The Horror Of Short-Term Rentals Comes Home to Simi Valley

In 1959, When I first saw Simi Valley, California, the population was 8,000. I visited Corriganville Movie Ranch, where Rin Tin Tin was wrapping up filming of a fifth successful TV season. Yet untouched by wildfire, the iconic “Fort Apache” still stood. At the time, I had no idea where I was, but it felt like the Wild West.

In the 1960s, my barber in Burbank purchased a new home in Simi Valley. To travel from Burbank to his new home, he had to navigate the narrow and dangerous Santa Susana Pass. Although paved, the route was unchanged since its origins as a stagecoach road in 1861.

By 1969, when the City of Simi Valley incorporated, new home construction had accelerated dramatically. In 1970, the population had jumped to 60,000. By today’s standards, land was cheap, lumber was plentiful, and construction costs were a fraction of what they are today. In 1979, the 118 Freeway, known as the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Ventura County, surmounted Rocky Peak. That ushered in a new era of high-speed travel between the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley. Once again, the residential land rush surged. By 1980 the population reached 77,500 and the focus was on construction of single-family ranch style homes.

In 1982, an unheralded event took place at 4267 Roxbury Street in Simi Valley. There, at an unassuming suburban house, Tobe Hooper filmed Poltergeist, a supernatural horror film written by Steven Spielberg. Other than the usual hubbub caused by filming, almost no one remembered that anything out of the ordinary had ever happened on Roxbury Street. In the movie’s most famous scene, child actor Heather O’Rourke said hauntingly, “They’re Back.”

And now, they “are back.” For only $1,376, you can spend the night at the selfsame “Poltergeist House.” After an intense bidding war, sale of the property resulted in it becoming an illegal short-term rental (STR). Now, included with every stay are icy stares from all the neighbors on Roxbury Street. Rest assured that STRs are not legal in Simi Valley, but the City Council has decided to look the other way. Now anyone with the money can buy a house in Simi Valley, rent it out nightly for an outrageous sum, and pocket all the cash. There are no transient occupancy taxes or city registration required.

If you and your “crew” want to stay close to the action, then Simi Valley is the place to be. There are no limits regarding the number of occupants, so invite all your friends to party hearty in Simi Valley. If you plan to “boost” your income while staying here, there is a Home Depot nearby. If you think the Hollywood Hills are hot, you do not know Simi Valley. Here you can rent a suburban home in a formerly quiet neighborhood and remain undetected by local police. If you were not a Simi Valley “booster” before, you will be soon.

Recently, the Ventura County district attorney indicted at least fourteen people for over six hundred retail thefts at Home Depot locations throughout Southern California. Not surprisingly, the Home Depot in Simi Valley was a favorite of the “crew” that stole $10 million in merchandise from the home improvement chain.

Whether your “crew” is looking for “fencing” or just to “boost” your inventory of electrical components, here is the plan. Purchase a prepaid debit card, create a new online persona, and borrow a work truck from friends of your crew. Then, book a short-term rental on a quiet residential street in Simi Valley. Get a good night’s sleep, then wake up early and head for the Home Depot. Even in summer, wear a bulky parka to stash your high value electrical components. When it is time to check out, use your spotter to call and indicate that the coast is clear. Then, head out to your work truck, drive a block away and unload your goods into the tool bins. If you have sufficient time, head for the Oxnard Home Depot, or go right back into the Simi Valley location and repeat the process.

When it is time to head to your home-base in the San Fernando Valley, no matter how hungry you are, do not stop at the In-N-Out Burger at Stearns Street. In the median by the entrance, there is a license plate reader camera that could bring the police running. Just obey the speed limit and drive back over Rocky Peak as if you are a real contractor.

At a recent meeting, the Simi Valley City Council unanimously agreed to provide $70,000 per year to the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce. This taxpayer money will help promote local businesses and an annual street fair. At the fair, you can rent a space and sell all your recently “boosted” products back to the residents of Simi Valley. Prior to funding this “business promotion business,” the city should require the Chamber to explicitly state its opposition to short-term rentals. The Chamber should instead offer its full support to the legitimate hotels and motels in Simi Valley.

Now in 2025, the 125,000 residents of Simi Valley have a choice to make. Will they allow their City Council to “whistle past the graveyard” that is the Poltergeist theme house? Will the City Council continue to ignore its primary function, which is to provide "a safe and healthy living environment" for its citizens? My bet is that they will kick the can down the road. Soon enough, it will be too late to do more than register and tax a horde of “hotels next door.” After all these years, isn’t Simi Valley still the Wild West?

Email James McGillis

 

Short-Term Rentals Create Havoc in Simi Valley Neighborhoods

On August 4th, 2025, the Simi Valley City Council discussed short-term rentals, or “STRs”, as they are commonly known. While the Council voted to postpone a ban on STRs, thank you, Mayor Dee Dee Cavanaugh, for your lone dissenting vote. Indicating deference for proposed state laws, Council-member Rocky Rhodes said that voting on the issue of STRs is “probably two months premature.”

Research shows that state bills will focus primarily on taxes, transparency, and local control. California Senate Bill 346 authorizes local agencies to require short-term rental facilitators to report information to assist in enforcing the collection of transient occupancy taxes.

Even if Senate Bill 346 passes, the legislature will throw the regulation of STRs back to the individual cities. In the near term, there will be no comprehensive statewide solution.

At the August 4th and August 18 meetings, several residents spoke up, asking the council to enact a full ban on STRs. Two speakers expressed the horror of having a party house in their neighborhood, including noise, trash, and constant disruption. Speaking of “horror,” the “Poltergeist House,” used in filming of the 1982 movie by the same name is now an unregistered STR in Simi Valley. It is so famous that Los Angeles TV station Channel 9 featured it on both their newscast and their website. It was an open invitation to party at what looks like any other home in the neighborhood.

Since the incorporation of Simi Valley in 1969, it has always been known as an “owner occupied,” bedroom community. Now, between seventy and one hundred known STRs operate unregulated and unlawfully throughout the city. With the City of Los Angeles’ current ban on “second home” STRs, the number of scofflaw STRs in Simi Valley could grow exponentially. Chatsworth, which is a neighborhood in Los Angeles is only minutes away via the 118 Freeway.

Once affordable, homes in Simi Valley’s 1960’s Texas Tract now list for $900,000 and above. Each sale of a single-family home removes one more parcel off the list of properties that once were owner-occupied. Each sale to an investor or corporation decreases ongoing supply and drives up prices. With two out of nineteen homes on our block now advertised as STRs, there are no longer any school aged children here. Continuation of this trend could lead to teacher layoffs and school closures.

Simi Valley is rapidly becoming an investment Mecca for those with indifference to the disruption their STR might cause to a neighborhood. I know. For over ten years we lived next to a notorious Simi Valley party house. After calling the police fourteen times regarding wild parties, we lost track. Despite constant noise and disruption, police issued only a single citation. With the police-force already stretched, increased calls regarding raucous parties at STRs will further dilute crime fighting resources. 

Recently, my other next-door neighbor silently became a corporately owned STR. It now features glowing Airbnb reviews for its location in a “quiet neighborhood.” How long will it be before we see rogue parties at that location? Will we ever see owner occupancy or a long-term renter there ever again?

Wherever you may live in Simi Valley, (or anywhere in California) do you want an unregulated and unlicensed business operating next door to you? Should we wait until it is too late to stop the destruction of our beautiful Simi Valley community, in favor of corporate greed and meager additional tax revenue?

Now is the time for the Simi Valley City Council to enact a full ban on Short Term Rentals.

Email James McGillis