The Del Mar City Council approved a three-year, $60,000 contract with Deckard Technologies on Oct. 20 for short-term rental monitoring services throughout the city.
The city’s ordinance that regulates short-term rental activity, passed by the council last year, is pending approval from the California Coastal Commission. According to a council agenda report, the commission is expected to consider the ordinance in December. Then the council would give its final approval in 2026.
According to the report, city staff has been looking into options for “an STR administration platform that includes registration and permitting, maintaining an STR database, monitoring STR activity, compliance and code enforcement support, community outreach, and TOT remittance and auditing.”
“It’s going to provide a lot of relief to people who live in certain parts of town who have had to contend with wild parties at 2 in the morning on a Tuesday evening,” Del Mar City Councilmember John Spelich said.
City staff recommended Deckard, which is based in San Diego, over two other companies that responded to a request for service.
“This was the only company that was able to provide a 24/7 hotline for complaints,” Del Mar City Manager Ashley Jones said.
Del Mar Mayor Terry Gaasterland was recused from the vote because of the city’s pending query to the Fair Political Practices Commission investigation into whether there was any conflict of interest when she voted to approve the short-term rental ordinance. Gaasterland said she had previously done 30-day rentals, which were not defined in Del Mar as short-term rentals at the time.