Carpinteria has a temporary moratorium on new short-term vacation-rental units, and in an effort to adopt permanent regulations, three City Council members approved the first reading of an ordinance this week.
Mayor Gregg Carty, Vice-Mayor Fred Shaw and Councilman Al Clark voted for rules that place a cap on short-term vacation rental units and require them to get licenses and pay transient-occupancy taxes.
The issue has been discussed at the city’s Planning Commission as well, and now the ordinance will go to the California Coastal Commission since the city is within the coastal zone, City Manager Dave Durflinger said.
The two other council members, Bradley Stein and Wade Nomura, have recused themselves from vacation rental discussions and voting because of potential conflicts of interest.
The city’s vacation-rental units have historically been in the beach area, but there’s been more growth toward downtown, Durflinger said.
There’s tension between the desire to provide affordable accommodations for visitors and long-term housing for locals, he said.
There were 182 licensed vacation rentals in October, when the City Council adopted the moratorium.
The council supported a so-called graduated cap, with a higher concentration allowed closer to the beach and a total cap of 218 units.
“Too many tourists is a bad thing, too few tourists is a bad thing — we need a balance in between,” Carty said.
Carty said a cap on the units and lottery system would cause confusion.
“I look at it as a nightmare to enforce,” Carty said.
“I think it’s a nightmare to lose one more unit of affordable housing,” Clark said.
Short-term vacation rentals are reducing affordable housing stock and rental prices are “going through the ceiling,” Clark said.
Companies could be dissuaded from coming to the area if the workforce has to live outside the area, Shaw said.
The fact that only three council members can discuss the issue means they have to vote unanimously to pass anything, Shaw pointed out.
With the approval, the California Coastal Commission will review the ordinance before the second reading and possible adoption.
If Carpinteria needs to extend the moratorium in the meantime, it can, Durflinger said.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
