As cities around the United States continue to grapple with regulations on short-term rentals, Half Moon Bay officials are considering an ordinance intended to minimize impacts on neighborhoods and the city’s housing stock while still encouraging visitors to the area.
The Planning Commission discussed at a meeting last week potential regulations on short-term rental locations, occupancy limits, nights per year and whether an on-site host should be required, among other rules.
Last year, the City Council identified short-term rentals as a policy priority for 2018, Community Development Director Jill Ekas said, and the discussion also comes at a time when San Mateo County is set to implement its own short-term rental ordinance, which it adopted in December, and that affects unincorporated areas of the coast.
Half Moon Bay’s zoning ordinances don’t explicitly address short-term rentals, but they are subject to the city’s transit occupancy tax, according to the staff report.
A quick glance on sites like Airbnb and VRBO and you’ll get a sense of how many rentals are available in Half Moon Bay, but Ekas said the city is aware of 33 of them, adding that most, but not all, pay the required TOT.
While short-term rental tax revenue is a major consideration in many cities, it doesn’t appear to be a priority for the Planning Commission.
“I don’t think the city is trying to maximize TOT,” said Commissioner Jimmy Benjamin, according to a video of the meeting. “We’ll take it, but it’s not major focus.”
Ekas said the California Coastal Commission has provided guidance on the matter, and generally encourages short-term rentals for providing coastal access and affordable lodging that doesn’t require new development, but the commission does defer to local governments to work out their own “reasonable regulations.”
The commission appeared to agree that Half Moon Bay’s ordinance should limit the number of nights per year for short-term rentals to no more than 90 and as few as 60 for units in which a host is present.
“I think 90 is probably as high as we ought to go, and if it’s less than that I wouldn’t mind, but more than that creates problems,” said Commissioner Les Deman.
The commission at first appeared wary of allowing rentals in which a host is not present, citing concerns about the increased likelihood of irresponsible behavior without the oversight of the property owner, but eventually came around to allowing them.
“Some landlords do great jobs and some do terrible jobs, and whether or not they’re on the property or not doesn’t make much difference,” Commissioner John Evans said. “It seems like we need this test drive of allowing some unhosted units in residential neighborhoods to see if it can work because I can see real business limitations to folks who want to rent their room but don’t want to be there.”
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The commission appeared to agree, but with lower caps on unhosted rentals. Chair Rick Hernandez suggested 60 or 30 days.
“The goal here is not to kill the rentals, the goal is to kill the impacts,” Benjamin said. “I want no more impacts than I would from a residence.”
And while commissioners appeared comfortable with the unhosted option, there was also talk of requiring rental managers within 20 minutes of the property to handle any potential complaints. Commissioners also expressed support for documenting all complaints associated with short-term rentals and a potential three-strikes rule that would strip hosts of their rental license after the third citation.
Local jurisdictions have taken various approaches to host requirements. San Mateo County allows unhosted rentals, but only up to 180 nights per year, San Francisco allows unhosted rentals for 90 nights and Redwood City allows unhosted rentals for 120 nights, and none count hosted nights toward these limits, according to the staff report.
As for where to allow rentals, the commission seemed to agree with staff’s recommendation to prohibit short-term rentals in affordable housing options, such as accessory dwelling units, mobile homes and rental multi-family housing-including duplexes, triplexes and apartments — to preserve those units for lower-income residents.
There was also agreement that Half Moon Bay shouldn’t have a cap on short-term rentals throughout the city, but agreed the ordinance should be further studied after a certain number of permits are issued: Hernandez suggested 100.
Deputy City Attorney Sara Clark also said the ordinance will include a variety of standard requirements, including indemnity provisions and proof of residence and insurance.
Parking was not a focus of the discussion, but it was for one resident who spoke during the public comment period.
“Parking has had a big impact on quality of life,” said El Granada resident Dave Olson, referencing a street on which six short-term rentals have cropped up over the years.
A draft of the ordinance will also consider further community input before it returns to the Planning Commission, and eventually City Council and Coastal Commission, according to a staff report.
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