The Dana Point City Council is mulling when and how the city could allow more short-term rentals — more commonly known as Airbnbs.
It comes after city staff recommended approving 37 new short-term rental permits on Nov. 21 — right before Thanksgiving — but city council members said the issue needs to be studied more.
[Read: Dana Point Could Make Dozens of New Short-Term Rental Permits Available]
Now, city officials will not issue any new permits until staff conducts a mid-year review in 2024 when the item will return to the council for more discussion.
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Councilmember Jamey Federico said it would be better to wait and see how the current short-term rentals are working.
“We really have not operated a full, busy season with the larger number of permits, and in many cases, we haven’t seen some of these new actors or new operators operate at all,” Federico said during the meeting. “Let’s look at how the short-term rentals operate as residents in town and do some comparisons on calls for service just across the board.”
The city council voted 4-0 on the delay, with Councilmember Michael Villar absent.
In early February, the council approved a short-term rental program in the city’s coastal zone and allowed additional permits to be issued outside the coastal zone.
The council implemented a maximum of 25 permits outside the coastal zone.
Council members set a maximum cap of 230 permits — 115 in the coastal zone and another 115 inland.
But not all those permits are currently available.
Right now, there are 177 active short-term rental permits in use, according to the city staff report.
Because applications opened for permits on May 1, Federico said that current data doesn’t accurately portray the peak season — the summer months and the Ohana Music Festival in late September.
Cities across the county have grappled with short-term rentals and ways to regulate these facilities over the past few years.
Residents have criticized these units on occasion for attracting a rowdy crowd that can take up parking spots, overfill trash cans and make too much noise.
City officials in Laguna Hills, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa have already banned these rentals.
Others allow the units with certain rules.
Orange has handed out 125 permits, while Seal Beach capped the total at 33.
Newport Beach has reached the city’s maximum of 1,550 permits.
“Doubling the amount of STRs is not in the best interest of Dana Point,” Dana Point resident Maryellen Marsh said in an email comment to the council.
“Residents have a right to expect quiet neighborhoods where children can play and families can enjoy their yards and streets. STRs threaten available housing and encourage businesses (hotels) in our neighborhoods,” Marsh said.
In 2023, Dana Point officials conducted 1,925 short-term rental patrol inspections with a 10-point checklist and monitored evening and weekend patrols from 5 to 10 p.m., Code Enforcement Supervisor Ray Oropeza said during the meeting.
Mayor Mike Frost said he has heard only positive comments in Dana Point’s town center about the quality of short-term rental code enforcement.
“I’ve heard generally really good things from neighbors in the Lantern Village about the enforcement and really more about the philosophy of strong enforcement and allowing neighbors to be successful if they would want one,” Frost said during the meeting.
A short-term rental notice is mailed to neighbors annually. Residents can submit complaints by calling the 24-hour short-term rentals hotline.
As of Nov. 3, there were four calls on the hotline, Oropeza said.
Three were regarding parking, and one was for nuisance. There were seven calls to the Orange County Sheriff’s Dispatch. None of the calls violated short-term rental regulations and zero citations were issued.
The council will review the permit applications when the 2024 mid-year report is published.
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
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