Half Moon Bay regulating short-term rentals

The Planning Commission is working on a short-term rental ordinance designed to protect the living environment of neighborhoods around property management, traffic, parking, noise and trash. It will establish land use and operation requirements with a registration and compliance review process for both existing and new short-term rentals, or STRs, to ensure it is well managed. Under the proposed ordinance, a big issue is the primary residence requirement for owners to reside at the property for at least half each year. The requirement ensures it is still an STR while maintaining the primary use for residential purposes. The ordinance on STRs applies to a residential or mixed-use property that contains a dwelling unit or habitable portion.

STRs, also called vacation rentals, apply to a room, apartment, home or condo rented for vacation use for up to 30 days, such as an Airbnb. STRs are relatively new and have been criticized for taking long-term housing options away from a community and changing neighborhoods. While STRs represent a small percentage of housing units in Half Moon Bay, concerns remain about what constant new neighbors will do to residential neighborhoods and what happens if the amount of STRs explodes beyond manageable numbers, changing the city.

Because of the concerns about a rapid increase in STRs, the Planning Commission is considering if a cap should be included. Commissioner David Gorn believes the city should put a cap to prevent a proliferation that can alter a residential neighborhood’s character. He said STRs are relatively new and evolving, and he believes the Planning Commission should consider a message on limits to STRs in the ordinance.

“But if you don’t put any limit in there, that’s not something you can change. You can’t put a limit in afterward. So what do you want in this tiny little city of Half Moon Bay? Do you want 600 STRs? Because you might have them. We don’t know,” Gorn said.

Chair Ruddock said he understood Gorn’s concern, but wouldn’t favor a cap on short-term rentals at this time.

“I think everything else in the ordinance is thoughtfully created to ensure the short-term rental we do have are run the right way and are run by people who are actively engaged in the neighborhood. Who’s to say that the cap would be placed at a point where all the best operators would be in, and all the worst operators would be out,” Ruddock said.

Planning Commission Vice Chair Sara Polgar said she understood the concern around a proliferation of STRs, but was worried a cap could make it much harder to pass and write an ordinance.

Staff will now do more research about a cap and have a meeting with California Coastal Commission staff to update it about the effort and what influence a cap might have on the entire ordinance.

“This is important, and this particular focus area is one that we would really want to make sure that we are on firm footing with it,” Community Development Director Jill Ekas said.

Several STR owners were concerned about the primary residence requirement and expressed their desire at a Feb. 23 Planning Commission meeting to have a level of freedom and autonomy to decide who stays at their property, particularly as responsible owners concerned about Half Moon Bay. The city plans to offer one-on-one or small group meetings to STR operators to learn more about their needs.

The proposed ordinance would include hosting regulations, guidance for assessing potential violations, a revocation process and some allowances for existing STRs. Concerning existing STRs, the draft ordinance provides six months for existing operators to register and three years to establish primary residency or secure a use permit exception to that requirement. The city said it is planning an STR ordinance during the pandemic because it wants to regulate and update it as restrictions are relaxed.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102