The city of San Diego's plan to regulate short-term vacation rentals is one step closer to being implemented after it was approved by the California Coastal Commission.
The new requirements cap the number of whole-home vacation short-term rentals available for more than 20 days per year to 1% of the city's more than 540,000 housing units.
"We have to start implementing," San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said about the plan. "That means we have to start hiring some code-enforcement officers who can work to make sure that any properties that are nuisance properties are held accountable."
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Licenses will be awarded to hosts through a lottery system where priority will be given to hosts who are in good standing.
Jeff Macgurn has owned a property in Hillcrest for almost eight years that he has been using as a short-term rental for about 70% of the year.
"I think anybody who is a short-term rental right now is worried about being one of the people who doesn’t get a license," Macgurn said.
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Mission Beach is the one neighborhood where the cap is increased to 30% of the housing units because of its popularity with short-term rentals. Gary Wonacott, who is a long-term resident of the neighborhood, said he's disappointed that the new rules are moving forward.
"Thirty percent for me is an abomination because it's not just 30%," Wonacott said. "It's not uniformly 30%. We have 50 courts and places, and we have some courts that will be at 60%. We’ll have some that will be at 15% or 20%. I don’t think that’s in any way equitable."
There is no limit on the number of licenses that will be given out to anyone who wants to rent out their whole home for less than 20 days per year or to anyone who wants to rent out part of their home, regardless of the number of days per year.
The California Coastal Commission added a provision that the city must revisit the regulations in seven years.
San Diego's City Council will vote next week on the plan, which could go into effect as early as this fall.
Click here to read the city's plan.
