BIG BEAR LAKE, CALIF. — Jim McLean's Apples Bed and Breakfast Inn, with its signature apple pound cake, has long been a favorite spot for vacationers looking for a relaxing weekend in the San Bernardino Mountains.
But lately, McLean's getaway hasn't been packing them in.
McLean and other mountain bed-and-breakfast owners blame the drop in business on the thousands of cabin and vacation-home rentals in the city -- which pay lower taxes and face less-stringent health and safety codes.
"It's taken a pretty big chunk out of our business here," said McLean, who runs and lives at the inn with his wife, Barbara. He said his occupancy rate was now less than 30%.
Innkeepers and motel owners are fighting back by sponsoring a ballot measure that, if passed, will have the effect of severely restricting home rentals -- sending political ripples through usually laid-back Big Bear Lake.
Mayor Bill Jahn has joined many cabin owners who oppose the initiative, saying that the restrictions could destroy the town's image as a welcoming, affordable vacation and ski resort.
"The city's position is clear," Jahn said. "We need to have every kind of rental unit to satisfy the marketplace. Not everybody wants to stay in a bed and breakfast, and not everybody wants to stay in a private home."
The proposed measure would require owners of vacation rental homes to obtain a city business license, pay a city fee, carry liability insurance, provide one paved parking space per bedroom, comply with city fire, health and building codes and undergo annual inspections.
"We are very concerned about it because the proposal has a lot of requirements that would effectively eliminate vacation rentals in the city," said Jane Tomchik, a Big Bear resident who rents out her home.
There are close to 10,000 homes in Big Bear Lake, with 1,826 registered as vacation rentals, according to the California Department of Finance Demographic Research Unit.
But McLean estimated that close to 4,000 residents rented their homes in the past year, meaning that more than half of vacation rentals go unregulated and avoid paying business taxes.
The number has surged in five years, as has the purchase of second homes. Owners have bought homes with the hope of paying some of the mortgage by renting the property.
