The city’s Short Term Rental ordinance has received final approval, and takes effect citywide on Nov. 1. The new code enforcement officer (available nights and weekends) starts Oct. 21.
Coastal Commission
On October 16, the California Coastal Commission approved the city’s STR regulations. After waiting until late in the day for the agenda item to be heard, Save South O testified in favor of the ordinance. Our testimony noted that the CCC has approved every single ordinance that set operating conditions, and that the ordinance (weak as it is) was the best the community could get out of the process.
Another South O resident, from the Pacific Street neighborhood most affected by commercial STRs, asked for a ban on commercial STRs. One commissioner (Katie Rice of San Francisco) expressed interested in how the city might ban corporate owned rentals, but the city admitted it had abandoned efforts to implement this recommendation.
While several cities have had stronger ordinances rejected by the commission — some(but not all) of those banning or capping rentals — the CCC commissioners (local government officials appointed by the state) voted 8-2 in favor of the ordinance.
Interestingly, new commissioner Mike Wilson (of Humboldt County) voted against the ordinance because it wasn’t strong enough. He predicted that the community would regret not doing more, as the STR conversion trend will continue to reduce housing stock.
New Ordinance Effective Nov. 1
After the CCC approval, the city sent an Oct. 18 email to the STR mailing list:
The Short-Term Rental (STR) ordinance has been certified by the California Coastal Commission and is now effective for inland and coastal properties. However, City staff will not begin enforcing the ordinance until November 1, 2019. City staff has prepared a letter that will be sent out to all current STR operators informing them of the new requirements and that staff will start accepting STR permit applications on November 1st. All STR operators are required to apply for a STR permit unless the STR property is a hosted unit or part of a gated HOA that contains at least 50 units and provides 24-hour onsite management or security.
The STR ordinance requires operators and guests to comply with the Good Neighbor Policy (GNP) and provides provisions for ensuring compliance with the operational requirements of the GNP. An additional code enforcement officer has been hired to assist with STR program enforcement, including responding to complaints and violations attributed to STR properties.
City staff will continue to monitor the number and location of STRs and will provide quarterly updates to the City Council. The first quarterly update was provided to City Council on October 3, 2019. This report is available on the STR website: https://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/gov/dev/planning/str.asp
Quarterly Update
The council’s approval June 13 required staff to provide quarterly updates. Although the council received the first quarterly update on October 3, it was not publicly released under October 18.
Of the 950 STRs registered with the city as of Sept. 6, perhaps half will be exempt from the permit (but not from registration or paying fees). A total of 315 (33.2%) are in North Coast Village, which was given an exemption; hosted units will also be exempt, including many of the 164 (17.5%) found in single family residential zones.
The city’s ordinance banned STRs (hosted or not) on panhandle (“flag”) lots that are narrow than city standards. Of 16 registered STRs on panhandle lots, six are on substandard lots and will be banned: 1464 Ridgeway, 1750 Avocado, 2369 Fire Mountain, 1842 Laurel, 1866 Laurel and 1820 Ivy; all are in Fire Mountain.
Renter Conduct
The city’s policy lists these requirements for the behavior of renters
- Parking. Vehicles shall be parked in garage, driveway, and on-site designated parking spaces whenever possible. Please avoid parking on street if on-site parking is available. No vehicles shall be parked on a designated fire lane nor block or restrict access to adjacent properties.
- Occupancy. The maximum number of occupants shall be two adults per bedroom plus two people per unit (including children).
- Daytime Guests. The maximum number of daytime guests allowed in a STR unit shall be 10 guests, regardless of bedroom count. Daytime guests are allowed between 7am and 10pm.
- Noise. Any disturbing, excessive, or offensive noises as defined in Section 38.17 of the Oceanside City Code shall be prohibited between the hours of 10pm and 10am.
Complaints
According to the report, the city has logged 12 complaints since the ordinance was enacted in June. Two were in Fire Mountain, three in Townsite, and seven in South O:
| Address |
Complaint |
| 1635 S. Pacific St. |
Waste Container in Public View |
| 1635 S. Pacific St. |
Unlicensed Wedding Business |
| 1708 Broadway |
Mattress in Alley |
| 1733 S. Pacific St. |
Waste Container out before 6pm |
| 1801 S. Pacific St. |
Graffiti |
| 1919 S. Pacific St. |
Graffiti |
| 1919 S. Pacific St. |
Bed bugs in Beachfront Rentals Location |
The staff concluded:
Staff will continue to monitor the number of complaints attributed to STRs, including any complaints related to parking. Staff expects that parking-related complaints will diminish once the occupancy limit contained in the Ordinance (i.e., two persons per bedroom plus two) is implemented and enforced citywide. Should staff find that this is not the case, additional strategies to address parking will be explored and presented to Council for its consideration.
The city’s website does not say whether complaints should be filed with Code Enforcement (760-435-4500) which is only available during working hours, the iPhone/Android app, or the police department’s non-emergency line (760-435-4900).
Save South O 