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Council pauses action on TOT/TBID; directs staff to monitor state reporting changes
Summary
After a staff study session on the city’s tourism occupancy tax and Tourism Business Improvement District, councilors signaled they do not want to move forward now with a local measure and said staff should monitor SB 346 implementation; potential TOT options may be re‑examined in a later election cycle (e.g., 2028).
Staff presented an informational study session on Jan. 13 about Arroyo Grande’s Tourism Occupancy Tax (TOT), the city’s Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID), and recent state law changes affecting short‑term rental platforms. Sheridan Bolkin summarized the city’s long‑standing TOT rate (unchanged since Jan. 1, 2001), the role of local and regional visitor assessments in funding services and marketing, and new state authority (referred to in the transcript as SB 346) that allows cities to require standardized reporting from rental platforms to improve compliance.
Council members discussed timing, ballot‑clutter concerns and the local economy. Several councilors said they are interested in exploring a possible TOT increase in the future but that the current ballot environment and changing tourism numbers (including a drop in international travelers noted by staff) make immediate action inadvisable. The consensus from council was to delay any revenue measure at this time, to prioritize monitoring early implementation of the state reporting law, and to consider TOT options for a later election cycle (staff mentioned 2028 as a possibility).
Staff recorded the council’s direction to hold off on placing a TOT or TBID increase on the near‑term ballot, to prioritize studying a potential TOT for a later cycle, and to monitor compliance tools established under state law before taking further action.
