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Planning staff reports on vacation-rental rules, platform reporting, Signal Hill decision and housing element progress
Summary
Staff updated the commission on pending changes to the county’s citizen-access platform, Coastal Commission certification and Board action on coastal short-term rental rules, enforcement staffing and priorities, the Board’s approval on the Signal Hill appeal, and the status of the housing element and builders’ remedy applications.
County planning staff provided several department updates Aug. 27 on technology, enforcement and major projects.
Staff said the citizen-access platform vendor, Accela, is developing an improved public-facing interface expected to roll out in 2026. In the interim staff said it will consider additional how-to materials for public users.
On vacation rentals, staff reported the California Coastal Commission approved the county’s coastal-zone amendments to Title 21 related to short-term rentals. The county plans to return the amendments to the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 23 for final adoption; staff said those rules would become effective 30 days after board adoption (Oct. 24 if adopted on Sept. 23). The county’s inland short-term rental rules already passed and had a longer compliance period; the coastal zone will have a shorter compliance window, per prior Board direction.
Staff described enforcement efforts: the county has added positions to its code compliance team to help enforce short-term rental regulations and had filled one of two newly authorized compliance positions and one new permit technician; recruitments for assistant planner positions were ongoing. Staff said enforcement is being prioritized where commercial vacation rentals are not allowed and where operations are clearly out of compliance. Platforms that report listings to the county are providing data in some cases; staff said it will continue outreach to platforms that have not been cooperative and to expand electronic reporting to support enforcement and complaints.
Commissioners urged staff to be proactive in using platform data to identify unpermitted listings. Commissioner Diehl said members of the public already obtain evidence of rentals from platforms and urged the county to use that information to start inquiries, rather than waiting for platform cooperation.
Staff also reported the Board of Supervisors on appeal approved a modified and reduced design for the Signal Hill project in Pebble Beach; the applicant may now move forward. On housing, the county received a formal finding letter from the California Department of Housing and Community Development on the county’s second housing element submittal and is preparing a third submission. Staff reported about 10 “builder’s remedy” applications have been filed or are in the pipeline; two were submitted preliminarily the prior week and have six months to proceed to full submittal.
Staff said the county is continuing targeted enforcement in inland areas where the compliance period already ended and that coastal enforcement will follow on the shorter timeline once the board adopts the certified coastal changes.
The commission asked staff to report back on platform enforcement mechanics and to provide updates on status of permit listings and any caps that could limit licenses in certain planning areas.
