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Q&A: City Council candidate Becca Linnig

Posted 10/8/20

Becca Linnig, a Realtor, answers questions about short-term rentals and a project on Phoenix’s Papago Park, which Scottsdale is a part of.

Ms. Linnig is one of six candidates seeking to be …

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Ask the Candidates

Q&A: City Council candidate Becca Linnig

Posted

Becca Linnig, a Realtor, answers questions about short-term rentals and a project on Phoenix’s Papago Park, which Scottsdale is a part of.

Ms. Linnig is one of six candidates seeking to be elected to three open seats for Scottsdale City Council in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election. Mail-in ballots will be sent to voters this week, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office says.

This week’s questions come from Scottsdale Independent readers, who want to know candidates’ perspectives on issues near-and-dear to their heart.

Short-term rentals — also known as vacation homes — are criticized by homeowners as disrupting Arizona neighborhoods as online sites such as Airbnb and VRBO gain steam. Many residents question how to resolve the issue of unruly vacation properties in their neighborhoods.

A second hot topic is the Papago Park land-use agreement between Scottsdale, the city of Phoenix and the San Francisco Giants.

In November 2018, the Scottsdale City Council approved a lease of Papago Park with Phoenix, and a sublease with the Giants to provide the California baseball team with a permanent, dedicated year-round player development facility at the Papago Sports Complex.

Read below to see what she has to say.

Do you support short-term rentals in Scottsdale’s neighborhoods?

I have spent a career protecting property rights. I support short-term rentals as a right of a property owner, but I also support the rights of surrounding property owners to the “quiet enjoyment” of their property. Balance between these rights must be achieved with proper regulations, strictly enforced.

The vast majority of visitors that use short-term rentals are responsible guests, and the vast majority of homeowners who rent their properties are responsible as well. The “bad actors,” whether guests or homeowners, need to be held accountable for respecting the rights of other affected homeowners. Short-term rentals generated $100 million dollars in revenue to Scottsdale last year (according to AIRDNA) and represent an important component of our tourism economic base.


What change would you propose to fix the issue of short-term rentals if you had the authority?

City Council passed a nuisance law that will allow for us as a local municipality to enforce people violating that ordinance. We must allocate enough resources to this enforcement activity to make it effective and meaningful. Once we are consistent with enforcement, it will not take long to minimize the number of violations.

Do you receive any financial benefit from STRs, STR owners, or Online lodging operators?

We all benefit from good STRs by way of the revenues this activity generates, plus the vacation spending by visitors at our local shops and restaurants.

People in Scottsdale and neighboring areas have concerns about the Giants project at Papago Park. They believe that this project: 1. Has caused serious harm to the scenery and desert landscape of that park; 2. That the financial conditions are inappropriate; and 3. It is unacceptable to build a private corporate compound in a public park. What are your feelings about this?

As I answered about short-term rentals, I have spent a career protecting the rights of property owners and affected parties. In this case, of course, Scottsdale does not own the Papago Park lands, but we must keep dialogue avenues open with Phoenix so that issues — both negative and positive — can be communicated. It is the responsibility of the governing local body (in this case, the Phoenix City Council) to ensure the Giants’ activities do not infringe on the property rights of others.

Scottsdale citizens all benefit from the presence of Giants as the home team in our baseball stadium. The annual tourism economic impact of spring training baseball has been measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars. As a council member, it is essential we protect this tourism benefit and work with the city of Phoenix to mitigate any negative impacts.