Coastal Commission Warns Against Short-Term Rental Bans, As Malibu Seeks To Fine Tune Its STR Ordinance Wed

The City of Malibu’s regulations for B and Bs … short term rentals … go up for public comment Wednesday night … and action by the Planning Commission.

But the California Coastal Commission is sending a signal … that just because the ordinance is similar to an approved plan for Santa Monica … don’t necessarily count on the same treatment for Malibu.

The city’s Planning Commission will hold a Zoom meeting at 6-30  Wednesday night.

Advocate Michael Lustig says the proposed ordinance  Malibu will be able to manage tourism … instead of react to it.

Their proposed Malibu ordinance is based on Santa Monica’s rules … which have been upheld by the state Coastal Commission.

But that does not necessarily mean Malibu’s ordinance will automatically be okayed by Coastal.

Laguna Beach has a new short term residence ordinance … which goes before Coastal next month.

And the influential staff report indicates the Laguna Beach plan is O-K … because it protects and prioritizes lower-cost visitor and recreational facilities and requires that public coastal access be maximized.

The Commission has found that visitor-serving overnight accommodation uses help maximize the opportunities provided for all the public to access the coast.

In its staff report … the commission says it recognizes legitimate community concerns over vacation rentals:

Housing stock and affordability, community character, noise, and traffic impacts . for example.

All negatively impacted by vacation rentals.

But the commission staff … in its new report … warns that cities cannot overly restrict or otherwise significantly diminish the visitor-serving utility of short term rentals.

And while the Coastal Commission has approved a number of restrictions on B and B rentals in other cities … the staff report notes that each city presented own set of unique issues based on local circumstances.

And it says coastal wants continued overnight rental operations in private residential dwellings …  rather than blanket bans of them.

Malibu’s proposed ordinance only bans overnight rentals if they exceed more than two in any one condo or apartment complex.

Santa Monica’s ordinance may be ok with coastal … but Santa Monica and L-A have a lot more hotel rooms than does Malibu.

All this goes before the Planning Commission for the hearing … and for their inevitable changes … Wednesday night at 6:30.

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