Dana Point council praises short‑term rental enforcement, plans Deckard TOT rollout in April 2026
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Summary
City staff reported enforcement metrics for the short‑term rental program, including permit counts, notices of violation and citations tied to illegal advertising, and said the Deckard platform will be used for TOT collection and occupancy reporting with an expected April 2026 start; council members urged continued action against 'bad actors.'
City staff on Tuesday told the Dana Point City Council that the city’s short‑term rental program is functioning and that officials will implement a Deckard platform for transient occupancy tax (TOT) collection and occupancy reporting in time for collections covering January–March 2026.
The staff presentation, delivered under unfinished business by Russler, reviewed the program’s history and enforcement activity. Staff said a February 2023 coastal development permit authorized 115 permits in the coastal zone and 25 permits outside the coastal zone. Staff reported citations and notices of violation (NOVs) tied to illegal advertising and other violations and said the city has used Deckard‑style monitoring technology this year to identify noncompliant listings.
The update included enforcement figures: staff said 10 hotline calls were received this year (five identified as related to illegal advertising), 19 calls for service to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department were associated with STR addresses of which nine were confirmed STR‑related, and that multiple NOVs and citations have been issued. Staff also said random financial audits of a small sample of properties found no discrepancies to date.
Council members asked about the size of the audit sample. Council member Federico praised staff work but said the sample size matters; staff responded that an exact count was not provided on the record and said code enforcement 'looked at most of the homes on that list.'
On TOT collection, staff member C. Shelton said the city has met with Deckard to enact the part of the platform for TOT collection and occupancy reporting and that the city is hoping to implement the system in time for collections in April 2026 (covering January–March 2026).
Council members including Villar, Frost and Mayor Pro Tem Gabbard expressed support for aggressive enforcement against repeat offenders and for signaling that compliant operators are welcome. Several members noted the absence of a large number of public opponents at the meeting as an indicator the program is approaching a workable balance.
The staff recommendation was to receive and file the short‑term rental report; no formal council vote on that recommendation was recorded in the meeting transcript.
