattle public college college students spend on Twitch to three hours per week. students who watch or play video games are much less more likely to be doing their homework. by way of limiting their reveal time, we are more likely to see examine ratings upward thrust dramatically.

5. To lessen the divorce expense in Seattle, we should cap the variety of Tinder swipes within metropolis limits to 15 per month. When Seattle residents locate it too handy to this point, they're much less likely to relax or live married. no longer simplest does divorce create undue problem on households, however also leads separated couples to stream into two dwellings, exacerbating the housing shortage the metropolis thought it might fix by using regulating AirBnB, HomeAway and VRBO.

6. in addition to limiting new applied sciences, the metropolis Council also may trust regulating new technology corporations. as an instance, to handle comparatively cheap housing within the downtown hall, the city may readily force Amazon to cease paying its personnel so much money. Regulating the volume Amazon will pay its Seattle employees would have two a good idea outcomes: (1) Amazon personnel would now not be capable of have the funds for higher rents, forcing landlords to alter their quotes to competitively priced tiers, and (2) fewer people would are looking to work for Amazon, opening up housing for other residents. Of course, we wouldn't are looking to single out Amazon. This salary law may still follow to all organizations that are innovating and hiring highly-priced MBAs and engineers.

problems like site visitors, SeaTac, fitness, schools and divorce are essential, like the lengthy-term condominium scarcity in our city, and we are able to clear up these considerations so quite simply by using regulating innovation. Please contact Mayor Murray and Councilman Burgess to signal your guide before it's too late.