The Natalie dance video collection is taking forever to upload! While we wait, let’s cover the short-term rental policies in North County:
Unpermitted short-term rental units have accounted for most of the reported code compliance violations throughout the North County coastal region, based on a review of records from each city that cover 2018 to midway through 2023.
As platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo remain popular, short-term rental regulations have been a priority along the coast from Del Mar to Oceanside. With concerns ranging from disturbances to neighbors to housing units that are essentially erased from the market as a statewide housing crisis persists, here is how cities have been addressing short-term rentals:
Encinitas
Approximately 45 percent of the 263 reported violations recorded by city staff over that five-year span were for illegal short-term rentals. Last year, the City Council approved an ordinance that limited short-term rental permits for non-hosted properties to no more than 2.5 percent of the city’s total housing units. “The rules that we have in place currently make it somewhat painful for cheaters,” Encinitas Mayor Tony Kranz said. “So if people engage in short-term rentals that are not permitted, it’s very likely they’re going to get caught and the fines we have make it a little more painful.”
Another common description for reported violations was “lack of best efforts,” which was a catchall term that the city used for multiple complaints at a single address. City officials now use more specific terms.
Other reported violations recorded by code compliance included illegal use of a short-term rental as a wedding venue, loud music, excessive noise, excessive number of vehicles and permit not displayed. Encinitas also works with an outside company that helps track Airbnb and other listings within the community, which the city uses to monitor potential permit violations.
Solana Beach
Council members have been discussing updates to the city’s short-term rental ordinance, which is almost 20 years old. Mayor Lesa Heebner said they will consider potential changes later this month or in October. According to city staff, there have been about 250 to 350 STR permits issued each year, equal to about 5 percent of the housing stock in Solana Beach.
The city had 37 reported code compliance violations from 2018 to June 2023, most involving permit issues. “The intent here is to solicit as much feedback as we can get to understand what should be done,” Solana Beach Deputy Mayor David Zito said earlier this year.
Del Mar
The Del Mar City Council is discussing a short-term rental ordinance this month. The city has been beset over the past several years with legal challenges, battles with the California Coastal Commission and delays from the COVID-19 pandemic that have prevented passage of a permanent set of regulations. The current law is a temporary forbearance policy that allows properties to operate as short-term rentals if they can prove they were in operation before April 2016.
According to city records, reported violations of illegal short-term rentals typically lead to a process of verifying whether the unit really was being used as an STR, and, if so, whether the unit qualifies under the forbearance policy.
“There has been a long-term tradition of having short-term rentals and vacation rentals,” City Councilmember Dave Druker said during a July meeting. “We want to make sure as we create these ordinances that we understand that is what’s happened in the past. My assumption is that we’re not going to turn around and say that short-term rentals are not allowed, period.”
Carlsbad
Carlsbad allows short-term rentals only within the coastal zone, based on regulations approved by the City Council that took effect in 2015.
About 84 percent of the 666 reported violations involved illegal short-term rentals, either unpermitted within the coastal zone or operating in the non-coastal zone where they are banned.
https://www.carlsbadca.gov/departments/community-development/short-term-vacation-rentals
Del Mar wants to form a registry of short-term rentals that have operated within the city to help guide the terms of a new set of local regulations, based on City Council direction during a meeting Tuesday.
“I want to make really clear, this is not for any exercise of collecting data for enforcement,” Del Mar City Manager Ashley Jones said. “This is for collecting data to develop regulations to ensure people’s units are recognized and can be accommodated through whatever regulations are identified by the council and ultimately approved.”
But council members were also skeptical about whether STR hosts would participate in the city’s outreach efforts. “I think the database collection is super important. It would be great to have it,” Del Mar City Councilmember Dwight Worden said. “I’m just not sure you’re going to get a lot of volunteers.”
The City Council will discuss parameters of the potential short-term rental ordinance at its next meeting Sept. 18. Some of the provisions could include specifications for STR activity based on certain zones within the city, special regulations for STRs that are hosted (meaning the owner also resides in the property while renting), the permitting process, and charging transient occupancy tax.
The city’s current short-term rental law is a “forbearance” policy that allows properties to operate as STRs if they can prove they were in operation before April 2016.
Since the city of Del Mar is in the coastal zone, the California Coastal Commission would also have to approve the ordinance. According to city staff, the commission has considered STR ordinances for cities throughout the state on a case-by-case basis, meaning there aren’t strong precedents in place for what would be acceptable. Del Mar has been evaluating short-term rental policies that are already in effect in comparable cities.
Other coastal cities have enacted short-term rental policies, including Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad and Oceanside. But code compliance records have shown unpermitted short-term rentals have persisted.
Del Mar’s past efforts to approve short-term rental regulations have faced legal challenges, disputes with the Coastal Commission and, more recently, delays from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Del Mar resident Jennifer McDowell, who is also a short-term rental operator in the city, mentioned the local history of STRs during public comment. For decades, they have served vacationers, horse racing fans and students. “We like to have reasonable, good-neighbor policies in place through the city of Del Mar,” McDowell said.
But short-term rental sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo have revolutionized the practice in recent years, causing concerns ranging from neighborhood nuisances to housing units essentially being erased from the market if they are used exclusively for STRs.
According to a city staff report, the potential STR policy would reduce vacancy rates in units that do not have long-term tenants.