This past Tuesday, the Antioch City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that would prohibit the hourly rentals of lodging units within city limits.
According to the Staff Report:
The purpose of these ordinances is to prohibit the usage of lodging accommodations for prostitution and related criminal activity. Although Antioch does not currently have any motels or hotels that rent on an hourly basis, it is believed that an hourly prohibition should be put in place now to avoid the practice of hourly rentals from occurring in the future. This would be a preventative measure that would avoid the creation of blighted conditions and associated code enforcement issues in the future
The proposed ordinance would enact an hourly rental ban for any hotels, motels, or lodging establishments within city limits. Again, the ordinance technically does not just prohibit rental periods that are truly for one hour (no more than 60 minutes). It prohibits rentals that last fewer than 12 hours. And it prohibits the same room from being rented for more than two times in any 24-hour period.
“The hourly rental is really what people call this, when you sit down to draft this to make it work to address the issue and not wreak havoc for legitimate dwelling operators, the drafting is such that a dwelling operator cannot rent for fewer than 12-hours/daily rental or it cannot rent twice in any 24-hour period,” said Cole. “That is the technical way that it had to be drafted.
Cole added it’s to prohibit hotels and motel for illegitimate business.
Councilwoman Monica Wilson oversees Police Chief Tammany Brooks placing red sand in the cracks to raise awareness of human trafficking.
Councilwoman Monica Wilson, who brought the issue to the City Manager, stated it was aimed to prevent human trafficking because many people don’t believe its happening here in Antioch.
The ordinance also came before the council a week after the Red Sand Project.
“We have members of our community who are falling prey to this type of crime. In my study and doing more research with the county I learned more about the hourly-rate ordinance. Other communities did this to add an extra layer of protection,” said Wilson.
She explained how this type of ordinance will help prevent blight, crime, and victimizes a lot of members of the community.
Wilson asked Chief Tammany Brooks of how this would be a benefit to the community.
“Motels who rent by the hour create a sanctuary for criminal activity. Not only prostitution, but for drug use. Sometimes people will rent a room by the hour, people will purchase their drugs, go into the room and use their drugs and come out. There is also the possibility of human trafficking,” explained Chief Brooks. “Without this ordinance, these motels could legitimatly rent rooms in small hour blocks which would be a legal business which really encourages illegal activity, bringing that type of clientele to a neighborhood is not good for economic development.”
Brooks said he supports any measure that gives them a tool to curtail illegal behavior.
Councilman Tony Tiscareno said this was an ordinance that made sense. He was curious how it would be enforced and effective.
Brooks admitted he did not know, but would look at best practices from around the country.
“We don’t have the staffing to proactively go out to look for this, but if we receive complaints it is an additional tool use from an enforcement standpoint,” said Brooks.
Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock applauded Councilwoman Wilson for bringing this forward along with the Red Sand Project had she admitted to having no idea this was going on in Antioch. She thanked her for raising awareness.
Councilman Lamar Thorpe also thanked Wilson and called this the first step in a comprehensive process.
“We also have to look at the number of massage parlors in our city because that is where folks are being trafficked,” stated Thorpe who highlighted some of these massage parlors are engaging in activity similar to the hourly rate motels.
The council approved the Ordinance in a 5-0 vote. The item will be back before the council for a final vote on November 14 before its enacted.
3 comments
Now how am I going to get laid
Pimps are in it for the money, not the honey fool. Tricks wanna get laid, we wanna get paid
How about the long haul truck driver who just wants a nap and not pay an entire night. Not everyone is a pimp or drug addict. 🙂
Comments are closed.