OCEANSIDEOCEANSIDE — Oceanside has approved a cap and other restrictions on short-term vacation rentals, primarily for neighborhoods in the coastal zone between the beach and Coast Highway.
Many of the new regulations are aimed at limiting “non-hosted” short-term rentals, or STRs. Non-hosted rentals are often owned by out-of-town corporations that may operate dozens of properties, some with as many as 10 bedrooms, without on-site supervision.
Hosted rentals are properties where the owner lives on-site and can be more responsive to complaints about noise and other problems.
The recent rapid growth of non-hosted vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods has prompted numerous complaints about noise, trash, and parking, as well as commercialization, the quality of life and a loss of community character.
Without an owner or manager present, non-hosted properties are more likely to become the “party houses” that some residents have said are ruining their once-quiet neighborhoods. Some people consider them “mini-hotels.”
“It is inappropriate to have mini-hotels in the coastal zone,” said Councilmember Peter Weiss. “We need to protect our single-family neighborhoods.”
The Oceanside City Council voted 4-1 Wednesday for the changes, with Councilmember Eric Joyce opposed. Joyce said the restrictions should be broader and include more areas with apartment buildings and condominiums.
“Other people in other zones have the same right to a high quality of life,” Joyce said. “Not everybody is in a single-family neighborhood.”
The ordinance requires a second reading at a future City Council meeting and then approval by the California Coastal Commission, which could take months, before it takes effect.
The ordinance is complex and includes 14 different elements.
Among the key points are: no new non-hosted, short-term rentals in South Oceanside’s R-1 residential zone; no more than five bedrooms in short-term rentals citywide; and new categories of fines with stricter penalties for threats to public safety and operating without a permit. Existing STRs are grandfathered in place.
The ordinance caps the rentals at a maximum of 480 non-hosted STR permits in other zones, such as R-T or residential-tourism, west of Coast Highway. The limit allows for a growth of about 25 permits from the number existing now, the city report states.
Also, when any property with an STR permit in the R-1 zone is sold, the STR permit expires and can’t be renewed.
More than 50 people spoke on the issue at Wednesday’s council meeting, roughly split between and opposition of the ordinance. Generally, long-term Oceanside residents, many wearing blue T-shirts, were in , while owners of multiple properties and property managers, in green T-shirts, were opposed.
“We are a coalition of longtime residents (trying) to prevent corporate owners from turning family areas into commercial areas,” said Clifton Williams, representing the blue-shirt group Neighborhoods are for Neighbors.
“STR owners have exploited the city’s rules to make maximum profits,” Williams said. “It fundamentally changes family homes into mini-hotels.”
Several people working for vacation rental management companies said the ordinance goes too far.
“STRs have played a pivotal part in Oceanside’s economic success,” by offering affordable beach stays that make the area a visitors’ destination, said Susan “Sully” Sullivan, a real estate agent.
Oceanside has issued permits for 833 short-term rentals, both hosted and non-hosted, in its coastal zone and 378 outside it, according to a city staff report.
The ordinance amends a previous ordinance adopted by the City Council in 2019 that required most STR operators to obtain a city permit and pay a share of the city’s transient occupancy tax, also know as the TOT or hotel room tax.
TOT is the city’s third-largest source of revenue. It generated more than $11 million in the city’s 2022-23 budget, or 7.86 percent of the anticipated total of $140 million in general fund revenue. About $8 million of that was from short-term rentals.
