Lillian Boyd, Dana Point Times
Mayor Pro Tem Paul Wyatt has brought forth recommendations to put a short-term rental ordinance into effect, according to the agenda report for the Nov. 19 Dana Point City Council meeting.
Council has already set direction for city staff to conduct a resident survey on short-term rentals, which will be made public and will be reviewed at a future council meeting.
Recommended action includes the council passing a short-term rental ordinance, which will not become effective until approved by the California Coastal Commission and voted on and approved by a simple majority of Dana Point voters.
“Elections are only held every (two) years, so if this issue is to make the November 2020 ballot, the Short-term Rental Subcommittee and staff must establish a sequence and timeline of all the key events that must take place to enact an ordinance in a timely fashion,” Wyatt states in the report.
In 2013, city council passed an ordinance to permit short-term rentals in Dana Point effective January 2014. However, the passage was contingent on acceptance by the CCC. If the CCC did not approve the ordinance, short-term rental uses in the coastal zone would remain illegal. Anyone operating a short-term rental prior to all zoning changes becoming effective is essentially “doing so at their own risk.”
In Spring 2016, the CCC rejected the ordinance as submitted and made approval contingent upon outlined changes. Those changes were approved by city council in September 2016, but voters rejected the ordinance from taking effect.
A Short-Term Rental Subcommittee was formed on March 20, 2018, and councilmembers Paul Wyatt and John Tomlinson were appointed to serve. The subcommittee determined in its first meeting that it would not submit a proposed ordinance to city council until the CCC had accepted it and there was a high probability the residents of Dana Point would accept it in a vote.
The city council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at Dana Point City Hall Council Chambers, 33282 Golden Lantern. To view the complete agenda and agenda report, visit danapoint.org.
Lillian Boyd
Lillian Boyd is the senior editor for Picket Fence Media and city editor for Dana Point Times. She graduated with a degree in journalism from Humboldt State University. Her work experience includes interviewing incarcerated individuals in the Los Angeles County jails, an internship at the Pentagon covering U.S. Army news as well as reporting and anchoring for a local news radio station in Virginia. Follow her on Twitter @Lillianmboyd and follow Dana Point Times at @danapointtimes.
Discussion about this post