Short-term vacation rental ban put on hold in Encinitas

By Angela Lau
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

February 10, 2006

ENCINITAS – A controversial proposal to ban short-term vacation rentals has been shelved because of objections from the state Coastal Commission's staff, but it is not dead and the battle over it continues to simmer.

Yesterday, City Manager Kerry Miller said he intends to revive the ban in a form that is more acceptable to the Coastal Commission and reapply for approval, which is necessary to enact new laws on vacation rentals in coastal cities.

Vacation homes are considered an alternative accommodation for people who want to go to the beaches, and commission's mission is to protect public access to the coast.

“We have not given up on the ban,” Miller said. “That is still the direction of the City Council.”

Mayor Christy Guerin said the council will discuss the issue but has not decided on a date.

The City Council voted for the ban in May after hearing complaints about excessive noise, traffic and trash from vacationers.

The issue was scheduled for commission consideration yesterday at its meeting in Chula Vista, but city officials withdrew their application before the commission met.

Miller said the city was worried that the commission would not approve the ban because commission planners opposed it. Those planners had said it would deprive beach-going vacationers of accommodations because Encinitas does not have enough hotels and motels around its beaches, a claim that the city has disputed.

Miller said the city dropped its application so as not to shut the door on future applications for a ban.

In the meantime, to deal with noise complaints, the city may consider requiring vacation-rental homeowners to obtain permits and be subjected to noise, traffic and trash-control regulations, which do not need Coastal Commission approval, Miller said.

Currently, homeowners do not need permits to rent out their units.

Homeowners who violate permit conditions could face revocation, Miller said.

Yesterday, supporters and opponents reiterated their stands on vacation rentals and vowed to renew the battle when another ban is proposed.

“We are opposed to short-term rentals,” said Franz Birkner, a member of Encinitas Citizens for Residential Stability, a group of coastal homeowners who supported the proposed ban.

“They all should be shut down,” Birkner said.

Dietmar Rothe, an activist who is opposed to the ban, said it would not solve the noise and traffic problems.

“The ones that are really the problem are grandfathered in,” he said.