Vacation Rental Policy Review September 2020

UPDATED Sept. 2020 with new position statements. A must read! A Policy Position on Short Term Vacation Rental Policies by the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce. This provides specific comments on this matter from the business community’s standpoint.

Urgency Ordinance 637

The Urgency Ordinance No. 637 was released on August 25, 2020. This ordinance stops the issuance or transfer of STR licenses for 45 days, with the stated intent of extending this until the new STR ordinance is passed.

Grand Jury Report, Central Coast Study

A must read showing the study done at the county level that applies 100% to Morro Bay and the issues with enforcement of current regulations as they stand today. It points to the fact that the concentration of illegal operations is the highest at the shoreline areas with no reasonable enforcement efforts in place by the county.

Nuisance Complaint Study, CA Coastal Counties

2016 Report on the disturbance of vacation rentals as compared to other homes with full time residents. The areas evaluated for nuisances included the countues of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

STRs Effect on Housing Supply, Santa Barbara Study

2016 report on the effect of STRs on housing supply. Moving forward in 2020 with the new rent control and Aux dwelling unit laws passed by the CA state legislation we view the issue of affordable housing being addressed with real solutions.

Santa Barbara must allow vacation rentals on the coast

The Feb. 20, 2019 ruling from Ventura County Superior Court Judge Mark Borrell states that Santa Barbara must allow short-term vacation rentals in the coastal zone on the same basis as it had allowed them to operate prior to banning them in 2015.

Judge Rules Against Vacation-Rental BanSanta Barbara Must Allow Rentals in Coastal Zone

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Mark Borrell ruled that the City of Santa Barbara must allow short-term vacation rentals (STVRs) to operate near the beach.

California Coastal Zone Map

All of Morro Bay falls within the Coastal zone and access is protected for all

Morro Bay Ordinance 605. Setting the 250 VR Limit in Morro Bay

3 years ago, the city froze the Vacation rental space with an urgent action, Ordinance 605. In Section 1.E they estimate "as many as 100 or more VRs being operated within the city without required permits." Today 3 years later they are just now taking steps to remediate the 100 unlicensed operations in the city. We estimate many more illegal operations and unreasonable use of the 20% or more of second homes that are found in the city.

Basic Primer on Short Term Rentals

A detailed 7 page document explaining the differences in lodging options, a checklist for city officials to consider while working on regulations, and important differentiations in the complicated home sharing marketplace.

Protecting Private Property Rights. The Property Ownership Fairness Act

A forward-thinking article about the sharing economy and property rights of individuals like the owners of vacation rentals in MB. This may demonstrate the exposure and liability that the City of Morro Bay may have as they navigate the regulatory process to be fair to all stakeholders.

TBID Agenda April 14, 2016

See page 11 for Morro Bay Visitor Statistics & Impact. This lists the number of guests in 2016 and the ADR (Average Daily Rate) of Vacation Rentals. VRs represent the lowest cost of a head in bed in Morro Bay. The VR component of guest accommodation is 10% of the hotel market and also represents the only true luxury accommodation in Morro Bay.

Good Neighbor Brochure

What Beach-N-Bay Getaways and Urelax Vacation Rentals expect from our guests. Copies are sent to every guest before arrival and are available in every property managed by BNB or UR. An example of expectations to enforce city wide.

Mobile Friendly Good Neighbor Brochure

Mobile Version of the same brochure as outlined above

Community Forum Survey on Vacation Rentals

This survey was handed out at the Oct 2019 Morro Bay Community Forum and was prepared by Morro Bay Council members. We ask you to be the judge if this survey, operating under the banner of gathering useful information, was in fact steering the public against vacation rentals.

Direct Mail Morro Bay Survey on Vacation Rentals

This was directly mailed to all Morro Bay Residents with their water bill. The survey was prepared by Morro Bay Council members. We ask you to be the judge if this survey, operating under the banner of gathering useful information, was in fact steering the public against vacation rentals.

New California Housing Laws 2020

The California Legislature embraced Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), with a package of laws that some are calling "the end of single-family zoning," allowing most single-family homes to be converted into three separate housing units. Read more about the new laws.