Most Carpinteria officials want to place some kind of cap on the amount of short-term vacation rentals operating within beach neighborhoods, but they have yet to find that magic number.
The Carpinteria Planning Commission took up the issue of whether residents should be allowed to rent housing units for fewer than 30 consecutive days Monday night, voting 2-1 against recommending the draft ordinance to Carpinteria City Council for final approval.
Officials minus commissioners Jane Benefield and Glenn LaFevers, who were absent, clarified that they preferred an earlier, less restrictive version.
Although City Council voted last August to back the status quo on the subject — allowing rentals in multi-family residential zones mostly near the beach or downtown — officials were forced to kick back a planning commission-approved draft ordinance last month when the majority failed to come to a consensus.
Three votes were required to move the ordinance forward, but with councilmembers Wade Nomura and Bradley Stein abstaining due to possible conflicts of interest, the majority could only send it back to staff asking for a limitation on the number allowed.
The updated draft ordinance would create a vacation rental overlay district extending to parcels zoned for multi-family residential use in downtown beach neighborhoods — four to be exact, with those further inland allowing fewer and fewer rentals near the Sandyland Road corridor.
Thirty-five existing vacation rentals would be considered non-conforming under the proposed caps, which didn’t sit well with two business owners or commission vice chair John Callendar.
“I don’t think that this version of the ordinance is one I can support,” Callendar said. “We’re trying to make a balance.”
Carpinteria currently has an estimated 271 short-term rentals, which aren’t mentioned in city code. According to the city, 182 of those, or 84 percent of existing rentals, are found in beach neighborhoods.
Traditionally, the city has permitted short-term vacation rentals outside single-family residential zones if they pay for a business license and transient-occupancy taxes.
Last year, the rentals generated $575,000, which was 25 percent of the city’s $2.3 million in TOT revenue.
The revised ordinance — requiring amendments to zoning code and the city’s Local Coastal Program — reduced the overlay area and gave non-conforming rentals five years to discontinue the use if they had thus far been paying the city taxes.
Staff also added restrictions to home stays, which involve renting part of a dwelling that’s a primary residence, with the host present during the stay. Home stays would be allowed but limited to four occupants and one vehicle for guest parking.
Streets nearest to the beach would have a cap at 60 percent or residential units for short-term vacation rentals, with subsequent areas seeing caps at 50 percent to 15 percent.
All areas were currently under those proposed caps, according to staff.
Two of three public speakers were against the ordinance’s tight restrictions, saying the rental housing stock helped keep tourists shopping locally.
“We need places to put our visitors,” said business owner Rachel Nunez, who noted downtown businesses have been in a recession for the past year.
Callendar called the draft ordinance an undue burden on staff, but Planning Commissioner David Allen — the lone dissent in Monday’s action — said enforcement would always be an issue.
“I think it’s bad for business,” chair John Moyer said. “We offer depth to our tourism industry by having vacation rentals.”
He said he wasn’t in favor of expanding vacation rentals but wanted to see a better crafted ordinance.
The draft will go back before council, where officials must find a consensus or risk burying the ordinance.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.