Five years later: city limits STRs citywide

In 2019, South O fought to block additional short-term rentals in (non-RT) residential zones, i.e. to cap those STRs at then-current levels. We were unsuccessful.

Tonight the city council voted 4-1 (Joyce opposed) for Option 1 of the three possible changes to STR regulations in the Coastal Zone. Together with December’s decision, this means a (soon to be exhausted) cap on total non-hosted STR permits across the cities. The new regulations:

• All city STRs (including hosted STRs) must register
• As in other cities, all STRs must post their local permit # in their AirBNB/VRBO/Vacasa (etc) advertisement so that unregistered STRs can be more quickly identified
• No new STRs will be permitted inland (i.e. outside the Coastal Zone); this took effect February 10.
• No new STRs will be permitted in the Coastal Zone east of Coast Highway — e.g. along Vista Way, along San Luis Rey River, or on Freeman Street.
• No new STRs will be permitted in the R-1 zone west of Coast Highway. Existing ones lose their permit if
  • a) they expand their habitable space or
  • b) they have an ownership transfer such that triggers a property tax reassessment (i.e. they forfeit their Prop 13 tax assessment cap)
• Cap at 480 the total number of non-hosted STRs west of Coast Highway. This about 25 more than today, but all the new ones will be in the R-3, RT, commercial zone or downtown equivalents.
• Better enforcement citywide
  • All STRs have one year permits, which are not renewed under specific conditions
  • The city has a new 24/7 STR complaint number (760-435-5460) which routes to both police and code enforcement. STRs are required to post this number outside their property. The city also has an online complaint web page
  • Increased fines where permitted by state law

The city can’t enforce its new Coastal Zone rules until the California Coastal Commission approves them, which will likely take 1-3 years. However, once approved by CCC, any non-conforming STR will not be allowed to renew its permit (which would discourage speculators from buying a property for STR use if it can only be used for 12-36 months).

We had a great turnout of community support for Option 1, which incorporated several key suggestions from South O residents. The three founders of Save South O testified in favor of it, as did the two founders of Neighborhoods are for Neighbors. Particularly effective were two legal representatives hired by South O residents to fight nearby STRs: Marco Gonzalez of Coast Law Group and Clif Williams of Latham & Watkins San Diego. Overall, the pro-resident speakers outnumbered the pro-STR speakers 20-11, and the residents appeared to be more effective in reaching the council.

With the new regulations enacted, the key to limiting STR impacts on our community will now shift to enforcement. Neighbors who have given up complaining about problems need to start all over again, with the expectation that the hotline or web page will provide a more consistent and accurate record of complaints; going forward, such complaints seem more likely to result in fines or even stronger penalties.

The new rules are a great step forward, and we are cautiously optimistic on improved enforcement. Thanks to all the South O residents who turned out tonight, emailed the council, or otherwise got involved in this long fight to maintain the character of South O.

Best Available Fix for Oceanside’s STR Problem

On Wednesday, the council is expected to approve a new Short Term Rental ordinance for the Coastal Zone. This is important to all of South O and Seaside, because STR conversions in the Coastal Zone reduce the availability of rental and owner-occupied housing for everyone West of I-5.

The council will consider three options, of these Option 1 is clearly superior to the other two. It is not what South O asked for in 2019 or last winter, but is the best option available now and the best the council majority is going to enact right now.

Why Option 1?

Since March, Option 1 changed for the better in two ways, one for the worse:

• For the better
  • No new STRs in the R-1 zone, and existing permits cannot be transferred upon sale.
  • A total cap of 480 non-hosted STRs west of Coast Highway (vs. 505 proposed in March and no cap today). This means about 25 more STRs in the RT, R-3 or commercial zones (or equivalent zones downtown).
• For the worse
  • Restricting all STRs of more than 5 bedrooms to only allowing 14 people (occupancy of 6 bedrooms under the current ordinance). This should reduce (but not eliminate) the beach-area parking taken away by these these under-parked mini-motels. This is better than current law, but the limit was 12 people in March.
• Unchanged: General clarifications that apply to all options

In December, the city approved an ordinance banning new STRs outside the Coastal Zone, essentially capping these inland STRs at existing levels.

Meanwhile, all these promises are worthless without actual enforcement. The previous enforcement was inconsistent (with major loopholes), although the council and staff are promising better enforcement going forward

Call to Action

The conversion of residential property to STRs over the past decade has reduced the supply of housing in South O and elsewhere in the city. Adding a cap to the Coastal Zone will limit the future loss of housing that could be instead be occupied by renters or new homeowners.

Therefore, we recommend that all South O residents email the council with this message

Dear Mayor and Councilmembers, The conversion of Oceanside housing to Short Term Rentals has reduced the availability and raised the cost of housing for full-time city residents. I ask that you enact Option 1, which caps the number of STRs in the Coastal Zone, and limits the maximum occupancy of STRs to reduce the impact on beach area parking. Finally, the city needs to deliver on its promise to improve enforcement of the new and existing regulations.

Attending the Hearing

The STR is agenda item #23 Wednesday, the second of two public hearings that will be heard starting around 6pm. The city council chambers are on the second floor of Oceanside City Hall, 300 N. Coast Highway, Oceanside, CA 92054.

South O (and others) who favor protecting neighborhoods and housing supply should wear blue.

Note: Revised April 20 to clarify Option 1 details, and provide information on Wednesday’s hearing.

Short-Term Rental Options next Wednesday

The council will be voting to enact a new Short Term Rental ordinance for the Coastal Zone on Wednesday April 25. The public hearing will start after 6pm. The full staff report can be found here.

Compared to what came out of the March 25 Planning Commission hearing, Option 1 has significant changes, Option 2 is mostly unchanged, and Option 3 is new. Save South O recommends all South O residents https://savesoutho.wordpress.com/2024/04/19/best-available-fix-for-oceansides-str-problem/contact the Council in support of Option 1.

Option 1

Option 1 has three major changes

• The cap on total non-hosted STRs west of I-5 is now 480 (about 25 greater than current numbers) rather than 505 (500 greater)
• Per 24(d)(2), no new STRs are allowed in the R-1 zone, and existing ones cannot be renewed if they changed owners or the owner received permits “to expand the habitable space of the dwelling unit.”
• An existing STR permitted with more than 5 bedrooms has a maximum occupancy of 14 persons (equivalent to 6 bedrooms), rather than (for example) 18 for 8 bedrooms or 22 for 10 bedrooms.

All three options share a change to 24.2(d), defining a hosted unit.

Option 2

The new definition of a “hosted unit” is

a dwelling unit where the owner of the property occupies the dwelling unit as his or her principal residence and offers a portion of the dwelling unit for short-term rental while remaining on-site. In multi-family residential zoning districts only, the owner may occupy a dwelling unit on the same parcel as the short-term rental unit provided the owner remains on-site during all short term rental stays.

In the existing ordnance, the definition is

a dwelling unit where the owner of the property or their tenant occupies the dwelling unit as his or her principal residence and offers a portion of the dwelling unit for short-term rental while remaining on

Option 3

The staff report summarizes this option as follows

• Additional non-hosted STRs can be established in any zoning district west of Coast Highway with the exception of the R-1 zone.
• Existing STR permits for properties in the R-1 zone can continue to operate, without limitation on occupancy related to bedroom count and be renewed subject o the provisions of Section 24.3.
• No cap on the number of STR permits that can be issued for properties west of bCoast Highway with the exception of the R-1 zone (where additional STR permits for non-hosted STRs are prohibited).

This option is clearly less restrictive than option 1.