A worthy sacrifice

Infrastructural advocates decried the New Orleans City Council’s decision to outlaw short term rentals on Thursday, outside of owner-occupied homesteads, in other than a handful of commercial locations. The hunger for ready-made tax dollars to repair the local sewer system has fueled growing calls from Airbnb and HomeAway for Mayor LaToya Cantrell to veto Thursday’s unanimous councilmanic ordinance.

To such pleas, our Editorial Board can only reply, “Neighborhoods matter more.” For what is the purpose to repair the plumbing if the residents can no longer afford to live in the homes which the pipes service?

STRs have proven one of the most effective drivers of the depopulation of working class, often African-American, historic neighborhoods in New Orleans. Creole cottages in the proximity of the French Quarter and Garden District have transformed into $300 per night hotel suites. The ready money of affluent tourists has diminished the supply of affordable shotgun doubles and classic apartments in the city, causing residents to be driven out by escalating rental costs – and the constant loud parties that manifest in the visitors’ wake.

Our city is not a toilet for Bachelor weekend refuse, no matter how badly our toilets need new pipes. Yes, the 6.75 hotel tax, when applied to Short Term Rentals under the model approved by the legislature two weeks ago, would generate almost $6 million. Such a surge of revenues should not be quickly dismissed, yet when weighed against the vitality and soul of NOLA’s neighborhoods, the bribe would be too high.

True, the likely sewerage service fee that residents shall ultimately pay could amount to a few dollars more due to the fact that the Council insisted that short term rentals be limited to owner-occupied properties. The legal number of listings on Airbnb and HomeAway will likely decline as well; however, the health of our neighborhoods will rise.

Allowing a homeowner to rent out a room or a garconiere when he himself lives on the property turns STR apps from metastasizing hotels on every block into vehicles to help people stay in their homes.

Isn’t that why we want a working sewer system anyway?

This article originally published in the May 20, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.