On Wednesday, December 20, the council will be voting on an ordinance to ban new Short Term Rentals in the inland part of Oceanside (i.e. outside the Coastal Zone). This is a follow up to the Nov. 20 Planning Commission hearing on the ordinance change requested August 30 by council. The council is expected to approve this ordinance.
The position of Save South O is that while the planned change addresses some of the problem, the city also needs to address the STR problem in the Coastal Zone. Also, the testimony Nov. 20 made clear that enforcement of the existing ordinance for existing STRs must be fixed.
The council meeting begins at 5pm, and the STR item (#22) could be heard immediately after the end of the consent calendar (and before 6pm public hearings). As always, the council meets in its chambers on the 2nd floor of 300 N. Coast Highway, Oceanside 92054.
Proposed Change
The proposed change is pretty simple. It amends the existing ordinance so that no new inland rentals are permitted, and existing ones cannot be transferred to a new owner. The change would add 24.6(c) to the ordinance:
(c) Short-term rentals located in any zoning district outside of the Coastal Zone are prohibited. A short-term rental permit issued for a property outside the Coastal Zone prior to the effective date of this Section shall not be renewed after the property is transferred to a new owner.
Coastal Zone
In South Oceanside, the Coastal Zone is the area west of Freeman Street and South of Vista Way (near Buena Vista Lagoon); in North Oceanside, it also includes land near the San Luis Rey River wetlands north of Mission.
Testimony on Nov. 20 emphasized the greater impact of STRs in the Coastal Zone — in terms of the size, parking overflow, and change to the neighborhood character. In 2019, when the city was first considering STR regulations, it was claimed that coastal STRs could not be banned (or capped) due to California Coastal Commission policies. However, since then, other coastal cities have limited the number of STRs in their coastal zones in compliance with such CCC policies
Enforcement
The Nov. 20 hearing also testified to ongoing enforcement problems with STRs. This week’s staff report lists statistics on various complaints. However, neighbors believe that these statistics undercount the actual complaints — particularly after hours complaints that are filed with the police department and not code enforcement.
These statistics point to the importance of neighbors filing a formal complaint for all violations. According to city policy, complaints should be filed with the STR code enforcement phone number (760-435-5460) or using the online complaint form or using the My Oceanside app. For action to be taken (or a complaint investigated) after hours — such as for noise — neighbors must call the police non-emergency line (760-435-4900).
Save South O 