Monterey County planning commissioners vote to deny staff-drafted amendments that would bar vacation rentals in most residential zones

The Monterey County Planning Commission voted Feb. 11 to recommend denial of staff-proposed amendments to the county’s vacation-rental ordinances that would have banned vacation rentals in low-, medium- and high-density residential zones while allowing narrow exceptions for certain agricultural properties.

Melanie Berretti, chief of planning for Monterey County, told the commission staff drafted the changes after the Board of Supervisors directed amendments in response to ongoing litigation. "The board directed that the staff bring back amended ordinances that prohibit vacation rentals in residential zoning districts," Berretti said in her presentation, describing the goal as balancing residents’ access to long-term housing with opportunities for agricultural farm-stays in limited cases.

The staff proposal would recast homestays as "hosted" rentals — where the operator must occupy at least one bedroom and maintain the unit as a primary residence — and consolidate limited and commercial non-hosted categories into a single non-hosted class capped at 4% of single-family dwelling units by planning area. Staff also proposed making non-hosted approvals ministerial in…