Orinda Halloween shooting: City council postpones decision on extending short-term rental ban
The meeting was postponed until Thursday, when the council's full quorum may decide the issue on extending the temporary ban on unhosted short-term rentals.
ORINDA — With both the mayor and an Orinda City Council member absent, the council Tuesday postponed a proposed extension of its temporary ban on unhosted short-term rentals — until Thursday.
On Nov. 19, the council passed a 45-day urgency ordinance on unhosted short-term rentals, which requires approval of at least four of the five council members. The ordinance also currently calls for a two-day minimum stay with the owner on the property, at the request of Mayor Darlene Gee.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, both Gee and Council member Dennis Fay were absent, leaving Vice Mayor Amy Worth and Council members Inga Miller and Nick Kosla.
The council members chose to reschedule the meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday because they otherwise wouldn’t plan to meet for the rest of the year and because the urgency ordinance is set to expire on Jan. 3, 2020.
The Orinda council’s action last month was in reaction to the Halloween night shooting in an Airbnb-rented Orinda mansion at 114 Lucile Way that left five people dead and several more injured.
According to the city, 54 properties are registered as short-term rentals and there have been three newly registered short-term rentals since the urgency ordinance went into effect.
Orinda is proposing to increase the short-term rental registration fee to cover the expenses of running a short-term rental program. Currently, the registration fee for a short-term rental is $106, with a $52 annual renewal fee.
The staff report is also recommending the city work with state lawmakers to give local governments more regulatory power and enforcement tools regarding short-term rentals. The report also urges a list of measures for Airbnb to beef up its regulation of short-term rentals.
The staff report is recommending that the ordinance be extended until Nov. 18, 2020.
Meanwhile, the criminal investigation into the Halloween night shooting remains active.
A 29-year-old man who was arrested in connection with the Orinda shooting but charged only with possessing a gun and ammunition, appeared in court on Nov. 25 and pleaded not guilty.
Domico Dones, of Martinez, did not speak, but his attorney told the judge Dones is pleading not guilty and denying the charges against him.
On Nov. 21, federal and state authorities arrested Dones and Frederick Johnson, also 29.
Neither Dones not Johnson has been charged in connection with the Orinda Halloween shooting to date. Authorities said they won’t reveal how the arrests relate to the shooting investigation, which remains active.
No one has been charged in connection with the Orinda shooting. The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office declined to charge five other suspects who were arrested in a series of raids related to the shooting on Nov. 14.
The victims have been identified as Tiyon Farley, 22, of Antioch; Omar Taylor, 24, of Pittsburg; Raymon Hill Jr., 23, of San Francisco/Oakland; Javlin County, 29, of Marin City; and Oshiana Tompkins, 19, of Vallejo/Hercules.
Staff writer Nate Gartrell contributed to the article.