July 4 Update: NBSTRA Needs Member Reports Before Tuesday’s City Council Discussion

As expected, the 4th of July incidents will be a major discussion item at next week’s Newport Beach City Council meeting, and we need your help to prepare!

Newport Beach officials are continuing to review the serious disorder that occurred on the Balboa Peninsula over the Fourth of July holiday. NBSTRA remains in communication with the City and continues to support a full, fact-based review of what happened.

Public information released so far increasingly points to viral social media posts, a sudden late-day influx of juveniles and young adults, illegal fireworks, and unruly crowd activity near the Pier as major drivers of the most serious incidents. City statements and news reports have described young people arriving in response to TikTok and Instagram activity, with many of those cited or arrested coming from outside Newport Beach, including large numbers from outside Orange County and out of state.

That information does not appear consistent with the disturbances being primarily driven by responsible short-term rental guests staying in licensed properties booked in advance for the Fourth of July holiday.

At the same time, the Mayor’s recent public update also stated that officers “evicted non-compliant short-term lodging tenants” before nightfall. We are also hearing unconfirmed reports that many, perhaps dozens, of short-term rental violations may have been issued over the holiday weekend, potentially putting some permits at risk under the City’s one-strike revocation rules for certain violations during the Safety Enhancement Zone period.

Those reports are not yet confirmed. That is exactly why NBSTRA needs real information from owners and managers now.

If the City’s review shows that verified short-term rental guests were a meaningful part of the problem, NBSTRA is prepared to work constructively with the City on targeted, evidence-based solutions. But responsible owners and managers should not be blamed for conduct they did not cause, could not reasonably control, or that occurred in public areas near their properties.

No individual short-term rental operator can control a large, social-media-driven crowd moving through public beaches, streets, parking lots, and commercial areas. Owners and managers are responsible for their properties and their guests. They should not be treated as responsible for broader public disorder unless the facts support that conclusion.

That is why member input is urgent.

We know from the Mayor’s email that the July 4 incidents will be a major discussion item at this Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Before then, NBSTRA needs to understand what actually happened at short-term rental properties across Newport Beach.

Please email NBSTRA this week, or no later than Monday, at info@nbstra.com if any of the following applies to you:

• Did your property receive a Loud and Unruly Gathering Ordinance (LUGO) citation, Disturbance Advisory Card (DAC), administrative citation, noise violation, warning, suspension notice, revocation notice, parking citation, trash citation, or other City enforcement notice related to July 4?

• Were you contacted by police, code enforcement, the short-term lodging hotline, or any City official about your property or guests?

• Were you given notice and an opportunity to respond before a citation was issued?

• Did the alleged issue involve actual guest conduct, nearby public-area disorder, a medical or emergency call, people gathering outside or near the property, or something else?

• Do your guests dispute the City’s account of what happened?

• Did you have normal, responsible guests and no problems at all?

• Do you know another owner or manager who received a July 4-related citation, warning, suspension, or revocation notice?

Please send copies of any notices or citations, along with a short factual timeline. Include the date and approximate time, address of our property or at least general property location, whether the property is self-managed or professionally managed, the booking platform if relevant, whether the local contact was called, and whether the guest has provided a statement or documentation.

NBSTRA will keep member reports anonymous unless we receive explicit permission to share identifying details.

This information will help us separate facts from assumptions. It will also help us determine whether enforcement actions were based on verified short-term rental guest misconduct, broader public-area disorder, emergency calls, social-media-driven crowds, or other circumstances.

Our goal is straightforward: make sure short-term rentals are not unfairly scapegoated, identify any verified STR-related problems that need to be addressed, and work with the City on solutions that actually target the source of the problem.

Of this we are confident, if the City attributes all, or even most, of last weekend’s unrest to STRs and their guests, they will not have addressed the problem, and this will happen again.

Newport Beach deserves a serious, fact-based response to what happened on July 4. NBSTRA will continue working to support public safety, responsible ownership, good guests, fair enforcement, and policies based on evidence rather than assumptions.