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US: Newport Beach City Council has moved closer to updating the city’s short-term rental laws after a recent vote to incorporate changes suggested by the California Coastal Commission.
In May, the commission commented on Newport Beach’s proposed updates, including allowing a limited number of such properties in two coastal mixed-use zones that the council originally passed in December 2003. The two approved zones predominately cover the upper Balboa Peninsula.
Coastal program analyst Chloe Seifert sent Newport Beach a letter on May 28 that outlined the commission’s considerations. The biggest requested change came in the form of counting short-term rentals in the two zones built before Nov. 25, 2010 — when the council originally passed a slew of regulations — toward the 75-unit permit passed by the council, which only leaves room for 56 new permits.
The commission also called on Newport Beach to protect beach public parking access in the two zones. Some Newport Beach residents complained during the July 22 council meeting about elements the commission left otherwise unchanged, including a 20-unit requirement to obtain a short-term rental operating permit in the coastal zones.
Mario Sustayta, a Newport Beach resident who invested in an oceanfront duplex to rent, argued that the 20-unit permitting restriction is unfair. “I work very hard to make my properties look nice,” he told the City Council. “You don’t have to have 20 units to be able to get a short-term lodging permit [in residential areas]. I just don’t feel that it’s fair to the rest of us. It’s discriminating.”
Newport Beach allows for 1,475 short-term rental units citywide without the 20-unit requirement outside of the coastal zones.
Jaime Murillo, deputy director of community development, said: “We’re trying to be more proactive with enforcement of short-term lodging. Last summer, the City Council authorised us to hire more code enforcement staff. The 20-unit [requirement] gives us an opportunity to promote more accountability [where] we’re dealing with one property owner versus multiple property owners.”
The City Council voted unanimously, 5-0, to amend its short-term rental regulations to incorporate the Coastal Commission’s modifications. A second, procedural, vote is scheduled for the City Council’s August 26 meeting. After that, the amended updates remain pending the commission’s final approval, which city officials anticipate sometime in October.
