LB residents call one rental property a nuisance, demand action from city after multiple incidents
A shooting happened at the short-term rental property last week.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Residents in the College Estates neighborhood in Long Beach are outraged over a short-term rental property that has become a nuisance to the community since last year. Residents said the property has been rented out every hour on popular sites like Airbnb and Vrbo.
City officials met with residents Monday to discuss why the rental property has become a hot spot for parties and filming, with the most recent incident being a shooting.
Long Beach Police Department officials said the shooting happened on Jan. 2 and the suspects are still outstanding.
"I live next door to where the shooting happened. It affected my house, the bullet hit the wall of my house. My family has been impacted by that," said resident Wishanth Gooneratne.
"The owner of the property has been notified about this incident. They were notified about the complaints being made against the property, along with the property management company," said Long Beach Deputy District Attorney Art Sanchez.
Sanchez says as of December the house is no longer a short-term rental property. However, neighbors said it's now being used as a filming location.
"That property cannot be used as a short-term rental. That doesn't mean it can't be used as a long-term rental if he has new tenants that move in or additional filming if they get the proper permit," said Long Beach Deputy Director Luis Ramirez.
We reached out to the property owner, but haven't heard back. Meanwhile, Sanchez said he will hold the owner accountable and is staying on top of the complaints.
"In this situation, because of the nature of the incident that has occurred and because of the community of complaints we received, it will be a short window," Sanchez said.
Neighbors said they hope the issue with the property gets resolved quickly and they plan on taking action by signing a petition to ban short-term rentals in the area.
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