The Del Mar City Council approved a resolution 3-0 on Feb. 3 to set a March 2 to May 1 timeframe for short-term rental permitting, two days before the California Coastal Commission voted to approve Del Mar’s STR regulations.
Del Mar became the last city to approve a short-term rental ordinance in September 2024, and has since been awaiting Coastal Commission approval because the ordinance includes a local coastal program amendment.
The ordinance adopted by the council includes a 5% cap throughout the city on short-term rentals equaling a maximum 129 units. Existing short-term rentals will also be able to continue operating under their current ownership, and if they are transferred through inheritance. The city identified 150 existing STRs through its registry process, and applications for new STRs will be processed when the total STRs drop below the 129 maximum, according to a council agenda report.
Existing short-term rentals will also be exempt from a requirement in the ordinance that STRs have to be the primary residence of the owner, following concerns by STR operators who own multiple properties in Del Mar who said they would otherwise have to shut down.
Before approving the Del Mar regulations, a Coastal Commission motion to reduce a three-night minimum to two fell short.
“The three-night minimum is intended to help maintain neighborhood residential character and is considered the average stay length according to data collected by the City,” according to a Coastal Commission staff report. “Longer stays are typically considered less likely to result in “party houses” and the associated trash and noise, while still allowing reasonably affordable short-term stays.”
A few commissioners said it would promote access.
“Given the data that I’m seeing here, given the fact that we’re not looking to create an average but really focus on the folks with the least access today, I will only be able to support this if we do the same as we did on the last, with an adjustment to two nights,” said Coastal Commissioner Christopher Lopez, referring to deliberations about two-night minimum stays in STR regulations in Encinitas.
Del Mar City Councilmember Terry Gaasterland was recused from the council vote on the STR registration period because of a pending decision by the Fair Political Practices Commission on whether to investigate if there was any conflict of interest when she voted to approve the short-term rental ordinance. Gaasterland has said she had done 30-day rentals, which were not defined in Del Mar as short-term rentals at the time.
Last October, the City Council approved a three-year, $60,000 contract with Deckard Technologies for STR monitoring services throughout the city.